Global Voices Online

The Armenian Patchwork reports on day two of the official pre-election campaign for next month's presidential election in Armenia. She posts photographs of a rally held by presidential hopeful and former head of state Levon Ter-Petrosian in the Armenian capital, Yerevan. Despite the cold weather, thousands of supporters from the regions of Armenia took part in an unauthorized march.

Recent Links also in Central Asia & Caucasus

Musafirbek says that the president of Uzbekistan officially thanked the cotton-growers for gathering the harvest of this strategic product for Uzbekistan. However, those who sweat away, collecting this cotton (including children) were not mentioned in the president’s address.

Alexander Visotzky writes about the opening of a monument in Astana, the new capital of Kazakhstan, where the authorities uncovered a 15-foot high bronze statue of incumbent president Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Dafydd reports that the EU has lifted the arms embargo on Uzbekistan. Reasons given are abolishment of the death penalty and release of political prisoners.