Melis Eshimkanov recently announced his candidacy for the October 29 presidential poll in Kyrgyzstan. He is editor of influential Kyrgyz-language independent newspaper 'Asaba,' and leader of the opposition El (Bei-Bechalar) Party. Although only 38, he is a veteran opposition activist.
Turkey's relations with Central Asian states are perhaps at the lowest point since the breakup of the Soviet Union. The diplomatic downturn has occurred during a domestic political transition, in which the charismatic Suleyman Demirel has been succeeded as president by the more reserved Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
Known formally as the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE), the Helsinki Final Act was a product of the Cold War agenda. The conference process opened in Helsinki in November 1972, continued sporadically in other European capitals, and concluded in Helsinki on August 1, 1975.
Seeking to bolster China's energy and security interests, Chinese President Jiang Zemin continued a trip to Central Asia, stopping in Turkmenistan on July 6.
China is approaching this year's G-5 summit to be held July 5 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan -- with an agenda containing both traditional and new goals. In addition to China and Russia, the summit involves the Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Participants will seek to strengthen common interests in trade, border issues and regional security.
Once dubbed "countries in transition," almost all of them have in fact already completed their transitions away from communism. However, the transitions have been not fully to democracy but to various forms of authoritarianism that will jeopardize human rights protections in the foreseeable future. It is time to hold their governments to tougher standards.
The announcement on June 10 that the Taliban is amassing armored vehicles and anti-aircraft defense systems just 15 kilometers from the Uzbek town of Termez is likely to intensify pressure on regional governments to rally military allies. Yet authorities in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, in particular, appear to be greeting Russia's saber-rattling with mixed feelings.
More than 10,000 representatives from 189 countries, including those in Central Asia and the Caucasus, and hundreds of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) gathered this week at the United Nations to discuss the status of women in the world.
Reading Central Asia and the New Global Economy is a must for anybody who professes an interest in this particular region. The book does a superb job at exploring two themes - the dissimilarity among the Central Asian republics on the one hand, and the region's lack of a sustainable economic framework on the other.
Despite the secretary general's praise, stability remains tenuous in Tajikistan, and the country's future in the post-peace process era is uncertain. [See Eurasia Insight]. One of the major threats to stability in Tajikistan is connected with drug trafficking.
