Boletín Noviembre 2007

Boletín mensual: NOVIEMBRE 2007 http://www.observatorio-eurasia.blogspot.com/

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GEORGIA: GOVERNMENT USES FORCE TO RESTORE ORDER, PULLS PLUG ON TV BROADCASTER The Georgian government forcibly broke up protests in Tbilisi on November 7 after five days of anti-government demonstrations. While there are no known casualties, over 200 people have sought medical treatment after Special Forces fired tear gas and used water cannons on crowds in downtown Tbilisi and at an impromptu alternative protest site.

Fuente: www.eurasianet.org Continúa en p.11

MOSCOW CITY COURT LEAVES THREE SUSPECTS OF INVOLVEMENT IN POLITKOVSKAYA'S MURDER UNDER ARREST The Moscow City Court has rejected the complaints lodged by advocates of the brothers Tamerlan and Ibragim Makhmudovs and Magomed Demelkhanov who asked to release the three convicts in the murder case of Anna Politkovskaya, observer of the "Novaya Gazeta".

Fuente: http://eng.kavkaz.memo.ru/ Continúa en p.17

KAZAKHSTAN: MORE MEDIA SILENCED AS HIGH-STAKES FEUD CONTINUES The Kazakh media has been caught in the crossfire as mudslinging continues between a former presidential son-in-law and the country’s ruling elite.

Fuente: www.eurasianet.org Continúa en p.25

GAZPROM, ENI TO INK PIPE DEAL Gazprom and Italy's Eni will sign a deal on Thursday confirming their plan to build a new pipeline to supply Russian gas to Europe, industry sources said.

Fuente: www.themoscowtimes.com Continúa en p.31

INDICE

Política...........................p.3 Medios de comunicación........................p.22

Economía........................p.28


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El Observatorio Eurasia es un proyecto que se encuadra dentro de la línea de “Historia de la propaganda y análisis de la comunicación política” del Grupo Interdisciplinario de Estudios en Comunicación, Política y Cambio Social (COMPOLITICAS), y tiene como

principal objetivo el estudio, investigación y difusión de los principales fenómenos políticos, culturales y comunicacionales que tienen lugar en el antiguo espacio soviético.

Coordinador

Miguel Vázquez Liñán

Responsable del número Fernando Márquez Herrero


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POLÍTICA - Titulares

ARMENIA BACKS OSCE MONITORING CURBS AHEAD OF PRESIDENTIAL VOTE www.eurasianet.org,01/11/2007

GEORGIA: OPPOSITION LEADERS STATE THEIR CASE IN WASHINGTON

www.eurasianet.org, 02/11/2007

GEORGIA: PROTESTERS PLEDGE CONTINUOUS DEMONSTRATIONS www.eurasianet.org, 02/11/2007

GEORGIA: GOVERNMENT USES FORCE TO RESTORE ORDER, PULLS PLUG ON TV

BROADCASTER www.eurasianet.org, 07/11/2007

UZBEK ELECTION WATCHDOG CLEARS KARIMOV FOR THIRD TERM

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, 19/11/2007

MOSCOW CITY COURT LEAVES THREE SUSPECTS OF INVOLVEMENT IN POLITKOVSKAYA’S MURDER UNDER ARREST

Caucasian Knot, 19/11/2007

PARTIES PROTEST NEW VOTING THRESHOLD IN KYRGYZSTAN RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, 21/11/2007

SAAKASHVILI EXPECTED TO BE NOMINATED AS CANDIDATE FOR EARLY ELECTIONS

Associated Press (AP) en www.pravda.ru, 23/11/2007

PRESIDENT PARTY'S CAMPAIGN SCARES SOME VOTERS Associated Press (AP) en www.pravda.ru, 30/11/2007

ARMENIA BACKS OSCE MONITORING CURBS AHEAD OF PRESIDENTIAL VOTE Emil Danielyan, 01/11/2007, www.eurasianet.org With only four months to go before Armenia’s next presidential election, Yerevan has endorsed

controversial Russian proposals that would seriously restrict the work of Western election observers acting

under the aegis of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Leading Armenian opposition parties portray the move as a sign that the administration of outgoing

President Robert Kocharian is not intent on ensuring the freedom and fairness of the vote, scheduled for

early 2008. Significantly, representatives of Kocharian’s three-party governing coalition have also spoken

out against the proposed curbs, raising more questions about the Armenian leadership’s motives.

The Russian proposals were submitted to the OSCE secretariat in Vienna on September 18 and are

expected to be discussed by the foreign ministers of the organization’s 56 member states at a meeting in

Madrid on November 29-30. In particular, they would slash to 50 the maximum number of observers which

the OSCE’s election-monitoring arm, the Warsaw-based Office for Democratic Institutions and Human

Rights (ODIHR), can deploy in any member nation. Under the proposals, ODIHR observers would be


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allowed to assess the conduct of elections only after the publication of their official results. What is more,

the OSCE’s governing Permanent Council, made up of representatives of all member governments, would

be involved in the drawing up of those assessments.

The initiative is widely linked with Russia’s own December 2 parliamentary elections, a vote which

President Vladimir Putin and his allies hope to win by a landslide. The Kremlin makes no secret of its

displeasure with ODIHR monitors’ criticism of the previous Russian parliamentary elections held in 2003.

Moscow’s OSCE envoy, Alexei Borodavkin, accused the monitors last week of bias against Russia and

other, Moscow-friendly former Soviet republics, the Interfax news agency reported.

Five of these countries -- Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan --

endorsed the Russian proposals. Elections held in these ex-Soviet states have likewise been judged

deeply flawed by Western observers representing the OSCE and other international organizations.

Explaining Yerevan’s position last week, a spokesman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Vladimir

Karapetian, stopped short of openly accusing the OSCE of bias. But he said that the organization needs to

undergo "reforms" that would make it "more representative, transparent and equal for everyone." However,

Armenian opposition leaders dismissed the explanation and claimed that the authorities are disinterested

in the proper conduct of the approaching presidential election.

"Their behavior proves the fact that they are not prepared for free and fair elections because they believe

they would definitely lose such elections," said Aram Sarkisian, leader of the radical Republic Party and a

key ally of former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, who recently announced his own presidential bid. "They

will, therefore, try to hold unfair elections at any cost," Sarkisian told EurasiaNet.

A spokesman for the opposition Heritage Party, one of the two opposition groups represented in Armenia’s

parliament, also warned of a government "cover-up" of possible vote rigging. "What do the authorities want

to hide from the OSCE?" asked Hovsep Khurshudian. "If, as they say, everything is going to be all right [in

the elections,] why do they support these restrictions?"

"It is also dishonorable for Armenia to act in covenant with dictatorial countries like Belarus and

Uzbekistan," Khurshudian added.

Yerevan’s support for the Russian proposals is all the more surprising given the fact that Armenia’s most

recent parliamentary elections, held last May and swept by pro-government parties, were found to be

largely democratic by more than 200 observers deployed by the OSCE/ODIHR. "Armenia did not have any

problems with the number of our observers and their findings," ODIHR spokeswoman Urdur Gunnarsdottir

told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on October 26. "So we don’t see any good reason why Armenia

would support such a proposal now."

The United States has also rejected the Russian proposals.

Senior lawmakers from the three parties represented in the Armenian government voiced their opposition

to any curbs on Western-led vote monitoring in separate news briefings on October 26. "I think the larger


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the monitoring missions coming here are, the more objective their conclusions will be," said Eduard

Sharmazanov of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), led by Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian.

"I personally am against that," said Avet Adonts of the pro-Kocharian Prosperous Armenia Party, the

second largest parliamentary force. "The more international organizations monitor our electoral processes,

the better."

Hrayr Karapetian, the parliamentary leader of the RPA’s second coalition partner, the Armenian

Revolutionary Federation, went further, suggesting that foreign observers be deployed in each of

Armenia’s roughly 2,000 electoral precincts. With Kocharian and Sarkisian widely believed to be single-

handedly making key government decisions, such statements are not expected to influence the country’s

two top leaders, though.

