EurasiaNet provides information and analysis about political, economic, environmental and social developments in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in Russia, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. The web site also offers additional features, including newsmaker interviews and book reviews. http://www.eurasianet.org http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Wed, 1 Jul 2009 13:56:52 -0400 Wed, 1 Jul 2009 13:56:06 -0400 FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.2.9) http://www.feedforall.com BY JOSHUA KUCERA The countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia experienced a decline in their democratic development in 2008, according to a report issued June 30 by the American watchdog group Freedom House. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav070109b.shtml 381DA00D-5E1C-4BB8-B145-103C589B9070 Wed, 1 Jul 2009 13:56:06 -0400 A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY STEPHEN BLANK In advance of US President Barack Obama’s July 6 trip to Moscow, Russian officials have made some interesting gestures concerning the Kremlin’s Iran policy. Some of these signals might offer the possibility of new movement on international efforts to address the issue of Iran’s nuclear program. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav070109.shtml 86D2D262-2224-47FB-A056-9FEF11C95A6B Wed, 1 Jul 2009 13:01:36 -0400 BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN Azerbaijani rights activists are hailing as a rare victory the passage of amendments to a law on non-governmental organizations after a fierce fight with the government over earlier, more restrictive proposed changes. Worries nonetheless persist about the bill’s long-term implications for civil liberties within Azerbaijan. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav070109a.shtml F00E5F23-6992-4C6A-9D73-C04504B0F624 Wed, 1 Jul 2009 13:00:57 -0400 BY JEAN-CHRISTOPHE PEUCH The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is effectively affixing the seals on the door of its Tbilisi field office on June 30 and wrapping up its 17-year monitoring operation in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav063009.shtml C3E4D6B6-D441-4863-BE7F-C7606EF8DDAE Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:02:30 -0400 BY SHAHIN ABBASOV Russian President Dmitri Medvedev only visited Baku for a day, but walked away with a gas deal likely to bring Moscow benefits for years to come. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav063009a.shtml 676B8747-8DF2-468F-BB59-DC17E632C379 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:02:00 -0400 After several months of high-profile financial problems, the Astana Cycling Team has secured funding to keep the wheels turning, just before this year’s Tour de France kicks off in Monaco on July 4. Kazakhstan’s state assets holding company will become the national team’s premier benefactor. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav063009b.shtml 01C598BC-981B-49FB-84A7-CB75AADF7333 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:01:40 -0400 BY SHAHIN ABBASOV Israel’s president, Shimon Peres, wrapped up a landmark visit to Azerbaijan on June 29, during which he endorsed Baku’s efforts to retain control of Nagorno-Karabakh. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav062909.shtml 273B0394-93B4-4EE2-83F5-49793CE1EF7D Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:01:08 -0400 BY GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s decision to shut down the commission investigating the deaths of the 10 people killed during March 2008 clashes between police and protesters has prompted families of the deceased to fear that those responsible for the deaths will escape punishment. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav062909a.shtml D0C0C411-1D03-493F-911E-DEBA7A4B9642 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:00:44 -0400 BY ALISHER KHAMIDOV With Kyrgyzstan’s July 23 presidential election fast approaching, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s administration is trying to court the support of Muslims, while cracking down on suspected members of radical Islamic groups. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav062909b.shtml 160CDC44-1DAD-44CA-92AF-6F7AC145D64F Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:00:06 -0400 BY NICHOLAS BIRCH Turkey’s football authorities are at the center of a developing scandal, in which the dropping of a referee is turning into a civil rights test case. The referee at the center of the case, Halil Ibrahim Dincdag, maintains he was let go because of his homosexuality, and he is challenging the Turkish Football Federation’s decision in a local court. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav062609.shtml 75D6FFAF-95BB-4107-8619-9B4015739290 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:58:51 -0400 BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili arrived in Armenia touting a "bright future" for bilateral relations. But now that his two-day visit is over, experts say the visit failed to make much headway on two issues that are a source of friction between the states -- relations with Russia and the fate of ethnic Armenians in Georgia. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav062609a.shtml 0050CC0E-6A21-4EA0-96E9-7312F336DACE Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:58:00 -0400 EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY SHAHIN ABBASOV Political leaders in Azerbaijan are paying careful attention to the turmoil in Iran. It’s not just the fact that Iran is home to roughly 20 million ethnic Azeris that explains the strong interest in Iranian events. Both government officials and opposition politicians in Baku are searching for political lessons in the news coming out of Tehran. