The OSCE summit, which opened December 1 in Kazakhstan, is offering member states an important opportunity to address regional security concerns. It also is providing a chance for participants to address shortcomings in the sphere of human rights.
Yanki is a 23 year old who is tall and beautiful. Walking around Istanbul, people regularly gaze at her, many with quizzical, even critical looks. “I want to be accepted by society because I am just like everybody else,” she says. But it is not so easy for a transgender woman in Turkey to gain acceptance.
The U.S. plans to expand security cooperation with Central Asia, U.S. diplomats say, according to The Bug Pit blog last week. That means they will increase the capacity of the Northern Distribution Network (NDN), the system to deliver non-lethal military cargo for U.S. and NATO forces through Central Asia to Afghanistan. The U.S.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake visited Uzbekistan November 9-10, 2010, his third trip since assuming his current position. Little information was provided from the U.S.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul met with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov on November 12 in the Caspian resort city of Turkmenbashi, state and regional media reported. The Turkmen leader said relations between the two countries "have a great future," especially given the trade turnover of more than $2 billion this year, with 600 Turkish companies registered in Turkmenistan.
After the European Union decided to move to a more cooperative approach with Turkmenistan when extending its interim trade agreement last year, and after the U.S. decided to increase cooperation with the annual bilateral consultations (ABCs), the multilateral organizations deepened their already-soft approach.
A scandal is brewing in Turkey around judicial proceedings against a group of men accused of murdering Hrant Dink, a prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist. Interior Ministry bureaucrats are being assailed for acting above the law, and the government in general is facing criticism for not doing enough to pursue allegations of official misconduct.
Uzbekistan is still receiving U.S. military aid, despite efforts by the U.S. Congress to impose restrictions due to the human rights situation, according to a report from Open Society Foundations (OSF) by Lora Lumpe. Congress first imposed restrictions on military aid in 2002, and then the State Department cut off aid in 2004 when it could not certify under U.S.
The topic of civilian casualties in military operations in Afghanistan is attracting lots of international attention these days. But a far more serious problem from the Afghan perspective is the matter of avoidable deaths connected to a lack of human security.