Observers note that it is not the first time that Armenia joins Russia, its main international ally, in

demanding a "reform" of OSCE bodies promoting democratization. Yerevan has also sided with Moscow in

other international organizations like the United Nations and the Council of Europe. All of which raises the

question of whether the Kocharian administration backed the latest Russian proposals with an eye towards

the approaching presidential ballot or out of solidarity with the Kremlin. Opposition leaders believe that

both considerations were at play.

"The Armenian authorities were simply afraid having problems with Russia," claimed the Republic Party’s

Sarkisian. "The Russians must have exerted pressure on them, and that is another reason why the

Armenian authorities backed those proposals."

Khurshudian, for his part, complained that Armenian foreign policy is now "tied to the interests of a foreign

power." "We are very concerned that Armenia’s sovereignty has diminished so dramatically," he said.

Editor’s Note: Emil Danielyan is a freelance reporter based in Yerevan.

FUENTE: http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav110107bb.shtml

GEORGIA: OPPOSITION LEADERS STATE THEIR CASE IN WASHINGTON Joshua Kucera, 02/11/2007, www.eurasianet.org

Striving to enlist international support in its struggle against President Mikheil Saakashvili’s administration,

the newly united Georgian opposition is sending delegations to key western capitals, in particular

Washington. Opposition leaders are advocating for policy adjustments toward Georgia aimed at making

the government more accountable for the democratization process.

The international delegations are part of a strategy to build on the rapid momentum achieved since the 10-

party opposition coalition, the National Council of Unified Public Movement, was formed just over a month

ago.


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The coalition formed after former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili made sensational allegations of

murder and corruption against Saakashvili, and was arrested two days later. Two weeks after that, he was

released and recanted his accusations.

The entire episode has raised concerns about Georgia’s democratization process and has made

policymakers in Washington – by far Saakashvili’s strongest international supporters – more receptive to

the opposition’s message, according to Tinatin Khidasheli, a member of the Republican Party who

organized the Washington trip this week.

"The developments in Georgia really made this visit easier, compared to last time when I had a hard time

convincing the people to see us," she said in an interview with EurasiaNet. "I think 15,000 people on the

street in one evening, that made a big difference. It made people not just in Georgia but in Washington as

well, doubt that Saakashvili is able to manage this crisis properly."

The delegation – consisting only of members of the Republican Party, but representing the entire 10-party

council – met on October 29 with representatives of several US officials at the State Department. The

group also met with members of Congress, the White House National Security Council and Washington

think tanks, Khidasheli said.

The opposition is trying to convince US policymakers to make stricter demands on Georgia in exchange

for support for Georgia’s bid for NATO membership. Georgia is hoping to reach the next level of NATO

membership, a Membership Action Plan, at the alliance’s April summit in Bucharest.

"Unfortunately, the only leverage that still exists on my government is Washington. No one else has any

leverage on them. And we understand that MAP is something that can be sold with a very high price to the

Georgian government," she said. "Our message is, at the Bucharest summit make sure something good

happens for Georgia, but it happens only if you use your leverage on the Georgian government."

The opposition has published a manifesto arguing for several changes to Georgia’s political system,

including early elections next spring and more opposition representation on the election commission. It

also accuses Saakashvili of "usurping power."

It’s not certain to what extent Washington policymakers are listening to the opposition. Government

officials interviewed said that the events of the last month do not suggest that Georgia’s democratic

development is in danger.

"I would call it a bump in the road. You’re always going to have, in a healthy democracy, scandals of some

sort," said one US government official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "How they respond to it is up to

them, and Georgia is a young country T and they’re probably going to make mistakes. They have

traditions that aren’t the best in the world to fall back on and they may overreact. But I can tell you that no

one here is wringing their hands over how Okruashvili was treated. We’re paying attention to it, we’re

watching how things develop, but from our point of view, so far so good."

"If you can step back from the last three months or so, and look at the big picture, Georgia has really done

some remarkable things, particularly in the economic sphere," said a State Department official, also


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speaking on condition of anonymity. "That said, we would hope that both the opposition and the

government in Tbilisi could focus less on the political tactics of one-upping each other, and more on the

greater good of Georgia."

US officials are more concerned that the events of the last month will sour some of Georgia’s European

allies, the first official said. "The concern has been, ‘how is this read elsewhere -- in Paris or Berlin,’" the

official said. "If Georgia wants to sell its case with some of the allies, who are far more skeptical compared

to us, then they have to make progress on these areas – they can’t just talk about it, they have to do it."

"What concerns me is that people lose sight of just how much Georgia has done," the official continued. "In

terms of defense reform and defense institution-building, you could make the argument that Georgia is

making as much progress or more than many of the countries in the western Balkans. Also, look at

Georgia’s political transformation, civil society compared to the largest country in the region T Russia,

where you see increased centralization of power."

Lowering the international stakes on Georgia’s political battle is the fact that the opposition has little

difference with the current government over the broad direction of the country. In fact, the opposition

members have argued in Washington that they are more capable than Saakashvili to carry out Georgia’s

western-oriented reform agenda.

"Georgia is so far a very pro-western, pro-Euro-Atlantic integration, pro-NATO, pro-democracy state with

big potential," Khidasheli said. "But at the same time, Tcynicism is developing in the country and we don’t

want to end up in a situation where in the end of the day you get a very US- or EU- or NATO-skeptical

population who will turn their backs and say, ‘Well, we know Russia is an enemy and we don’t want to go

back to the Soviet Union, but there is something fundamentally wrong with the other direction as well.’ And

we are on this edge now, that we might end up with a scenario like this. This is our major concern about

the development of the country."

Editor’s Note: Joshua Kucera is a Washington, DC,-based freelance writer who specializes in security

issues in Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East.

FUENTE: http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav110207b.shtml

GEORGIA: PROTESTERS PLEDGE CONTINUOUS DEMONSTRATIONS Molly Corso; Photos by Molly Corso and Sophia Mizante, 02/11/2007, www.eurasianet.org

In perhaps the largest demonstrations since the Rose Revolution, thousands of protestors from throughout

the country gathered outside the Georgian parliament on November 2 to demand early legislative elections

and a Georgia "without a president." While the government has refused to compromise on the election

issue, the opposition has vowed to continue the protest until its goals are met.

Four leading figures from a 10-party opposition coalition – former Foreign Minister Salome Zourabishvili,

Conservative Party member Kakha Kukhava, and Republican Party leaders Tina Khidasheli and David


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Berdzenishvili – were granted a meeting with Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze in the evening of

November 2.

The coalition is also agitating for the reform of the election system to include opposition members in

electoral committees, the introduction of first-past-the-post parliamentary representation and the release of

political prisoners. Coalition leaders wore white neck scarves at the rally reportedly as a symbol of their

demand that so-called prisoners of conscience be freed from jail.

Burjanadze rejected the idea of holding parliamentary elections in April 2008, as desired by the opposition.

Speaking at a news briefing, the parliamentary speaker said that sticking with Georgia’s current election

date – sometime in early autumn 2008 for both the presidential and parliamentary vote – is "very important

for the country’s interests and it’s a very correct decision for the country." She did not elaborate.

Burjanadze, however, indicated that conversations are still continuing about the opposition’s remaining

three demands, and emphasized that the government is "always ready for dialogue."

Although the opposition had billed the protest in front of parliament as a warning for President Mikheil

Saakashvili’s administration, they took pains throughout the day to tone down their rhetoric, calling on

supporters to be aware of "provocations."

The mood at the demonstration was largely peaceful, with few police to be seen. Clashes with law

enforcement officers were limited to a small scuffle when protestors attempted to remove a huge poster

depicting opposition leaders as marionettes controlled by pro-opposition tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili. The

businessman recently announced plans to finance the opposition movement and to surrender his shares in

media company Imedi. Two protestors were arrested while trying to pull the poster down, although Rustavi

2 television, a pro-government media outlet, later reported that they were released.