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav062609b.shtml 26CB4541-B0B2-4D44-803C-982A764354E6 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:56:32 -0400 BY KAMAL NAZER YASIN It appears that a third force, centering on Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and his influential relatives, is taking shape in Iran. This new political force -- whose leaders have strong ties to Iran’s religious establishment, and who possess strong revolutionary credentials -- is working hard to establish a public profile apart from hardliners led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and from progressives led by aggrieved presidential challenger Mir Hussein Mousavi. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav062509b.shtml 25BAE9DE-4AF6-4F32-AA57-63C69F4EED6B Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:49:43 -0400 BY JOANNA LILLIS NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer used a June 25 security forum in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana to encourage debate on how the Atlantic Alliance can evolve in the age of globalization. He also sought to reassure cautious Central Asian leaders that partnership with NATO was a "two-way street." http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav062509.shtml 63995D27-B4CD-4320-BF6A-B168F686645E Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:12:04 -0400 BY YIGAL SCHLEIFER Turkey seems to be searching for a proper response to the upheaval in Tehran. The Turkish public has greeted the crisis in Iran with a mix of indifference and confusion, while on the official side, Ankara is treading with extreme caution. Not wanting to possibly strain bilateral ties, Turkish officials are refraining from criticizing Iranian hardliners, or questioning the results of the country’s recent contested elections. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav062509a.shtml 12A00F3E-59A9-4DF1-8816-4060714003FA Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:11:31 -0400 BY JOANNA LILLIS A global human rights watchdog says Kazakhstan is risking a public relations debacle unless it takes fast action to ease restrictions on mass media and promote political openness. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav062409a.shtml 73E55EA1-277D-4CE3-8CB5-CE99DC3EC23F Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:24:29 -0400 BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR During Afghanistan’s nearly 30 years of civil strife, over 2 million Afghans found refuge in neighboring Iran. Most Afghan refugees have returned in recent years, and now, with Iran gripped by political turmoil, some in Kabul and elsewhere are waiting and watching anxiously to see what happens in their former country of residence. The outcome, the Afghans say, will exert considerable influence over Afghanistan’s own development. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav062409.shtml C4B5AE74-7EE3-4342-AC1B-7FE468F38727 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:35:27 -0400 BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR A short message on the back of Maj. Eric Montalvo’s business card reads: "My lawyer has told me not to talk to anyone about my case, not to answer any questions and not to reply to any accusations." The message is intended for those who try to approach his clients. Montalvo has one of the most difficult jobs anywhere. As a soldier and prosecutor for the US military, he is tasked with defending those suspected by the US government of committing acts of terrorism in Afghanistan and around the world. Some of his clients have not even been charged. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav062309.shtml 1ECF2ADB-B92B-451F-BA2A-47F460D04529 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:44:50 -0400 BY SHAHIN ABBASOV Iran’s ethnic Azeri community numbers roughly 15-20 million, or almost a quarter of the country’s overall population. Most Azeris harbor deep feelings of resentment toward Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration in Tehran, and they are believed to have voted strongly for the aggrieved presidential challenger, Mir Hussein Mousavi, who is himself an Azeri from Tabriz. Even so, most Azeris remain unwilling to take an active part in the continuing battle for control of Iran’s social and economic agenda. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav062309c.shtml A4EB2BDB-AD4A-42B5-8252-2A57B11397AD Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:44:03 -0400 BY DEIRDRE TYNAN Kyrgyzstan and the United States have agreed to keep the Manas Air Base in operation, albeit under a different name. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav062309b.shtml 6F663FCD-3A38-4759-8F24-1BA9627BFD5A Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:31:12 -0400 BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN More than a dozen Armenian opposition activists have now been released from prison under a June 19 amnesty, but little sign exists that Armenia's opposition is content with the outcome. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav062309a.shtml 5A0EC537-8DCC-48ED-95CB-B65CE5909B63 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:26:33 -0400 Looking past their fiery rhetoric and apparent determination to cling to power using all available means, Iran’s hardliners are not a confident bunch. While hardliners still believe they possess enough force to stifle popular protests, they are worried that they are losing a behind-the-scenes battle within Iran’s religious establishment. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav062209.shtml 09398DCB-D8CB-4A31-8988-0885644CB64A Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:21:11 -0400 BY NICHOLAS BIRCH With his neatly-clipped moustache and his shirt buttoned up to his neck, 51-year-old Yalcin Yalman doesn’t project the image of a trendsetter. