Central Asia’s election season continued in the run-up to the new year, with Islam Karimov winning as expected in the Uzbek presidential poll. The BBC pointed out that, although he has already served the maximum two terms as president, Karimov gave no explanation as to why he was able to run again.
On 2 January a government reshuffle was reported, with Rustam Azimov apparently becoming the new first deputy prime minister. The day before, Uzbekistan formally abolished the death penalty, earning plaudits from the European Union. And in an amnesty marking the 15th anniversary of the Uzbek constitution, prominent human rights activist Karim Bozorboyev was released from prison.
In Kyrgyzstan, which experienced a small earthquake earlier this week, the political dust is beginning to settle in the wake of highly controversial parliamentary elections. A new prime minister, Igor Chudinov, was appointed by President Bakiyev, whose party took the overwhelming majority of seats. The Social-Democratic party was the only opposition group to win representation in parliament. Chudinov promised to make economic growth his priority.
Radio Netherlands reported on two filmmakers’ quest to find out why foreign corporations are sponsoring translations of the Ruhnama, by former Turkmen president Saparmurat Niyazov. Translating the eccentric work, which is a collection of Niyazov’s political philosophy and assorted musings, has apparently helped companies like Shell and Siemens get a foothold in the country. Despite clinging on to the Ruhnama, the Turkmen authorities are keen to modernise and attract inward investment, their latest initiative a lifting of the ban on foreign currency trading.
Elsewhere, RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty carries a feature on Kazakhstan’s forgotten famine, a result of Stalinist collectivisation policies in the 1930s. The Institute of War and Peace Reporting marks Tajikistan’s entry into the UN World Tourism Organisation with an analysis of the prospects for tourism there. United Press International gives an in-depth account of the energy game currently being played out by gas-rich Uzbekistan and it’s smaller, hydropower driven neighbour, Tajikistan.
Central Asia Now is moving to fortnightly news digests from this week. The next update will be on January 18.
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