In a surprise move, Patarkatsishvili himself briefly addressed the rally, the first such appearance for the

London-based tycoon. As the crowd chanted "Badri" and "Sakartvelo (Georgia)," Patarkatsishvili shied

away from definitive statements, but urged rally participants to do "the maximum so that the government

will enter into a dialogue" that would allow a "people’s government" to be formed via elections.

The absence of one other public figure acted as a further fuel for some protestors and opposition leaders.

According to media reports, former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili, whose scandalous charges against

President Saakashvili ignited the current opposition campaign, left Georgia on November 1 for "medical

treatment" in France. Okruashvili was arrested in late September on various criminal charges, and later

released on bail after he retracted his accusations.

His supporters, however, maintain that the ex-minister was planning to attend the November 2

demonstration and that security personnel forced him to leave the country under threat of a fresh arrest.

Okruashvili lawyer Eka Beselia told the pro-opposition newspaper Rezonansi (Resonance) on November 1

that the former minister was planning "to answer all questions" about the methods allegedly used to

prompt his retraction. His wife and daughter remain in Tbilisi, she said.


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Opposition leaders have traveled the country over the past month in an effort to drum up support for the

November 2 demonstration. In a scene reminiscent of the lead-up to Georgia’s 2003 Rose Revolution, a

convoy of honking cars – 20-kilometers-long, according to one opposition leader – arrived in Tbilisi late on

November 1, with protestors taking up position outside of parliament.

Georgian media reported on November 1 that some attempt had been made to prevent other protestors

from reaching the capital by disrupting mini-bus traffic. Members of the governing National Movement

Party denied these allegations.

Police officers at the scene November 1 estimated the demonstration size at anywhere from 10,000 to

50,000 participants. Opposition leaders had predicted a turnout of at least 100,000.

Turnout size, though, is unlikely to sway the government, at least publicly, argues Dr. Tina Gogueliani, a

political analyst with the International Center for Conflict and Negotiations and a research fellow with the

Washington DC-based World Security Institute. The government is trying to play down the opposition’s

potential strength by "closing its eyes" to the protest, she said.

Nonetheless, the opposition is now more organized, and likely has the staying power to continue the

protests several days, Gogueliani predicted. "[The opposition leadership are] all people who participated in

the Rose Revolution. They know how things work," Gogueliani said. "It is highly probable that today

nothing will really happen – [the protest] needs to continue one or two days."

Salome Zourabishvili, Konstantine Gamsakhurdia and several senior members of the Republican Party

recently traveled to Brussels and Washington, DC, in an effort to build up international support for the

opposition’s cause. However, speaking at a Tbilisi summit on cooperation with Europe on November 1, US

Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried denied that the United States

is prepared to mediate between the government and opposition, describing the parties as "weak."

"The United States does not see its role as a mediator," he said while speaking to the press November 1.

"I think that it is for the Georgian government, the Georgian political parties, including the Georgian

opposition, to work out the rules of the game in a democratic fashion."

Analyst Gogueliani agrees: "I think that, first of all, Georgia itself and the Georgian population should

decide what it wants [and] what it likes and why they don’t like the current regime."

Editor’s Note: Molly Corso is a freelance reporter and photojournalist based in Tbilisi.


[email protected] 10

Under the popular slogan "Georgia without a President," the protestors joined in an attempt to force the government to

call elections in March or April. So far there is no government support for the initiative. (Molly Corso for EurasiaNet)

Several thousand protesters from 10 different government opposition parties joined forces at a large protest rally in front

of the parliament building in Tbilisi on Nov. 2. (Molly Corso for EurasiaNet)



Opposition leaders throw white ribbons into the crowd to be worn as a symbol of solidarity with the opposition. (Sophia

Mizante for EurasiaNet)

FUENTE: http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav110207.shtml#

GEORGIA: GOVERNMENT USES FORCE TO RESTORE ORDER, PULLS PLUG ON TV BROADCASTER Molly Corso; Photos by Molly Corso and Sophia Mizante, 07/11/2007, www.eurasianet.org

The Georgian government forcibly broke up protests in Tbilisi on November 7 after five days of anti-

government demonstrations. While there are no known casualties, over 200 people have sought medical

treatment after Special Forces fired tear gas and used water cannons on crowds in downtown Tbilisi and

at an impromptu alternative protest site. Amid government appeals for calm, officials also moved to take a

pro-opposition television station off the air.

In a televised speech, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili emphasized that Georgia respects the

democratic right to protest, and blamed Moscow for the developing crisis.

Less than two hours after his statements, the pro-opposition television station Imedi, owned by News

Corp., was closed by Special Forces as its nightly news broadcast was in progress. The station was

attacked earlier in the day by ruling National Movement Party parliamentary majority leader Maia

Nadiradze for inciting protesters.

In remarks that echoed earlier accusations by government supporters, the president claimed that an

"alternative government" has been set up in Moscow, and that plans exist to install that government in

Georgia by the end of the year.



"A machine of lies is working against us. That machine of lies was born in a country very close to us ... this

situation was born [there] ... they are trying to destroy us," he told viewers.

The Georgian parliament’s human rights ombudsman, Sozar Subari, denounced the Saakashvili

administration’s actions. "It has been established today that we are Lukashenko’s Belarus, and not a

beacon of democracy," Subari was quoted as saying by the Civil Georgia website.

In an appeal for calm, Saakashvili raised memories of Georgia’s turbulent post-independence period and

civil war. "We all remember ’92," he said, referring to a time when parts of downtown Tbilisi were left in

ruins following civil strife. "We will not allow this to repeat itself."

Saakashvili called for protesters to return home, saying that "[w]e cannot allow huge clashes and riots" that

"threaten our future." Police action against protesters was "civilized," he asserted, though added that "my

heart hurts that violence was used against the protesters - and it was used in several places."

Government officials have defended the use of force, claiming the 10-party opposition movement is

infiltrated with Russian agents and engaged in "grave crimes." The Georgian ambassador to Russia, Irakli

Chubinishvili, was called back to Tbilisi on November 7 "for consultations" in connection with the protests,

according to Georgian media reports.

On the afternoon of November 7, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs released for television broadcast

several alleged audio and video recordings of conversations and meetings between opposition leaders

and alleged Russian intelligence service representatives in Tbilisi. Opposition leaders featured on the

tapes included Labor Party leader Shalva Natelashvili, Republican Party parliamentarian Levan

Berdzenishvili, former State Minister for Conflict Resolution Giorgi Khaindrava, and Tsotne Gamsakhurdia,

brother of Freedom Party leader Konstantin Gamsakhurdia.

The telephone conversations, starting in 2005, mostly touch on meeting times and information that is

publicly available. One conversation with Berdzenishvili covers parliament’s discussion of Georgia leaving

the Commonwealth of Independent States; a second with Natelashvili covers a visit of Open Society

Institute founder George Soros to Tbilisi. [EurasiaNet.org is financed by the Open Society Institute’s

Central Eurasia Project.]

Government supporters maintain that the conversations prove Moscow’s interest in fostering instability in

Georgia via the opposition protests. "Everyone has seen that the large part of our opposition is cooperating

with our enemy," Givi Targamadze, a Member of Parliament and chairman of the parliamentary committee

for defense and security, said at a press conference on November 7. "These traitors were using ordinary

people [protesters] for their dirty goals."

However, members of the opposition and their supporters have denied any connection with Russia or the

Russian intelligence services. "I am not going to comment on these allegations," Khaindrava told

EurasiaNet. "When a government poisons its own people T there is no need for comment."

Khaindrava was briefly detained by police early November 7 after he resisted an effort to push protesters

from their position in front of the parliament. Demonstrators had been protesting in front of parliament



since November 2 in an effort to force the government to hold early parliamentary elections in the spring of

2008, among other demands. While the protests started peacefully, the situation deteriorated as the

government steadfastly refused to compromise on the election date.

Speaking with reporters late November 7, Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze said that her offer of

dialogue with the opposition had not yet been accepted. Pro-Saakashvili demonstrators, chanting "Misha!,"

have meanwhile gathered in front of parliament.