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav062209a.shtml 659D1A8B-08FE-4BDF-9C82-AFC0BFD95982 Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:12:50 -0400 BY JOANNA LILLIS When Nursultan Nazarbayev took charge of Soviet Kazakhstan 20 years ago, he could scarcely have imagined that two years later he would be running his own country, and less that two decades later he would still be at the helm of an energy-rich state. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061909.shtml 987C4960-D205-444B-B652-B387FF17271E Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:39:05 -0400 It would appear that Iran’s political crisis is entering the end-game phase. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared to slam the door June 19 on any chance of a political compromise. In a sermon at Tehran University, he resolutely defended the integrity of the country’s rigged presidential election result, and threatened protesters with retribution. The only way now open for Iran to resolve the presidential election controversy is through a test of strength. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061909g.shtml BA3754DE-1295-4C5D-B508-1167CFF8EF3D Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:38:57 -0400 A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY MARK N. KATZ Many analysts in the West have expressed the opinion that Iranian hardliners will eventually suppress ongoing demonstrations in Tehran and elsewhere. Given this likelihood, they add, the best course of action for the United States is not to do anything that alienates either Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei or President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and thus do nothing that might jeopardize US-Iranian rapprochement possibilities. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061909a.shtml B3A9E5AB-8B86-4D14-9DB9-3682E0A19A97 Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:38:42 -0400 BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN After heavy lobbying by the international community, a special session of Armenia’s National Assembly on June 19 approved President Serzh Sargsyan’s request for a prisoner amnesty. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061909e.shtml 54A47049-B337-4C92-A7EF-0AF1BE2153E9 Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:38:26 -0400 A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY A chain reaction of hope in Iran is fueling youth-led street protests that seem poised to beat back Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s power grab. Over 1 million demonstrators gathered for a Tehran rally on June 18, by far the largest anti-government crowd to assemble since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061809.shtml 6C48F7AF-08B8-427D-98A5-3E705299467F Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:46:14 -0400 Hardliners in Iran are preparing to make a desperate bid to preserve their power in the face of burgeoning public opposition. A source within Iran’s law enforcement agency revealed late on June 18 that backers of presumptive president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will try to deploy special Revolutionary Guard units to confront protesters in Tehran. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061809d.shtml 82F5D25C-5483-43EE-9799-34BF63EE01F4 Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:45:38 -0400 BY JOSHUA KUCERA The United States has cut aid for a $67-million road construction program in Armenia, due to displeasure over the slow pace of democratization in Yerevan, US officials say. But some in Armenia and in the Armenian diaspora dispute that rationale, and instead suggest that Yerevan is being punished for geopolitical reasons. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061809a.shtml 0381639A-CD1C-4F4C-9E5C-7442F751018E Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:40:23 -0400 BY NINO PATSURIA Three years after Moscow banned agricultural imports from Georgia, a Kremlin-financed business publication claims that Georgian wine, mineral water, fruit and vegetables are now entering Russia via third countries. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061809b.shtml 71C3E238-CB38-4839-AB88-DA66B861CD3E Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:39:13 -0400 BY NICHOLAS BIRCH A European Court of Human Rights ruling in early June could turn into a landmark decision that opens the way for the expanded protection of women’s rights in Turkey. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061709a.shtml C40E29C4-0D23-4AE0-9AFA-C2A4D8F345A7 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:52:44 -0400 BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN Controversial amendments that would impose new restrictions on non-governmental organizations could force numerous local and international NGOs in Azerbaijan to cease operations. Some activists go so far as to say the amendments, if passed, would throttle civil society development in the country. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061709.shtml 47CDACA1-E212-4B78-B0FA-26DBBAC9AFF4 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:51:18 -0400 A political maxim holds that a revolution tends to eat its young. It happened that way with France with its Great Terror; it happened in China with its Cultural Revolution and counter-strike against the Gang of Four; and there’s no need to elaborate on what happened in the Soviet Union during the late 1920s and 30s. Such a weeding-out process hasn’t happened in the history of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, though. But it seems to be occurring now. