7/30/2019 Central Asia & South Caucasus News 114 (the Conway Bulletin)

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Central Asia & South Caucasus News.

POLITICSGEORGIA: More arrests

Police in Georgia arrested more senior

officials, mainly linked to the opposition,throughout the week in an operation some have

described as a witch-hunt by the new government.

Highlighting the alarm felt by Georgias foreign

allies, the US publicly asked the authorities

to stop the arrests (Nov. 16).

GEORGIA: Opposition leader returns

After five years in exile, Georgias former

defence minister Irakli Okruashvili returned to

Tbilisi to face accusations of bribe-taking and

forming an illegal armed group (Nov. 20). Mr

Okruashvili had been an ally of GeorgianPresident Mikheil Saakashvili before becoming

an opposition leader in 2007 and then fleeing.

MEDIAKAZAKHSTAN: Police raid media

In their latest effort to close opposition

media, the Kazakh authorities asked the courts

to label TV station K+ and the Respublika and

Vzglyad newspapers as extremist and ban them

(Nov. 21). This year, in the wake of riots in

the west of the country, the authorities have

cracked down on media it views as troublesome.

KYRGYZSTAN: ICG researcher accused

Kyrgyz authorities have accused an Irish

researcher, Conor Prasad, working for the

Brussels-based think tank International Crisis

Group (ICG) of stirring ethnic tension in Osh,

media reported (Nov. 22). The ICG, which

publishes influential reports on Central Asia,

and Kyrgyzstan in particular, denied the

allegations.

FOCUS: Kyrgyzstans economy

>>Recent economic news from Kyrgyzstan presents conflicting future prospects

Instability stalks Kyrgyzstan. Its prone to revolution, the rule of law is weak, corruption

is deeply-rooted and ethnic tensions simmer just below the surface.

Under-pinning all this is its relatively impoverished economy. Alongside Tajikistan,

Kyrgyzstan is the poorest country in Central Asia, with little arable land or natural resources.

All this makes the Kumtor gold mine in the mountains of eastern Kyrgyzstan so important.

Its owned by Toronto-listed Centerra Gold (which is, itself, part owned by the Kyrgyz

government). The mine makes up around 12% of the countrys annual GDP.

Thats why the announcement earlier this month by Centerra that the gold reserves at the

mine are actually more than 50% larger than originally thought was so important (Nov. 8).

Centerra went further and said the life-span of the mine would be extended by another five

years to 2023. Good news, indeed, for Kyrgyzstan.Less positive was an announcement by the national bank that it expects inflation to be

higher in 2013 than first thought (Nov. 19). It now forecasts inflation in 2013 at around 11%,

up from an earlier forecast of 8%. Rising food prices have created the inflationary pressure

-- a bad economic sign not just for Kyrgyzstan but for the entire Central Asia region.

ENERGYTURKMENISTAN: Production at gas field to start

A Turkmen official told Reuters that production

at the worlds second largest gas field,Galkynysh, would begin next year (Nov. 16).

Galkynysh was confirmed as the worlds second

largest gas field last year and, when production

begins, will cement Turkmenistans status as one

of the regions most important energy producers.

AZERBAIJAN: BPs problems

A senior official at SOCAR, Azerbaijans state

energy company, hinted that the BP-lead group

developing the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) field

in the Caspian Sea would be expected to invest

more cash into the project to maintainproduction, media reported (Nov. 21). Azerbaijan

has complained about below-expected production

rates at the field.

TUKMENISTAN: Gas to Iran

Media quoted Sahatmurad Mamedov, chairman of

state energy company Turkmengaz, denying that

Turkmenistan had cut gas supplies to Iran

because of a pricing dispute, as reported last

week by Iranian media (Nov. 22). Instead Mr

Mamedov said gas had been stopped to fix the

pipeline and that the flow had now re-started.

ECONOMYTAJKISTAN: Remittance kings

World Bank data showed, again, that Tajikistans

economy is the most reliant in the world on

remittances, media reported (Nov. 22). In 2011,

remittances, mainly from Russia, accounted for

47% of Tajikistans GDP. Second on the list was

Liberia with a 31% share. Remittances made up

29% of Kyrgyzstans GDP last year.

Issue no. 114

Nov. 23 2012 (covering Nov. 16 - 22)

Edited in London

editor@theconwaybulletin.com

www.theconwaybulletin.com Copyright 2012The Conway Bulletin, 12 Melcombe Place, London NW1 6JJ

The Conway Bulletin: Independent newssheets covering Central Asia & the South Caucasus