Opposition coalition leaders could not be reached for comment.

Tensions between the two sides reached the boiling point when police removed a few dozen protesters left

in front of parliament after organizers announced they planned to erect a "tent city" at the site.

"[I]t [the break up of the protest] is in the interest of each of our citizens, their legitimate wish that the city,

as well as the country, will never again turn into a town of camps, car wheels and sleeping bags," Tbilisi

Mayor Gigi Ugulava told reporters. "Tbilisi will not return to the 1990s, when this kind of mayhem and

chaos could be allowed."

However, protesters resisted, closing the city’s central Rustaveli Avenue after clashing with police later in

the morning. By early afternoon, Special Forces were deployed at the parliament and began forcibly

pushing back a growing crowd of protesters and onlookers with tear gas and water cannons. After an

extended push-and-pull that involved the beating of some demonstrators and bystanders, police regained

control of the area in front of parliament.

Health Minister Davit Tkeshelashvili stated that over 200 people sought medical attention at local

hospitals. Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli defended the decision to use tear gas and water cannons,

commenting that they are measures "usually used in Western countries."

As the government worked to break up the demonstrations on Rustaveli Avenue, opposition leaders

regrouped at Rike, a historic square less than ten miles from the parliament. Riot police, however, used

tear gas to disperse the hundreds of protesters gathered there; television footage from the square showed

some protesters being taken away by ambulance while others started to throw rocks at the police.

Meanwhile, a similar scene unfolded in front of a subsequent protest site, outside of Tbilisi’s Metekhi

Church, with riot and regular police moving in to fire tear gas and chase stone-throwing demonstrators.

Protesters, made up largely of young men, chased some riot police down a roadway, while scores of

others gathered on a hillside overlooking the Mtkvari River.

Late on November 7, protesters regrouped in front of the nearby Tsameba (Holy Trinity) Cathedral.

Television footage from the site showed priests interceding with riot police, as some scattered groups of

demonstrators gathered nearby. Members of former defense minister Irakli Okruashvili’s United Movement

for Georgia Party gave interviews from the church while lighting candles.

Patriarch Ilia II had earlier called for calm, saying that the Georgian Orthodox Church was ready to act as a

mediator between the government and opposition.

Editor’s Note: Molly Corso is a freelance reporter based in Tbilisi. Alexander Klimchuk and Sophia

Mizante are freelance photographers based in Tbilisi.

Riot police march up Rustaveli Avenue behind a truck with a water cannon. After five days of protests in

front of the Georgian parliament, police units forcibly broke up the opposition

Mizante for EurasiaNet)

Protesters race away from police and tear gas. (Alexander Klimchuk for EurasiaNet)

FUENTE: http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav110707.shtml#

Boletín mensual: NOVIEMBRE 2007http://www.observatorio-eurasia.blogspot.com/

[email protected]

Molly Corso is a freelance reporter based in Tbilisi. Alexander Klimchuk and Sophia

Mizante are freelance photographers based in Tbilisi.


the Georgian parliament, police units forcibly broke up the opposition-lead demonstration. (Sophia

Protesters race away from police and tear gas. (Alexander Klimchuk for EurasiaNet)

http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav110707.shtml#

NOVIEMBRE 2007 eurasia.blogspot.com/

[email protected]

Molly Corso is a freelance reporter based in Tbilisi. Alexander Klimchuk and Sophia


lead demonstration. (Sophia



UZBEK ELECTION WATCHDOG CLEARS KARIMOV FOR THIRD TERM

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, 19/11/2007, http://www.rferl.org Uzbekistan's election watchdog has cleared the way for incumbent President Islam Karimov to seek seven more years in office, despite a constitutional ban on third terms

The Central Electoral Commission did not address the specifics of Karimov's candidacy at a brief press

conference today to announce his and three other candidates' registration for the December 23 election.

But the commission appears to have rejected critics' arguments that the two-term limit bars the only

president in Uzbekistan's post-Soviet history from running again.

Observers had widely predicted that Karimov would skirt that clause of the constitution, presumably by

arguing that referendums in 1995 and 2002 rendered at least one of his two terms inapplicable.

Karimov, who will turn 70 in January, was nominated by the Liberal Democrats, one of Uzbekistan's five

registered political parties.

His stranglehold on media and other institutions makes his reelection all but certain.

Election Commission Chairman Mirzoulugbek Abdusalomov announced that Karimov would be joined on

the ballot by three other candidates who are generally regarded as loyal to the current president.

The rivals are Asliddin Rustamov, from the pro-government People's Democratic Party; Dilorom

Toshmukhamedova, the country's first-ever female presidential candidate, who was nominated by the

Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party; and Akmal Saidov, who chairs a parliamentary commission on

democratization and civil society and heads the National Human Rights Center. Saidov was put forward as

candidate from a citizens' group.

Abdusalomov said two other applicants failed to collect signatures from 5 percent of Uzbekistan's

estimated 16 million eligible voters, as required by law.

A Long Tenure

Karimov has been in office since 1989, first as a Communist Party boss of what was then the Uzbek Soviet

republic. He was elected president in December 1991, shortly after Uzbekistan gained independence;

however a 1995 referendum extended his first term by five years. In 2000 Karimov won a second term with

nearly 92 percent of the vote, but another referendum two years later extended that presidential stretch

from five years to seven.

Western election observers have never recognized an Uzbek election as fair or democratic.



Karimov provided early operational support to the United States' "war on terror," and his country's fossil

fuel deposits lend it considerable weight as the West seeks to diversify energy supplies.

But relations with the West have flagged since a bloody crackdown on demonstrators in eastern

Uzbekistan in May 2005 followed by Tashkent's new embrace of Moscow.

FUENTE: http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/11/3597F25E-461B-4ED6-A905-D5FF22FA2139.html

MOSCOW CITY COURT LEAVES THREE SUSPECTS OF INVOLVEMENT IN POLITKOVSKAYA'S MURDER UNDER ARREST CAUCASIAN KNOT, 19/11/2007, http://eng.kavkaz.memo.ru/

The Moscow City Court has rejected the complaints lodged by advocates of the brothers Tamerlan and

Ibragim Makhmudovs and Magomed Demelkhanov who asked to release the three convicts in the murder

case of Anna Politkovskaya, observer of the "Novaya Gazeta".

The "Interfax" reports that the advocates asked to recognize illegal and cancel the ruling of the Basmanny

Court to extend the custody of the three figurants till January 7. The term of investigation was also

extended till that date.

During the court session Ibragim Makhmudov's advocate presented documents about his diseases.

Besides, the complaint contained references to new circumstances in favour, in the opinion of the defence,

of Makhmudov's non-involvement in the crime: results of the forensic-biological examination.

Tamerlan Makhmudov's case was the next on the agenda. Advocate Laura Shabaeva has noted that in

October 2006 her client was in his homeland, in the Chechen Republic.

"His alibi is an evidence of his non-involvement in the crime," said the defender, having emphasized that

until today the materials presented by the defence in favour of Tamerlan Makhmudov's alibi have not been

examined by the investigation. According to Ms Shabaeva, her client is interested in establishment of the

truth and wants to continue his study, as he is a fourth-year student of one of Moscow's higher school.

Then, the court started to consider the complaint of Magomed Demilkhanov's advocate. The advocate has

stated that not a single procedural action was undertaken with his client during the custody. However,

there was one exception: "An inspector came to prison without the advocate but with some expert and took

a strand of hair from his head," defender Abdurakhman Shabaev said.

After the session, the advocates have declared that they will appeal against the decisions to higher

instances.

FUENTE: http://eng.kavkaz.memo.ru/newstext/engnews/id/1201875.html



PARTIES PROTEST NEW VOTING THRESHOLD IN KYRGYZSTAN RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, 21/11/2007, http://www.rferl.org Concern is being raised in Kyrgyzstan over a requirement that political parties must pass a certain threshold in each of the country's seven regions in order to win parliament seats in elections next month

Kyrgyzstan's first parliamentary elections based on party lists are set for December 16 after a new

constitution and laws were passed in an October referendum.