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061709c.shtml AF083C77-153F-4DD8-BF9C-518488E08AFD Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:48:32 -0400 A high-profile meeting between the Afghan and Kyrgyz presidents is paving the way for a public announcement that a contentious US air base near Bishkek will stay open, experts say. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061709b.shtml FA1868CF-C1A8-4C7E-ACA4-748A70163184 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:00:02 -0400 Hard-line backers of Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are doubling down on their bet that repression can break popular opposition to his power grab. The storm of protest in Iran over the suspicious presidential election results showed no signs of abating, however. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061609.shtml C62EF20C-F1A9-4EF0-BB88-A019B7FDFE4B Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:22:35 -0400 BY SAODAT MAHBATSHO Despite official denials that civil war-era opposition leaders still pose a national security threat, a rash of arrests of both alleged Islamist militants and former opposition figures in Tajikistan suggests the situation is not as stable as President Imomali Rahmon’s administration would like the outside world to believe. Some experts see a connection between the arrests and parliamentary elections scheduled for early 2010. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061609a.shtml 67979F9C-EED2-48C5-8F63-AA0C8C6370F2 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:21:59 -0400 BY JOSHUA KUCERA Iran’s presidential election, as marred as it has been by probable fraud and mass protests in Tehran, could ultimately be a boon to US-Iranian relations -- even if Mahmoud Ahmadinejad retains power. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061609b.shtml D52E98F2-1C2C-40BD-A5D5-5CD3ADB1BDBF Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:20:57 -0400 BY GIORGI LOMSADZE The end of the United Nations' monitoring mission in the breakaway region of Abkhazia will further restrict the ability of both Georgia and Abkhazia to maneuver against Moscow, Georgian analysts believe. A Russian veto in the UN Security Council blocked the extension of the mission's mandate after nearly 16 years in Abkhazia. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061609c.shtml DA3C6F0A-F881-45CD-AF24-31DDAE74A56C Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:19:38 -0400 BY SERGEI BLAGOV Russia’s desire to forge a new security infrastructure in Eurasia is running into problems. A June 14 summit in Moscow of Collective Security Treaty Organization devolved into a very awkward affair for the Kremlin, as the authoritarian-minded leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, boycotted the gathering, and Belarus and Uzbekistan opted not to sign a key agreement to create a rapid-reaction force. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061509a.shtml 40AD9B54-38C4-465C-88C6-3F17051EB810 Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:18:51 -0400 Iran’s presidential election is degenerating into a battle of nerves. Protesters remain unwilling to accept blatantly-rigged results that appear designed to usher in a neo-conservative dictatorship. The pressure is now mounting on the country’s Supreme Leader, who seems to have maneuvered himself into a corner from which there are seemingly only two equally unpalatable escape routes -- either surrender, or order security forces to open fire. Either way, the Islamic Revolution will come under severe strain in the coming days, and there is no guarantee that it will survive this crisis. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061509.shtml 3DFA469C-7CAF-4F23-BC6E-996DB911DCAA Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:17:01 -0400 Tehran, 2009, now has the feel of Madrid, 1936. A large segment of Iranian society feels under siege. This mood forged a coalition of disparate forces to resist what many see as an attempt by incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to establish an authoritarian-repressive regime. One could almost hear echoes of the Spanish Republican side’s rallying cry -- No Pasaran, or They Shall Not Pass -- during recent rallies for Ahmadinejad’s main presidential challenger, Mir Hussein Mousavi. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061209.shtml B68C1271-3396-4C39-8008-A33575011999 Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:55:42 -0400 BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN While Azerbaijan is getting tough on human trafficking, officials in Baku are lagging on efforts to address the more pervasive problem of domestic violence. Experts say the dichotomy reveals a willingness to combat foreign ills while turning a blind eye to those closer to home. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061209a.shtml 82C6B914-C6AF-440B-B0D5-294417BE2290 Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:29:49 -0400 BY KAMAL NAZER YASIN It would appear that if he can’t win reelection by hook, Iran’s incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is going to try to take it by crook. Agencies responsible for administering the June 12 presidential election, and for counting the ballots, are firmly under the president’s control, and there are indications that Ahmadinejad loyalists have laid the groundwork for wide-scale fraud on election day. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061109b.shtml AA68B326-6E50-4992-9777-F83B9045DB60 Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:50:35 -0400 BY JEAN-CHRISTOPHE PEUCH The chances of preserving international observer missions in the separatist territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia look slim, as Russia continues to insist that their respective mandates be amended to reflect "new realities" that Moscow contends arose from recent military hostilities with Georgia. