CA and beyond - News rundown 30 Jun - 6 Jul

Got to get back to more frequent blogging... It just gets too big otherwise. Still, here's a thematic run down of news, events, announcements and a very appealing but slightly madcap extreme sport phenomenon from Central Asia and the FSU.

Yak skiing, publications and announcements

• The latest issue of the Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst is available for download and includes articles on Andijan and the ever-fabled democratisation of the region.
• The first issue of the Danish Society for Central Asia's Journal is also available for download and has 3 articles on Kyrgyzstan, including one by the author of this blog.
• There's a call for a conference in Bishkek on August 16 - 17 entitled "Rural Internetisation in the Kyrgyz Republic". Full details here.
• Yak Skiiing (you go uphill, the yak goes downhill...) Tipped by Time magazine as a great way to relax in Asia, I have my doubts that being at the mercy of a couple of tons of yak does much for one's stress levels, but still. BBC has the full story here.

Kyrgyzstan

• The latest edition of Kyrgyz News (26 June - 2 July) is out. Main headlines are here.
• Transitions Online (TOL) has an article about the position of Uzbek refugees in the country.
• TOL also reports on the need to maintain political progress in the republic, with an article entitled "A Tulip Revolution Still Only in Bud".
• David Mikosz's highly useful Kyrgyz Election News has reached number 49. See the site for details.
• KyrgyzInfo reports that Bermet Akaeva is intending to go to the International Court over losing her deputy's mandate and the voiding of the election results in the Universitetskii 1 district due to voting violations.
• More cheerfully, the Ukrainian singer Ruslana is apparently going to perform in Bishkek on July 7 as part of a concert entitled «Выбирать – это здорово!», reports Kyrgyz Info.
• Also on a cultural note, a festival entitled “От овцы до шырдака” ("From the Sheep to the Shyrdak") is being held near Kochkor to celebrate traditional Kyrgyz crafts.
• Angus Reid Global Scan predicts (unsurprising, this one) victory for Kurmanbek Bakiev in this Sunday's presidential elections.
• RFE/RL has a short report on the final session of the Kyrgyz Lower House of the Zhogorku Kenesh on July 1.
• The LA Times has an interesting take on the "Tulip Revolution", focusing on Nazaraliev's role. For once I'm in total agreement with Bruno de Cordier's assessment of this piece on the Oxiana list: "Bollocks". Concise, eloquent and to the point.
• Akaev has gone on the record as favouring the Bakiev-Kulov candidacy for the presidency, reports RIA Novosti, among others. Not sure if it's a help or a hindrance, but it probably won't make any difference at all...
• The International Herald and Tribune reports on the first televised debates between presidential candidates.
• Eurasia Daily Monitor has an article on rising political tension in Kyrgyzstan in the lead up to Sunday's elections.
• Acting President Kurmanbek Bakiev met with Russian President Putin on Tuesday during which Putin expressed hope that the elections would lead to the normalisation of the situation in Kyrgyzstan, reports Interfax.

Kazakhstan

• AlertNet reports that an Uzbek human rights activist who investigated the Andijon massacre has been arrested in Kazakhstan and may be deported.
• IWPR reports that there's much debate over when the next presidential elections in the republic are to be held, though little debate over who will win.
• Speaking of the devil (metaphorically, obviously), Nazarbaev has bee quoted as saying that Uzbekistan poses no threat to Kazakhstan, at least not per se, preferring to identify the threat as being from extremists who penetrate Uzbekistan. This seems in many ways to give tacit approval to the Uzbek government's handling of the disturbances in Andijan.
• RIA Novosti also reports on the SCO summit in Astana and the issues up for discussion there, not least regime change in Kyrgyzstan and the events in Andijan.

Turkmenistan

• IRIN has a report on the curtailment of journalists' rights in its weekly Central Asia newswrap, amongst other stories.
• The isolated republic could become Ukraine's main gas supplier, according to RAI Novosti.

Uzbekistan

• IWPR has a report on the Andijan massacre based on a policeman's account, with claims that upto 4,500 people may have been killed. This version tallies with many unofficial eyewitness accounts and contrasts sharply with the official version.
• RIA Novosti reports on Russian claims that they had intelligence on plans for an uprising in Andijon indicating it was a carefully planned attempt to discredit the government by foeign elements.
• Turkish Weekly has an article on a meeting between Uzbek opposition leaders and US representatives going on at the same time as President Karimov meets with Russian President Putin.

NGO announcements

• HR Kyrgyzstan has sent out information on reports that Russia intervened to prevent the OSCE from "interfering in the internal affairs of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan".
• Birge! distributed a report that Putin apparently justified the killings in Andijon.
• Birge! also sent out a copy of an international NGO "Address to the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic", expressing concern over the treatment of Uzbek refugees.
• June 1 saw an interesting email from Birge! simply entitled "Srochno!" ("Urgent!):

Сейчас в 16.45 у здания мэрии наблюдается большая группа женщин из 50-ти человек. Они предпринимают попытки войти внутрь учреждения, однако двери закрыты и присутствуют сотрудники правоохранительных органов, в частности замначальника Ленинского РОВД М.Алиев. На стоянке много машин видимо в это время там проходило совещание Бишкекского городского Кенеша депутатов.
Сергей Зейлюк
НМД "Бирге!"

Russia/FSU

• The SCO has apparently called for the US to give a timetable for withdrawing from Central Asia, reports Boston.com.
• The Guardian has an article on Vladimir Putin and his regime in Russia with a suitably alarmist tone entitled "Meet the Chief Exec of Kremlin Inc...".

Over and out for the day.