These are the first parliamentary elections since President Askar Akaev was ousted in the Tulip Revolution

in March 2005.

The Central Election Commission has ruled that according to the new election law, parties must get at

least 13,500 votes, or 0.5 percent of the overall total of registered voters nationwide, in each of the

country's seven provinces and two biggest cities, Bishkek and Osh -- a rule meant to prevent regional

parties from making it into the national parliament.

This requirement is in addition to the 5 percent of the votes parties must receive nationwide in order to

gain representation in parliament.

Speaking on November 19, Central Election Commission Chairwoman Klara Kabilova said the "0.5

percent" requirement is needed to "consolidate and strengthen the role of political parties."

But in a joint address to President Kurmanbek Bakiev, 11 opposition parties have urged him to abolish the

regional election threshold, saying it's against the constitution and regional interests.

"We appeal [to the president] as the guarantor of the constitution to cancel the illegal decision by the

Central Election Commission," Kubatbek Baibolov, a member of the opposition Atameken (Fatherland)

party, told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service. "If he does not take any decision by tomorrow evening [November

21], then we have decided to meet again tomorrow evening in order to consider further actions. The

actions might be of any kind. There could be a boycott of [parliamentary elections]. There could be rallies."

Meanwhile, the Civil Committee for Voter Rights Protection called the requirement a "serious obstacle" for

parties to enter parliament. The committee was set up on November 14 by several nongovernmental

organizations to protect voters' rights.

In a November 20 statement, the group said there was a "real danger" that the requirement may lead to

"new conflicts among the population." It said the requirement prevented citizens from having equal access

to the process of making governmental decisions and running the country.

A total of 22 parties have applied for registration to participate in the vote. Campaigning is officially due to

start on November 26.



FUENTE: http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/11/89260BDB-30EF-470C-BC5B-400E13FD4C05.html

SAAKASHVILI EXPECTED TO BE NOMINATED AS CANDIDATE FOR EARLY ELECTIONS

Associated Press (AP), 23/11/2007, www.pravda.ru

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili is expected to be nominated as his party’s candidate in an early

election in January.

It was four years to the day after peaceful protests led by Saakashvili forced the resignation of his

predecessor.

The United National Movement was expected to formally nominate Saakashvili at a party congress

coinciding with celebrations of the 2003 Rose Revolution, which ushered him to power, and a major

religious holiday in the predominantly Orthodox Christian ex-Soviet republic.

After his government chased protesters off the streets in a harsh crackdown earlier this month, Saakashvili

called for a presidential vote Jan. 5 - a bid to outfox his opponents and defuse the strongest challenge to

his tenure since his landslide election following the Rose Revolution.

In a campaign-style speech to more than 10,000 supporters at the congress in a sports arena, Saakashvili

said Georgia was facing "a moment of truth - a crucial moment for every one of us."

Saakashvili, whose term had not been slated to end until early 2009, called the early vote as a concession

to opposition forces, who mounted persistent protests in early November. Their demands for changes in

election schedules became overshadowed by calls for his resignation.

Saakashvili responded with a crackdown in which riot police used truncheons, tear gas, water cannon and

rubber bullets to sweep thousands of demonstrators off the streets. Hundreds were injured, and the

violence deepened disappointment among many Georgians.

But the poll date leaves the opposition little time to capitalize on a groundswell of public discontent.

Saakashvili's critics say he has become increasingly authoritarian, and the enthusiasm that handed him a

landslide victory in the election after the Rose Revolution has faded amid economic hardship and

corruption, which has persisted despite his reform efforts.

Saakashvili told the party congress his government will focus on improving living standards so that "every

person, every family feels improvements in their lives."

Pensions will be raised Dec. 1, he said.

Saakashvili also emphasized commitment to building close ties with the United States and regaining

control over two separatist regions - goals most of his opponents support.



"My life and the lives of my colleagues would lose all meaning if we cannot unite Georgia and integrate the

country with Euro-Atlantic structures," he said.

Saakashvili is seeking NATO membership for Georgia and trying to lessen the influence of its giant

neighbor Russia, which he claimed was behind the recent opposition push.

The congress was held amid celebrations to mark the Rose Revolution anniversary and a religious holiday

honoring St. George, considered the patron saint of the Caucasus Mountain nation. Churches held

services Friday, and outdoor concerts were planned in the evening.

In a ceremony laden with anti-Moscow symbolism, Saakashvili presented visiting Polish President Lech

Kaczynski with Georgia's highest state award, the St. George medal. He said he was honoring Polish

struggles against the Soviet government in the 1920s and 1930s.

St. George "did not have great physical might, but by strength of will defeated foes including the most

powerful empire and emperor," Saakashvili said.

He was also to meet with Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus. Poland and Lithuania, formerly in the

Soviet sphere but now European Union and NATO members, are strong supporters of Saakashvili's pro-

Western course.

In a trademark grand gesture, Saakashvili signed an amnesty decree ordering the immediate release of

772 prisoners, and lawmakers said parliament would consider his calls to free more than 2,000 others

soon.

FUENTE: http://english.pravda.ru/world/101542-saakashvili_nominated-0

PRESIDENT PARTY'S CAMPAIGN SCARES SOME VOTERS

Associated Press (AP), 30/11/2007, www.pravda.ru

Vladimir Putin's aggressive campaign to mobilize voter support for his party has made it a near certainty

that it will sweep Sunday's parliamentary election.

Many Russians, though, say they have found the campaign obtrusive. And this is true not only on the

streets of Moscow but in places like Yekaterinburg, a snow-covered industrial city in the Ural Mountains.

While the Kremlin and its allies have worked hard in recent weeks to create the impression that Putin and

his party are riding a groundswell of voter enthusiasm, some Russians criticize the governing party's

attempt to use Putin's popularity to secure victory.

"It's more of a personality cult than a clever campaign tactic," said Viktor Ishukov, 40, a state energy

company employee in Yekaterinburg.



"None of the people I know supports Putin and many have been put off by exactly this obtrusive

campaign," he said. "Everyone is sick of it, United Russia is everywhere: in your mail box, on TV, on the

radio."

With a population of about 1.5 million, Yekaterinburg is Russia's fourth largest city and is among the

country's fastest-developing, with new office and residential buildings towering above old ones.

This historic 18th century city has witnessed some of the grimmest moments in Russian history: This is

where the Bolsheviks executed the last czar, Nicholas II, along with his family in 1918. The city, known in

Soviet times as Sverdlovsk, was also the site of a deadly 1979 anthrax outbreak that American scientists

blamed on an accident at a biological weapons plant.

There were few signs of the election campaign on Yekaterinburg's streets, with only a few billboards

advertising United Russia along with other pro-Kremlin parties. Two activists with the liberal Yabloko party

stood on a busy commercial street handing out leaflets.

Andrei Khachaturov, Yabloko spokesman in Yekaterinburg, alleged that in recent weeks local officials

have harassed the opposition by seizing party newspapers and mobilizing voters for United Russia. Local

universities, he said, have scheduled classes for Sunday so they can be certain all their students show up

to vote.

"They want to ... legitimize the next parliament because it's likely it will be void of any liberal opposition," he

said.

Slava Bozhkov, of the Movement Against Violence rights group, said that his mother was a longtime

supporter of United Russia but became disenchanted during the campaign. She was upset with United

Russia's eighth party congress Oct. 1, he said, where Putin announced he would lead the party ticket in

Sunday's elections.

The congress was reminiscent to many of Communist Party congresses of the Soviet era. "This is a

complete return to the past," Bozhkov quoted his mother as saying.

Putin has said a big victory for United Russia would give him the "moral authority" to hold the government

and parliament accountable. It could also pave the way for him to return as president in 2012, or sooner if

the next elected president does not complete his term. The constitution bars Putin from seeking a third

consecutive term in the March 2 presidential election.