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061109a.shtml 56D639B2-E835-45CA-9C31-F9B227304B4C Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:49:54 -0400 Tension is rapidly escalating along the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border. In response to violent Islamic militant attacks in late May, Uzbek authorities have started to fortify their frontier by building three-meter-wide trenches in some areas, according to Kyrgyz media reports. Bishkek has criticized the Uzbek action as a violation of mutual security agreements. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061109.shtml 733D7975-6E77-4366-BA6B-91D4A4439858 Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:52:54 -0400 BY DEIRDRE TYNAN After months of intensive negotiations, legendary Brazilian football coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is being unveiled as the new manager of Uzbekistan’s richest football club, Bunyodkor. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061009c.shtml 613304CB-9100-48C9-BFD4-CE3F54DCCC3C Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:33:44 -0400 BY JOANNA LILLIS Foreign investors and Kazakhstan’s business elite have been shaken by the arrest of one of the country’s most respected and successful entrepreneurs. As investors look on nervously and some of the country’s top executives protest openly, a probe of all state companies has been ordered. So great has been the controversy stirred by the arrest of Mukhtar Dzhakishev, former head of the state nuclear agency, that President Nursultan Nazarbayev felt compelled to intervene. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061009.shtml 5A21946A-39B9-42AA-B91D-4F364BD9871C Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:35:30 -0400 A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY HAROUTIUN KHACHATRIAN Defeated repeatedly at the polls, the Armenian National Congress, Armenia’s largest opposition movement, finds itself on a slippery slope and is struggling to gain traction. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav061009a.shtml 42836B9A-89ED-4C75-88AF-E165FA7585C2 Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:34:48 -0400 BY JOSHUA KUCERA Mongolia is accepting Russian demands to refuse US government funding for a railroad project and will ask the United States to redirect the funding to another project, the country’s foreign minister said during a visit to Washington. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav060909b.shtml E1EB7EF8-D605-4DBE-8206-BAFC430E0C56 Tue, 9 Jun 2009 16:37:53 -0400 BY KAMAL NAZER YASIN What we may be witnessing in Iran these days is a revolution within the Islamic Revolution. If successfully carried out, the net effect would be more like a coup, in which the incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, tramples on Iran’s existing, tangled pluralistic system, and establishes what amounts to a neo-conservative dictatorship with the blessing of the country’s spiritual leader. The problem for Ahmadinejad and his backers, however, is they may have underestimated the power of their opponents. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav060909a.shtml 7F157BCC-0AC7-4B35-AA60-90A2431E2B20 Tue, 9 Jun 2009 16:36:39 -0400 BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN Burglaries have doubled in Armenia, homicides have nearly tripled and illegal weapons trafficking is up by over 43 percent in Armenia so far in 2009. Sociologists see a connection between the crime binge and a new collection of wildly popular TV crime-thrillers. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav060909.shtml A6AD97DB-C43C-44FC-974C-45647A989ADB Tue, 9 Jun 2009 12:33:10 -0400 BY DAVID TRILLING Kuldash is unsure which country he lives in. An ethnic Kyrgyz, he has a Kyrgyz passport, but his son possesses a Tajik one. "My son lives in the next house, in Kyrgyzstan. My house is supposed to be in Tajikistan," he says with a wry grin. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav060509.shtml 32C462CE-C994-4166-8849-007753536294 Fri, 5 Jun 2009 14:58:41 -0400 BY KAMAL NAZER YASIN Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s penchant for loopy one-liners and unsubstantiated allegations may finally be getting the best of him. A raucous presidential debate -- featuring comments so outrageous that Ahmadinejad provoked rebukes from all across the political spectrum -- has energized the Iranian electorate, and riveted attention on the June 12 presidential vote. Turnout may end up being so large, and attention so great, that it may make it difficult to rig. That can only be bad news for the incumbent. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav060509a.shtml 530DD78B-D11E-4939-A202-E2C8D6A300EF Fri, 5 Jun 2009 14:56:03 -0400 BY GIORGI LOMSADZE Given the vitriolic exchanges between Tbilisi and Moscow at the outset, the conclusion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s military exercises in Georgia was somewhat of an anti-climax. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav060409b.shtml E9E13D00-9E77-4A49-88A8-C3A413C341EF Thu, 4 Jun 2009 15:27:22 -0400 Small business owners and consumers are being hit hard by the rapid and seemingly uncontrollable fall of the Tajik currency against the US dollar. While some experts say the National Bank appears to have no control over the plunge of the Tajik somoni, others suggest that some large businesses are taking advantage of bank moves to turn a quick profit. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav060409a.shtml 05A9BB67-B57E-4876-B433-D57F474DB3B1 Thu, 4 Jun 2009 14:20:07 -0400 BY SHAHIN ABBASOV A senior source within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Joint Force Command has told EurasiaNet that Azerbaijan stands a better chance of gaining NATO membership in the near future than either Georgia or Ukraine. