Global Voices Online

The Armenian Observer posts a roundup of some of the opinions on radical opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian's apparently conciliatory 2 May speech. While most blogs consider that the former president's words were indeed more moderate than in the past, whether such an approach represents strength or weakness is open to debate.

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.