Putin and United Russia also have their supporters here. Gyulnara Gyumusheva and Marina Zvereva, 18-

year-old law students, said they will vote for the United Russia ticket Sunday. "We support our president,"

said Gyumusheva. No one, they said, has pressured them into voting for the dominant party.

Retiree Vitaly Kuznetsov, 57, standing at a bus stop, said he would vote for Putin and United Russia as

well, although his support was tempered by doubts the president had done all he claimed. "Even though

there is still no stability, at least he has slowly started to put things in order," Kuznetsov said.



The former metal worker, who lives on a monthly pension of 3,000 rubles, or about US$125, did not seem

to feel his vote counted for much anyway. "In our country, no matter who you vote for, they will anyway put

in power someone of their own choice," he said.

Tatyana Repina, 37, a saleswoman in a boutique, said she has not decided which party to support. But

she said many of her family and friends have been put off by United Russia's use of Putin's popularity as

their trump card in the election.

"It's not honest to use the president as a cover," she said.

FUENTE: http://english.pravda.ru/russia/102064-Putin_campaign-0



MEDIOS DE COMUNICACIÓN - Titulares

KAZAKHSTAN: INDEPENDENT MEDIA OUTLETS FACE CLAMPDOWN www.eurasianet.org,01/11/2007

KAZAKHSTAN: MORE MEDIA SILENCED AS HIGH-STAKES FEUD CONTINUES

www.eurasianet.org, 10/11/2007

OPPOSITIONAL SITE INGUSHETIA.RU ANNOUNCES ITS TERMINATION Caucasian Knot, 30/11/07

KAZAKHSTAN: INDEPENDENT MEDIA OUTLETS FACE CLAMPDOWN

Joanna Lillis, 01/11/2007, www.eurasianet.org

Independent media outlets in Kazakhstan are facing a clampdown, as allegations and counter-

allegations continue to fly over the activities of the president’s former son-in-law, Rakhat Aliyev

Representatives of four newspapers say they are facing coordinated measures – ranging from tax and fire

inspections to publishing difficulties. Meanwhile, several websites that regularly carry material on the

Aliyev case remain inaccessible in Kazakhstan.

Journalists from the four weeklies – Respublika, Svoboda Slova, Taszhargan and Vzglyad, all known for

publishing articles critical of the government – are unequivocal about the reasons behind what they portray

as an attack on media freedom. They point to publications about Aliyev and continuing allegations about

who is responsible for the 2006 murder of opposition leader Altynbek Sarsenbayev. In a clear attempt to

implicate his former father-in-law, President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Aliyev in late October told Radio Free

Europe/Radio Liberty that the order for the killing was given in Austria while the president was holidaying

there.

"It’s clear that the pressure is linked to material published about Rakhat Aliyev and someone at the top is

very much afraid that Rakhat will leak information on who ordered and carried out Altynbek Sarsenbayev’s

murder," Respublika editor-in-chief Galina Dyrdina told a news conference in Almaty on October 31. Aliyev

is living in self-imposed exile in Austria after a failed extradition bid by Kazakhstan. [For background see

the Eurasia Insight archive].

Tax inspectors have visited Respublika’s office several times over the past few days and attempted on

November 1 to deliver a court summons, which staff declined to accept without a lawyer present. Tax

officials also visited Svoboda Slova and Vzglyad, attempting to check documents and seize computers. "A

nationwide blockade is under wayT They are afraid of information about who killed Sarsenbayev,"

Gulzhan Yergaliyeva, editor-in-chief of the Svoboda Slova newspaper, told the news conference.

Svoboda Slova and Taszhargan were unable to distribute their weekly editions after publishing houses

pulled out of agreements to print the newspapers, and other publishers declined their business.



Respublika was planning to go to press on November 1, with the edition intended to hit newsstands the

next morning.

Users in Kazakhstan have been unable to access independent websites such as www.kub.kz,

www.zonakz.net and www.inkar.info since mid-to-late October. The timing coincides with the anonymous

leaking to Internet sites of audio recordings purportedly containing conversations among senior officials. It

has not been lost on observers in Kazakhstan that the tapes, if genuine, reveal closely intertwined links

between authorities and oligarchs. Interior Ministry spokesman Bagdat Kozhakhmetov dismissed the tapes

as unworthy of comment. "We are not paying any attention. T There is nothing to comment on," he told

EurasiaNet.

With the leaked tapes seen by some observers as an attempt to blacken Aliyev’s enemies, another rival –

Almaty Mayor Imangali Tasmagambetov – remains in his position despite months of speculation that he

would be ousted as Nazarbayev sought to realign political forces in the wake of the Aliyev case.

As the results of a probe into illegal land allocation in and around Almaty were made public on October 29,

Tasmagambetov appeared to have survived politically – at least for the immediate future. Others are likely

to suffer the consequences for the 1,460 infringements found by the investigation into how elite houses

ended up being built in Almaty’s national parks. Prime Minister Karim Masimov recommended firing a

previous mayor of the commercial capital, Emergencies Minister Viktor Khrapunov, along with two of

Tasmagambetov’s deputies, several district officials and the chairman of the State Agency for Land

Allocation, Bakhyt Ospanov. Nazarbayev, who has the final say on the matter, issued a decree November

1 removing Khrapunov.

The Aliyev case continues to generate controversy, with questions raised in some circles in Kazakhstan

about why action was not taken against him earlier, if – as authorities now say – he was the leader of a

criminal group, implicated in abduction and possibly murder.

Aliyev still faces considerable pressure, as Kazakhstani officials plan to try him in absentia. In mid-October,

they announced that a body found near a property belonging to Aliyev’s father in Almaty Region may be

one of the two Nurbank officials who disappeared in early 2007. Aliyev is suspected of playing a role in the

disappearances. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav020907.shtml

With Aliyev continuing to protest his innocence and counter with his own allegations, journalists say the

public has a right to hear his views as well as those of the government. "Ordinary people have basically

been denied access to information," Rozlana Taukina, director of the Journalists in Danger foundation, told

the October 31 news conference.

With less than a month remaining before a decision is made on Kazakhstan’s bid to chair the OSCE in

2009, the timing of the moves against the independent media – coinciding with the opening of the OSCE’s

annual Central Asian Media Conference in Dushanbe – is questionable, said Dyrdina, the newspaper

editor: "There’s an impression that someone is deliberately undermining our leadership, that someone

doesn’t want Kazakhstan to receive the OSCE chairmanship."



Yergaliyeva goes further, pointing to statements by Aliyev that he has supporters in Kazakhstan, and

questioning whether they are manipulating the situation. "This is a very well-organized act of sabotage

against the image of the president and of Kazakhstan," she said.

The editors are considering actions ranging from legal measures to political protest. They have called for

the support of Information Minister Yermukhamet Yertysbayev – who could not immediately be reached for

comment. They have also called on authorities to rethink their stance toward independent media outlets.

"What’s worse: Rakhat’s compromising material, or the consequences of such a blockade of papers and

websites?" asked Yergaliyeva. "They [officials] have to choose the lesser of two evils."

Editor’s Note: Joanna Lillis is a freelance writer who specializes in Central Asia.

FUENTE: http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav110107.shtml

KAZAKHSTAN: MORE MEDIA SILENCED AS HIGH-STAKES FEUD CONTINUES

Gulnoza Saidazimova A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY (RFE/RL), 10/11/2007, www.eurasianet.org

The Kazakh media has been caught in the crossfire as mudslinging continues between a former presidential son-in-law and the country’s ruling elite

Four opposition weeklies that planned to republish a recent RFE/RL interview with Rakhat Aliev have been

rejected by their publishing houses and did not go to print today, amid veiled official threats.

"All newspapers that have recently published either interviews or the flurry of information given out by the

former son-in-law, or any comments, have seen tough pressure," says Rozlana Taukina, the head of the

Kazakh nongovernmental group Journalists in Trouble.

In a telephone interview with RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service on October 26, Aliev appeared to accuse his

former father-in-law, President Nursultan Nazarbaev, of ordering the execution-style killing of opposition

leader Altynbek Sarsenbaev and two aides in 2006.