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav060409.shtml 8E004E1D-8A0D-4218-8169-6538ED5CE994 Thu, 4 Jun 2009 12:42:07 -0400 BY KAMAL NAZER YASIN The leading presidential challenger, Mir Hussein Mousavi, appears to be gaining a head of steam leading up to Iran’s election on June 12. Even though some polls now show Mousavi to be leading the incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, some experts in Tehran maintain that political change in Tehran is unlikely. Some powerful forces in Iranian politics are unwilling to see Ahmadinejad lose. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav060309.shtml 74D2AE04-BDB0-4989-AA17-635FDE01639A Thu, 4 Jun 2009 12:39:30 -0400 BY JOSHUA KUCERA The government of Kazakhstan is paying an influential Washington think tank to write a series of reports and policy recommendations for the US and Kazakhstani governments concerning Astana’s upcoming role as chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav060309b.shtml 5A11F0B1-4F0B-416E-90C5-4E3047A089AB Thu, 4 Jun 2009 12:35:20 -0400 BY GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN A Russian-owned mining company’s plan to build a gold processing plant near Armenia’s legendary Lake Sevan has raised concerns about additional contamination of the lake, the source for 90 percent of Armenia’s fresh water supplies. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav060309a.shtml 301AAA3C-24C0-46F3-A0C8-12AD1DAB6AD1 Thu, 4 Jun 2009 12:35:03 -0400 A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY MOLLY CORSO Forty Pablo Picasso drawings, sketches and linocuts from France's Zervos Museum are spending the summer in Georgia. It marks the country's first high-profile art exhibit since the fall of the Soviet Union, and seeks to burnish the Caucasus country's image as a regional cultural hub. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/civilsociety/articles/eav060209.shtml 7083C02F-A008-4D36-8253-B299D60BC457 Thu, 4 Jun 2009 12:34:19 -0400 A EURASIANET DIARY BY DAVID TRILLING Bactrian Camels are endangered in the wild, but domesticated breeds have long plied the trade routes of Central Asia. Well-adapted to the demands of dry steppe living, they are a common site in Kazakhstan and other arid regions of Central Asia, from Afghanistan and China to the Caspian shore. Domesticated or not, the two-humped beasts have wicked tempers, as EurasiaNet’s David Trilling learned at the bottom of the Aral Sea. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052909.shtml D6AF5F63-26E7-44FC-BDB3-385B9E4E7CEF Fri, 29 May 2009 14:48:16 -0400 BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s recent announcement that he is prepared to consider a prisoner amnesty has fueled debate about his motivations. Some Armenians believe it is a tactical maneuver designed to influence the outcome of Yerevan’s May 31 City Council elections. Opposition politicians, meanwhile, suggest the president is trying to burnish Armenia’s international human rights record. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052909a.shtml 3912BAB5-9C1C-4956-B303-7BC473FE8BB5 Fri, 29 May 2009 14:48:03 -0400 BY MINA MURADOVA They say they have no interest in politics. Just in promoting social change. Youth groups that promote Azerbaijan’s pre-Soviet Azerbaijani Democratic Republic have become a fresh force in Azerbaijan’s public life, but one that the government isn’t embracing. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052909b.shtml EB0ADB2E-E480-4360-85BF-305FB888504C Fri, 29 May 2009 14:47:49 -0400 BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR Despite US efforts to minimize accidents, the issue of civilian deaths remains a source of tension between American forces and the Afghan government, and it appears to be eroding popular support for coalition forces fighting Islamic militants. Afghan officials contend that US commanders need to shift their combat priorities to ensure civilian safety. US military representatives counter that it is the Taliban that does not value life, adding that the insurgents are using civilians as "human sacrifice." http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052809.shtml E06331E2-362F-4214-A4EE-18004A0629E3 Thu, 28 May 2009 15:39:32 -0400 A EurasiaNet Q&A with Human Rights Activist Nadezhda Atayeva Human rights activist Nadezhda Atayeva is president of the Paris-based Association for Human Rights in Central Asia. Her association assists refugees and asylum seekers from Central Asia -- especially Uzbekistan -- understand their international legal rights and gain protection. EurasiaNet asked Atayeva about conditions in Uzbekistan and the difficulties encountered by Central Asian refugees and asylum seekers abroad. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052809b.shtml FC3CCAD8-624A-4D08-B28A-1A822D343FE8 Thu, 28 May 2009 15:39:10 -0400 To the surprise of some Tajiks suffering from recent mudslides and floods, an unlikely friend has extended a helping hand. Uzbekistan, which for much of the post-Soviet era has had bitter relations with Tajikistan, recently delivered emergency food and reconstruction aid to help its blighted neighbor. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052809a.shtml A0A81634-C86B-4809-95DB-8C75470D528F Thu, 28 May 2009 15:38:51 -0400 A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY DAVID TRILLING For a generation, Toko and his extended family have grown tomatoes, apples and strawberries along the Mailuu Suu River in southern Kyrgyzstan. Their little plot was a form of insurance, looked upon as a reliable food source that could help feed the family and produce some income amid the post-Soviet era’s economic uncertainty. But for the past year, an infernal legacy of the Soviet era has haunted Toko’s household. A new sign across the muddy lane tells the story: it displays the fearsome international trefoil symbol for radioactivity and reads, "Keep Out!" http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052709a.shtml A0C38478-18D6-4593-8AC0-7D1E566C8628 Wed, 27 May 2009 15:22:20 -0400 BY DEIRDRE TYNAN Kyrgyz officials are adamantly disputing the Uzbek government’s contention that May 26 violence in the Uzbek portion of the Ferghana Valley can trace its origins to Kyrgyzstan. