Latest posts by Adil Nurmakov from June, 2011
Kazakhstan: A journalist strips naked for the truth
Tomyris reviews the blogosphere's reactions to the new project of Guljan Yergaliyeva, prominent opposition journalist and hard-hitting critic of the authorities, as she is stripping in a promo video on YouTube.
Kyrgyzstan: Political news website banned
Abulfazal reports that the Kyrgyz parliament passed a bill that bans the Ferghana Information Agency’s web site (better known as Ferghana.ru) in Kyrgyzstan for “subjective coverage of the June 2010 clashes” in Southern Kyrgyzstan.
Tajikistan: A BBC journalist arrested
Tomyris says that Urinboy Usmonov, longtime local journalist for BBC Central Asian Service, was arrested in Tajikistan for suspicion membership in the Islamic Movement Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Turkmenistan: The Tower of Media and Totalitarianism
Emerson writes that a 137 million euro television tower – both state-of-the-art and hypocritical – is set to be inaugurated in October in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. neweurasia’s Emerson reports.
Kazakhstan: HIV-positive prisoners demanding respect
Avicenna reports that a group of HIV-positive prisoners from High Security Prison in Kazakhstan are complaining about discriminatively poor food provision and medical care.
Uzbekistan: U-17 football team to go to World Cup
Mansurhon reports that Uzbekistan's Under-17 football team gets to the play-off level of the FIFA World Cup Mexico 2011, beating USA and Czech Republic.
Kyrgyzstan: Shoring Up the Southern Border
Christya Riedel writes that the number of deadly cross border shootings has escalated on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border, making Kyrgyzstan reinforce its southern borders in order to improve security.
Afghanistan: Instability on the Borders
Joshua Foust analyzes the continuous tensions on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and direct fighting between the two country's militaries, and says the situation is aggravating.
Kazakhstan: Fighting Internet Piracy
Kazakhstan is undergoing a new scandalous development with regards the Internet – this time about regulation of copyright online. On 29 April, 2011, a special roundtable that brought together lawyers, industry representatives and state bodies took place, where the “three strikes method” of fighting piracy was presented.
Afghanistan: $60 million class action against Blackwater
Nick Fielding addresses the problem of killed or injured civilian contractors in Afghanistan through the story about U.S. lawyer Scott J Bloch, who filed a $60 million class action lawsuit in order to recover the four former security specialists’ payment of social security, unemployment insurance, and unpaid benefits.
Kyrgyzstan: Revisiting the 2009 death of a journalist
Tomyris revisits the mysterious assassination of Kyrgyz opposition journalist Gennady Pavlyuk in 2009, as one former Kyrgyzstan national security service agent and two Kazakhstan citizens are facing court trial in Almaty.
Afghanistan: Repeating What We Already Knew
Joshua Foust reviews the U.S. Senate's damning report on Afghanistan reconstruction and misuse of aid money, adding that “it says little new, but appears to do so in an authoritative way”.
Kyrgyzstan: CIS counterparts ready to intervene
Joshua Foust updates on the situation in Kyrgyzstan following the one-year anniversary of the 2010 inter-ethnic violence in Southwestern Kyrgyzstan, as the nation's external counterparts are closely monitoring the situation and the “elements of aggravation”.
Afghanistan: Building bridges with Pakistan
UmairJ writes about the visit of Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai to Islamabad in an attempt to better relationship between the two nations and seek support of Pakistan in forcing the Taliban to a compromise.
Kazakhstan: Setting Up Borders Online
Earlier this week Kazakhstani internet users began to observe a curious phenomenon. Google.kz now redirects to the main Google.com website with a Kazakh language interface.
Afghanistan: Assessing recent negotiations with Taliban
Nick Fielding opines on the state of negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government, reviewing a report by the New America Foundation.
Uzbekistan: A clothing manufacturer boycotts Uzbek practice of child labor
Avicenna reports that following a campaign against the use of forced child labor in Uzbekistan's cotton fields, Gymboree, the children’s clothing manufacturer, became the latest company to take a stand by refusing to buy cotton from this Central Asian country.
Uzbekistan: Tashkent undergoes a dismantling pandemia
One of the most discussed topics in Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan, is the local authorities’ decision to “dismantle” large portions of the city without providing any explanations to the residents. Samira reports with exclusive on-the-ground photographs.
Turkmenistan: Facebook group plotting the overthrow of government
Annasoltan has discovered a Facebook group openly calling for the overthrow of the Turkmen government via Arab Spring-style tactics.
Uzbekistan: Human rights activist sentenced to 5 year in prison
Avicenna reports that Uzbek human rights activist and journalist Tursunbek Turazoda has been sentenced to five years of prison term after he had been charged with swindling and turned in to police by his close friend.
Uzbekistan: A Dissident Poet Released
Noah Tucker writes that the Uzbekistan authorities released Yusuf Juma, the poet and activist who was jailed for slander in 2008 after publishing a series of poems related to the 2005 Andijon protests.