Less than a week later, on November 1, Almaty city prosecutors announced that Aliev will be tried in

absentia on charges of involvement in abductions, financial wrongdoing, and abuse of official powers.

Aliev is among the most senior defections ever from the inner circle of Kazakhstan’s tight-knit ruling class.

The opposition, mindful of Aliev’s years of dedicated service to the autocratic Nazarbaev, has kept Aliev at

arm’s length since his fall from official grace. But they and presidential allies clearly recognize that he has

been privy to the inner workings of a secretive Kazakh government.

The recent maelstrom could also affect Kazakhstan’s bid to chair the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2009, which still hangs in the balance. OSCE foreign ministers are due

to meet in Spain later this month to vote on the bid.



Suddenly, Problems Arise

Problems for the Russian-language independent weekly "Svoboda slova" began on October 29, when its

publishing house, Speed Master Print, refused to print the November 2 issue.

"Svoboda slova" Editor in Chief Gulzhan Ergalieva says she then turned unsuccessfully to several other

printing houses but "they all refused" the job for "various reasons." She says the next day, October 30,

brought two visits to "Svoboda slova" from the financial authorities. "They told us that they received a tip

that we had violated tax legislation by hiding some funds and not meeting our tax obligations to the state

treasury," she says.

Similar events were occurring at two other publications, "Respublika" and "Vzglyad." The publishing house

for the Kazakh-language opposition weekly "Taszhargan" also turned away that paper, which was visited

by fire-safety officers.

An officer with the Kazakh financial authorities who was contacted by RFE/RL’s Almaty correspondent said

she had no information about any of the cases.

Galina Dyrdina, a deputy editor at "Respublika," thinks the troubles stem from the weekly’s plans to print

coverage of what has been dubbed "Rakhat-gate." "Someone is afraid that Rakhat [Aliev] could publish --

particularly through our newspaper -- information about who is really behind the killing of Altynbek

Sarsenbaev," Dyrdina says.

Sarsenbaev, his driver, and a bodyguard were shot dead outside Almaty in February 2006. Fellow

members of the opposition continue to allege top-level involvement in the killings despite a trial this year

that resulted in the conviction of mid-level security and other officials for those deaths.

Hushing Up Embarrassing Revelations

That’s where estranged son-in-law Aliev comes in. A former deputy chairman of the National Security

Committee who later served as ambassador to the OSCE and Vienna, Aliev told RFE/RL that the order for

Sarsenbaev’s killing came from Austria while President Nazarbaev was there on holiday.

Aliev was married to Nazarbaev’s eldest daughter, Darigha, until she divorced him long-distance in June

after the accusations arose against him. In August, an Austrian court rejected Kazakhstan’s extradition

request, saying Aliev could not receive a fair trial in Kazakhstan. In September, two of Aliev’s bodyguards

in Vienna fled to Almaty and were said to have implicated their former boss in criminal activities, including

the high-profile abduction of two senior Nurbank executives.

In a move criticized by international media watchdogs, Kazakh authorities blocked several opposition

websites in late October, citing mostly technical reasons.

Independent journalists and rights activists called the move political censorship, coming as it did after the

websites posted wiretapped phone conversations purportedly among senior officials, implicating them in

serious wrongdoing. All the downed websites had recently run stories on apparent government attempts to



silence Aliev. They all also linked the closures to the posting of the transcripts, some of which include

apparent references to Aliev.

Journalists in Trouble’s Taukina alleges that the heads of several newspapers were summoned to the

Interior Ministry some two weeks ago, where they received instructions from the Interior and Culture and

Information ministries "not to publish information that comes from the Kazakh president’s former son-in-

law."

President Nazarbaev has not been shy about his ambitions of making Kazakhstan, which sits on large

fossil-fuel and uranium deposits, a regional powerhouse in Central Asia.

But "Respublika’s" Dyrdina says the current official pressure on independent newspapers tarnishes the

international image of a country that is trying hard to prove its democratic credentials.

The U.S.-based nongovernmental group Freedom House in its draft freedom-of-the-press report for 2007

describes Kazakhstan as "not free" and notes that "the authorities allow limited press freedom but

safeguard the existing power structure against dangers that truly independent media might pose."

Editor’s Note: RFE/RL Kazakh Service Director Merkhat Sharipzhan and correspondent Maryam

Beysenkyzy contributed to this report from Prague and Almaty.

FUENTE: http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp111007.shtml

OPPOSITIONAL SITE INGUSHETIA.RU ANNOUNCES ITS TERMINATION Vyacheslav Feraposhkin (correspondent), 30/11/2007, http://eng.kavkaz.memo.ru/

On November 29, an announcement appeared in the Internet website Ingushetia.Ru, which had

been oppositional to the authorities of Ingushetia, that it would be terminated in the nearest two-

three days

"In the coming 2-3 days, the website Ingushetia.Ru will be closed. The site administration is ready to hand

over all the materials accumulated by the portal - photos, video records, books, articles, audio files, etc. -

to any initiative group, which will create a new site and go on with the cause started by us for the welfare of

the people of Ingushetia and our Republic. The domain name www.ingushetiya.ru shall not be transferred,"

runs the announcement.

The message gives no reasons of this decision. It just expresses the regret that "the people of Ingushetia

have failed to save the sole national independent Internet resource."

The announcement remained for some time at the address of http://www.ingushetiya.ru/news/12479.html,

but disappeared at about midnight.

Earlier, on November 27, the Ingushetia.Ru had informed that "several days ago Yakhya Evloev (father of

the owner of the website), a resident of the city of Malgobek, was visited by about 20 representatives of



the kin of Evloevs." According to the website, among the visitors of the father of entrepreneur Magomed

Evloev there were Zelimkhan Evloev (head of the administration of the city of Karabulak of the Republic of

Ingushetia) and Salamkhan Evloev (deputy head of the administration of the RI's President), Vakha Evloev

and Mukhtar Buzurtanov, deputies of the National Assembly of Ingushetia, Khava Evloev, deputy chairman

of the RI's government, and others.

"They asked Yakhya to affect his son and persuade him to stop to oppose President Zyazikov and the

incumbent power in the Republic. Then, Yakhya Evloev demanded that he stop the website Ingushetia.Ru.

At all times, with the Ingushes father's will has been the law", the Ingushetia.Ru writes. Under this

message, a video address of Yakhya Evloev to his son, the owner of Ingushetia.Ru, was placed.

FUENTE: http://eng.kavkaz.memo.ru/newstext/engnews/id/1202620.html



ECONOMÍA - Titulares

TURKMENISTAN: STILL AN INDEPENDENT ENERGY PLAYER IN CENTRAL ASIA www.eurasianet.org, 09/11/07

GAZPROM, ENI TO INK PIPE DEAL

The Moscow Times, 22/11/2007

UES INTER RAO UNIT PLANS IPO FOR 2009 The Moscow Times, 27/11/2007

TURKMENISTAN: STILL AN INDEPENDENT ENERGY PLAYER IN CENTRAL ASIA Stephen Blank, 09/11/2007, www.eurasianet.org

Turkmenistan continues to be a wild card in Central Asia’s contest over natural resources and

export routes, a fact that casts doubt on Russia’s ability to implement its grand energy plan for

the region

Ashgabat has long had a reputation for fickle behavior in energy matters – an image mainly fostered by

former dictator Saparmurat Niyazov’s penchant for unpredictable behavior. Niyazov signed a landmark

natural gas deal with Russia in 2003, but in ensuing years he caused consternation in the Kremlin with

demands to renegotiate the price.

Following Niyazov’s sudden death in late 2006, observers hoped Turkmenistan would follow a steadier

path under new leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov. While Berdymukhamedov in 2007 has certainly

been consistent in his calls for limited domestic reform, Turkmenistan’s energy policy remains shrouded in

uncertainty.