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052709d.shtml 90E8959B-B830-4250-B32E-C7AE9A2A9CD6 Wed, 27 May 2009 15:22:03 -0400 BY MINA MURADOVA Baku may have the designation of this year’s "Capital of Islamic Culture," but a recent series of mosque closures and fresh requirements for registration of religious organizations has prompted concern about how Azerbaijan is living up to its title. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052709b.shtml 51D7CB97-F4D5-4CDE-B82A-FC2DBF5D9FA3 Wed, 27 May 2009 15:21:49 -0400 Updates with suicide bombing in Andijan Are anti-Taliban operations in far-away Pakistan prompting Uzbek Islamic militants to flee safe havens in the Southwest Asian nation’s tribal areas and to return to Central Asia? A suicide bombing in Andijan, as well as an armed clash between gunmen and security forces in the Uzbek border town of Khanabad, suggests this may be a possibility. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052609.shtml 6CC1FAEA-893A-458F-859D-FC5C60C64722 Tue, 26 May 2009 17:14:02 -0400 Officials in Tajikistan are adamantly denying a large-scale government security operation in the eastern Rasht Valley has anything to do with reports that a notorious Islamic militant commander has returned to the area from Pakistan. Authorities are sticking with the story that the beefed up security presence in the mountainous region is connected with a government anti-drug offensive. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052609a.shtml 52BA8E19-7368-4661-8F71-4BE0F794A452 Tue, 26 May 2009 17:13:46 -0400 Amid a worsening financial picture in Uzbekistan, President Islam Karimov is pulling out his old Soviet playbook and trying to give new meaning to the concept of a command economy. But there appears to be a sizeable chance that the Uzbek government’s policy prescriptions could end up exacerbating social tension in the Central Asian nation. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052209a.shtml 1B736246-DDDB-4C0B-AC79-CB249A7C80F3 Fri, 22 May 2009 15:22:43 -0400 BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN With the election for Yerevan’s City Council 10 days away, the campaign is becoming bruising. But it’s not jockeying between the government and opposition that has emerged as the chief source of rancor. Instead, the campaign has opened a window on a simmering power struggle within the governing coalition. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052209.shtml 66AD7E5F-03AC-451F-855A-A9D093C773C3 Fri, 22 May 2009 15:22:34 -0400 BY DEIRDRE TYNAN The Defense Department’s US Transportation Command is leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to find alternative routes of supply to Afghanistan. Documents obtained by EurasiaNet indicate that efforts to both ease and widen the flow of non-lethal materiel to NATO and US troops fighting the Taliban could potentially require cooperation between the United States and Iran. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052109.shtml 469C159E-5E0F-42DA-BE58-7CC9A4AEB02B Thu, 21 May 2009 16:17:49 -0400 BY GIORGI LOMSADZE Georgian police have shot dead one of the accused masterminds of a military mutiny and badly wounded his two accomplices. The incident is sparking fresh controversy over a tank battalion rebellion against President Mikheil Saakashvili earlier in May. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052109a.shtml 7CABDA0C-33B7-4D30-8326-745C79E2F4FE Thu, 21 May 2009 16:17:36 -0400 A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY MOLLY CORSO Eager to carve out cheaper trade routes, Georgia is becoming a favored destination for Middle East investors. Arab executives say the benefits of Georgia’s location outweigh the risks of basing operations in a country that recently fought a war with Russia. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052009a.shtml BB99B478-18A9-401C-AA63-E46E3F6CE9E4 Wed, 20 May 2009 15:53:51 -0400 BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN In Azerbaijan, a tragedy is threatening to turn into a public relations problem for President Ilham Aliyev’s administration. Young Azerbaijanis have started to voice displeasure over the government’s refusal to declare a public mourning period for the victims of the recent mass murder at Baku’s State Oil Academy. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav052009.shtml AEB8FD36-D9D3-4177-9789-C09110960498 Wed, 20 May 2009 15:53:37 -0400 BY YIGAL SCHLEIFER Could supplies from gas fields in northern Iraq breath new life into the troubled Nabucco pipeline, a project designed to free the European Union from Russia’s virtual gas supply monopoly? http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav051909.shtml 57E95874-76AE-4D15-8FD8-079D4B77D8E3 Tue, 19 May 2009 16:39:54 -0400 A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY KAMAL NAZER YASIN Circumstantial evidence suggests that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have provoked an incident involving the United States -- specifically, the recent jailing of Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi -- in a twisted effort to promote a rapprochement with Washington. