Global Voices Online

The Armenian Gay & Lesbian Association of New York (AGLA) responds to an email from a LGBT person in Armenia requesting information on immigration and asylum procedures in the U.S. The blog responds, but also offers its assistance in helping LGBT people in Armenia find others in order to feel less isolated and vulnerable.

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.