Turkmenistan, namely the country’s vast reserves of natural gas, is a critical element in a Russian initiative

to foster a regional energy cartel. Such a cartel, from the Kremlin’s viewpoint, would ensure desired price

and production levels, as well as render the US geopolitical position in Central Asia untenable.

Many experts believed that when Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan signed a deal in May to expand

the Prikaspiisky pipeline, Ashgabat had finally committed itself firmly to Moscow’s energy blueprint. Since

then, however, Berdymukhamedov has defied expectations, and has continued to pursue what he

describes as an omni-directional or multi-vector foreign policy.

Berdymukhamedov’s movements over the past week underscore his determination to keep

Turkmenistan’s energy options open. And that determination threatens Russia’s present advantage in

Central Asia’s energy game.

On November 4, Berdymukhamedov held "frank and friendly" talks in Ashgabat with Chinese Prime

Minister Wen Jiabao, according to Turkmen television. Energy issues figured prominently in the



discussions, and Turkmen reports quoted Wen as characterizing Turkmenistan as one of China’s "most

reliable, trustworthy and friendly" partners. The Turkmen leader expressed eagerness to proceed with

construction of a pipeline that would enable Ashgabat to deliver to China upwards of 30 billion cubic

meters of natural gas per year for 30 years starting in 2009. Berdymukhamedov noted that bilateral trade

turnover had climbed to $303 million during the first nine months of 2007, up from $24.7 million for all of

2000, going on to predict that completion of the pipeline would foster a dramatic rise in commerce. In

addition, Turkmenistan granted licenses to Chinese entities to explore for and possibly develop natural

resources on the right side of the Amudarya River.

For Ashgabat, the Chinese pipeline project clearly represents an effort to diversify gas exports away from

Russia, which now takes more than 70 percent of Turkmenistan’s gas production. Yet, among foreign

experts, skepticism continues to surround the Chinese project. For one, since the two countries lack a

common border, other countries – Kazakhstan and/or Uzbekistan – will have to get involved. Meanwhile,

many observers question whether Turkmenistan has the natural gas reserves to honor all its obligations.

Russian officials and observers have habitually downplayed Turkmenistan’s capabilities to dissuade others

from buying its gas, especially China, along with India and Pakistan.

Berdymukhamedov insists that Turkmenistan has more than enough gas to meet its commitments to both

Moscow and Beijing. His government also appears to have gained the support of neighboring states. For

example, Uzbekistan’s foreign minister, Vladimir Norov, has signaled Tashkent’s support for the pipeline.

The realization of the Turkmen-Chinese pipeline could dash Russia’s hopes to maintain a controlling

interest over energy flows in the region. And to add insult to injury for Russia, the Chinese could end up

paying slightly less for Turkmen gas than what Moscow pays. Turkmen gas currently costs Russia $100

per thousand cubic meters of gas, and China is striving to fix its price at $90/tcm.

Turkmenistan is not only looking east, but it also intent on cultivating stronger ties with the West. The day

after his talks with Wen, Berdymukhamedov departed for discussions with top European Union officials in

Brussels. There, Turkmen leader insisted that his country was maintaining an "open door" policy,

according to a Turkmen television report.

On November 6, news reports circulated that Britain had concluded a "protocol of intentions" with

Turkmenistan, opening the way for British interests to participate in the development of the Central Asian

nation’s energy sector.

On top of his open-door stance, Berdymukhamedov continues to entertain the possibility of Turkmenistan’s

participation in a trans-Caspian pipeline. Taken together, Turkmenistan appears in no hurry to align itself

with one of Central Asia’s major energy players – Russia, China, the EU or the United States. Instead of

drawing to a close, the regional energy contest might now just be starting to really heat up.

Berdymukhamedov’s actions also reinforce the point that what happens in Turkmenistan and Central Asia

no longer stays in Turkmenistan and Central Asia.

Editor’s Note: Stephen Blank is a professor at the US Army War College. The views expressed this article

do not in any way represent the views of the US Army, Defense Department or the US Government.



FUENTE: http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav110907b.shtml

GAZPROM, ENI TO INK PIPE DEAL Reuters, 22/11/2007, www.themoscowtimes.com

Gazprom and Italy's Eni will sign a deal on Thursday confirming their plan to build a new

pipeline to supply Russian gas to Europe, industry sources said

Sources close to both Gazprom and Eni said Wednesday that the deal would be signed as part of Italian

Prime Minister Romano Prodi's visit to Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin.

In June, Gazprom and Eni unveiled a preliminary plan to build a 900-kilometer South Stream pipeline that

would go under the Black Sea, come ashore in Bulgaria and proceed to Austria, Slovenia, Italy and

possibly Greece.

Bulgarian officials have previously estimated the cost of South Stream at 10 billion euros ($14.81 billion).

Some of the gas for the pipeline, carrying 30 billion cubic meters a year, will come from Eni's Russian

fields, previously operated by bankrupt oil firm Yukos.

Analysts have interpreted the plan as an attempt by Gazprom to undermine a rival plan by Azerbaijan to

supply southern Europe via Turkey through a pipeline known as Nabucco.

Nabucco, seen as important to diversify Europe's sources of gas away from reliance on Russia, is owned

by a consortium of Austria's OMV, Hungary's MOL , Turkey's Botas, Bulgaria's Bulgaraz and Romania's

Transgaz.

Gazprom -- which supplies Europe with a quarter of its gas needs -- has long sought alternative routes to

avoid current transit states Ukraine and Belarus.

FUENTE: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/11/22/042.html

UES INTER RAO UNIT PLANS IPO FOR 2009 Combined Reports (REUTERS & Bloomberg), 27/11/2007, www.themoscowtimes.com

National utility Unified Energy System's import and export firm Inter RAO will launch an initial public

offering in 2009 on both foreign and local exchanges, the firm's strategy director, George Rizhinashvili,

said Monday.



"We have already started this process. In 2008 we will get our financing through loans, even though we

plan for some of the [existing] shares of Inter RAO to start trading already in 2008," Rizhinashvili said.

Inter RAO is the export arm of state-controlled utility Unified Energy System, which holds a 60 percent

stake in the firm. State-owned nuclear energy monopoly Rosenergoatom owns the rest.

Part of the funds will go towards increasing the firm's power production capacity, which now stands at 7

gigawatts. Some 5.75 gigawatts of Inter RAO's production capacity are at installations outside of Russia,

mainly in Moldavia, Georgia, Armenia and Kazakhstan.

Over the next seven to eight years, Inter RAO plans to spend between $14 billion and $15 billion to raise

this capacity more than fourfold to 30 gigawatts, Rizhinashvili said.

"The company's position and its strategy calls for expansion in the fast growing markets of the former

Soviet Union, as well as in Europe and Asia," he said.

Inter RAO, a vertically integrated firm with more than 20 subsidiaries in 10 countries, depends on the sale

of power at home and abroad for 66 percent of its income. Most of the rest comes from its power

distribution networks.

Its parent company, UES, is in the process of selling off all of its assets so it can cease to exist by July

2008.

The goal of the sell-off is to raise investment for the country's antiquated power systems and to open the

power market to free competition for the first time.

Inter RAO is considered a strategic asset by the government and will be controlled by the state after it is

broken off from UES.

Rizhinashvili said Inter RAO shareholders would meet Dec. 12 to discuss the future structure of the

company, which has not yet been made clear.

Rosenergoatom has resisted the consolidation of Inter RAO's subsidiaries into a single firm, as such a

structure would threaten its ability to hold on to even a blocking stake.

Inter RAO officials have said the most likely structure will be a holding company of various electricity

assets.

UES will offer new shares in its TGK-7 unit to the public and sell the government's outstanding stake

separately through an auction, chief financial officer Sergei Dubinin said Monday, Interfax reported.

The company will sell TGK-7 shares in the first quarter of 2008 and seek a stock-exchange listing for the

unit, while the auction will go ahead in the second quarter, Interfax reported.

UES's board will vote on the plan Nov. 30, the company said.



FUENTE: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/11/27/041.html

Boletín Noviembre 2007

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