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav051909c.shtml 31F6F08D-2525-4258-B09E-C278BFD3A747 Tue, 19 May 2009 16:39:37 -0400 A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY DAVID TRILLING Dushanbe’s ramshackle airport is the only facility in the world that is hosting NATO and Russian troops simultaneously. Both unassuming military outposts outside the capital of Tajikistan share the same single airstrip and sit quietly at the same end of the airfield. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav051809.shtml 750E21C6-1327-4CF5-A409-80665E434479 Mon, 18 May 2009 17:00:38 -0400 BY GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN AND JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN For most television viewers, Eurovision 2009, with all its spangled costumes and schmaltzy tunes, was nothing more than a light-hearted, fun-filled singing contest. But for those watching in Armenia and Azerbaijan, the show became another front in the long-running struggle over Nagorno-Karabakh. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav051809a.shtml A322BC8A-0F4E-47FD-A580-DCD46609B336 Mon, 18 May 2009 17:00:26 -0400 A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY MOLLY CORSO Kiosk owner Dali Maghlabeli makes just two lari per day - a little over $1 - from the snacks and inflatable balls displayed in her tin hut on Georgia’s main East-West highway. For Georgia’s assertive opposition, people like Maghlabeli are targets of opportunity. But so far, Maghlabeli and others from the ranks of Georgia’s impoverished have shunned opposition efforts to recruit them for the campaign to force President Mikheil Saakashvili from power. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav051509a.shtml FDA0AC9D-9AA7-4666-B096-04BA624F178C Mon, 18 May 2009 17:00:12 -0400 A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY ARIEL COHEN May 15 could become the official birth date of a pipeline that would help Russia maintain its virtual monopoly of natural gas exports to Europe. Whether the energy export project grows to maturity remains to be seen. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav051509c.shtml 25ED45AC-ABC5-4A9B-8504-F9513E53A901 Mon, 18 May 2009 16:59:32 -0400 BY JOSHUA KUCERA The United States is proposing significant increases to its aid packages for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in the hopes that stabilizing those countries will enhance US efforts to defeat the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. More broadly, however, regional experts say the aid amounts that Washington is extending to the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia in 2009 are insufficient to secure desired US diplomatic objectives in those regions. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav051209a.shtml 923D97B3-5E6B-474D-8961-996656F67B57 Wed, 13 May 2009 00:19:12 +0300 BY KAMAL NAZER YASIN With one month to go before Iran’s June 12 presidential election, incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reelection chances seem high. But his candidacy is proving so polarizing that the election campaign could bring about lasting changes to Iran’s political landscape. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav051209b.shtml 5740A1D5-FC38-4939-A7D1-001AEA43F120 Wed, 13 May 2009 00:18:51 +0300 BY DEIRDRE TYNAN With a helping hand from South Korea, the United States has reestablished a strategic presence in Uzbekistan - sort of. The development provides a boost for US efforts to press an offensive against Islamic militants in Afghanistan, and offers evidence that Russia’s influence in Central Asia is waning. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav051109a.shtml 3FEA940C-BA37-464A-B150-1D6C45414D1A Mon, 11 May 2009 21:47:09 +0300 After a month of street demonstrations during which protesters have agitated for President Mikheil Saakashvili’s resignation, the Georgian leader and opposition envoys sat down for talks on May 11. The discussions did not appear to resolve any of the issues dividing the two sides. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav051109b.shtml A5394E28-05D7-4050-9ACC-396DE974CF7F Mon, 11 May 2009 21:46:47 +0300 BY SHAHIN ABBASOV AND GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN While international mediators give an upbeat assessment to the May 8 tête-à-tête between Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, within Azerbaijan and Armenia there is a scarcity of optimism. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav051109c.shtml D21B96D9-E13E-4877-A333-FBDF9F164B0C Mon, 11 May 2009 21:46:27 +0300 BY JOSHUA KUCERA The threat posed by Islamic militant groups in Central Asia, especially in the Kyrgyz and Tajik portions of the Ferghana Valley, appears to be growing, according to the US State Department’s recently released annual report on terrorism. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav050809a.shtml E03688E5-E5E6-409D-AF7A-961C7B4EE67F Fri, 8 May 2009 17:27:08 -0400 BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN A new front has opened in the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict and it is centered in Washington, DC. Frustrated by the effectiveness of Armenian-American advocacy groups to shape debates in the United States, Baku is now looking to its diaspora for a little public-relations support. http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav050809c.shtml 32A0AE4F-CE76-40D2-858D-0F88A6D3B9AD Fri, 8 May 2009 17:26:42 -0400 BY NICHOLAS BIRCH Nationwide, the CHP only managed to get 2 percent more votes than in general elections in 2007. But in Istanbul, Turkey’s biggest city, it increased votes by 10 percent, losing by a neck to a popular mayor from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). "Win Istanbul and you are half way to winning Turkey", says Adil Gur, a leading pollster. "A CHP victory would have been a huge coup." http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav050709.shtml B4BBCB82-6C2E-4D3E-B5C9-2C009EDBA925 Fri, 8 May 2009 17:26:08 -0400