Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from May, 2006
Mongolia: Defining Corruption
Luke Distelhorst writes that Mongolia's parliament had quite a hard time making any progress on their anti-corruption bill as they got bogged down in trying to define corruption.
Afghanistan: Riots
Sohrab Kabuli writes about the bloody riots in response to a road accident involving US military forces and includes some first-hand reporting.
Armenia: Montenegro Precedent
Onnik Krikorian asks whether or not Montenegro's vote for independence is a precedent for Nagorno-Karabakh.
Kyrgyzstan: The Meeting Happened!
Edil Baisalov, a Kyrgyz opposition leader, takes issue with negative coverage of last weekend's protest in Bishkek (Russian) that characterized the event as a failure that took the wind out of the opposition's sails. In his opinion, that the protest took place makes it a success.
Kyrgyzstan: Protest
CXW of neweurasia has a report on last weekend's protest in Bishkek calling for the government to enact reforms and combat corruption.
Mongolia: Construction Season
Luke Distelhorst says that, because of the country's climate, construction is restricted to a few months of the year. Though floods and snow can strike even in late May, construction season is upon Mongolia, though Luke notes that at one site, none of the workers speak Mongolian.
Kyrgyzstan: Endangered Languages
neweurasia reports on a political party in Kyrgyzstan seeking to protect the status of the Russian language in the republic.
Kyrgyzstan: Opposition Rally
Yulia of neweurasia reports on Saturday's opposition protest in Bishkek during which Kyrgyz opposition members demanded significant reform by September.
Armenia: Fire in Kond
A fire broke out in Yerevan's historic Kond neighborhood, destroying five homes. Blogrel notes some strange inaccuracies in the local media's coverage of the fire. Onnik Krikorian discusses the issue further and has pictures of the aftermath.
Kazakhstan: Caspian Saber-Rattling
Ben Paarmann explains why Kazakhstan is expanding its naval power in the Caspian Sea.
Voices from Central Asia and the Caucasus
Vakhs valley, March 2006, Erik Petersson, Dushanbe Pictures. Welcome to the latest roundup from the Central Asian and Caucasian blogosphere, brought to you by neweurasia. First off, apologies for the long delay in presenting you this edition. Now that final year exams are over, our postings should appear bi-weekly again....
Ukraine: GUAM Founds ODED
Vilhelm Konnander writes about a new organization whose founding members are Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova (GUAM): the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (ODED), to be based in Kyiv, Ukraine. GUAM-ODED is intended as an alternative to the Commonwealth of Independent States
Russia: Ethnic Uzbek in Moscow
Moscow-based LJ user gr_s (Grigoriy Sapov) hitched a cab and ended up having a conversation with the driver, an ethnic Uzbek (RUS): An Uzbek Driver Yesterday. The driver is elderly, respectable, speaks without an accent: *** The conversation began when we were getting out to the embankment through Neopalimovskie Lanes....
Mongolia: Textile Export Drop
neweurasia reports that Mongolia's textile exports to the United States have suffered tremendously since quotas on textiles were lifted in 2005.
Armenia: A1 Denied Frequency
Onnik Krikorian says that the popular A1 has been again denied a broadcast frequency, a decision Onnik says is “yet another blow to press freedom” in Armenia.
Mongolia: Windfall Profits Tax
Luke Distelhorst reports that Mongolia's controversial windfall profits tax on mining is now law and he carries the reaction from Ivanhoe Mines, a major investor in the country's mining sector.
Kazakhstan: Education Spending
Ben Paarmann notes that Kazakhstan plans to boost its spending on education.
Armenia & Azerbaijan: Momentum for Peace
Onnik Krikorian says that momentum for peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Karabakh continues.
Kyrgyzstan: Citizenship & Civility
Students in Kyrgyzstan write about citizenship and civility.
Mongolia: Parliamentary Walkout
Luke Distelhorst reports on the walkout from parliament of Mongolia's Democratic Party over the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party efforts to delay by-elections for a seat formerly held by a Democratic Party member.
Kyrgyzstan: HIPC
Kyrgyz students call for their country not to join the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.
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