Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from May, 2011
Azerbaijan: Interview with released video blogging activist Emin Milli
TekVibes posts a video interview with Emin Milli, one of two video blogging youth activists conditionally released last year in Azerbaijan.
Abkhazia: Sergei Bagapsh Dies
In Moscow's Shadows and Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog write about the implications of the death of Sergei Bagapsh, the president of the Republic of Abkhazia, on May 29.
Azerbaijan: Twitter as a tool for activism
Global Voices co-founder Ethan Zuckerman comments on the use of Twitter in last week's campaign by Amnesty International to call for the release of prisoner of conscience Eynulla Fatullayev. Although the imprisoned journalist was released, argues Zuckerman, several questions have been raised by the online action and not least in...
Azerbaijan: Eynulla Fatullayev Pardoned Following Twitter Action
Just two days after the UK branch of Amnesty International launched its Twitter campaign to call for the release of Eynulla Fatullayev comes news that the imprisoned journalist and prisoner of conscience has been included in a list of prisoners to be pardoned ahead of the 93rd anniversary of the founding of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.
Georgia: Demonstrators dispersed ahead of independence day celebrations
Shortly after midnight, opposition protests in the Georgian capital were disperse. A policeman was reportedly killed, apparently run over by a jeep belonging to an opposition party leader, after tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons were used to break up the demonstration. Journalists were also beaten up and their...
Azerbaijan: Jon Snow and Amnesty International in Twitter Action
Ahead of tonight's Amnesty International Media Awards 2011, the organisation has launched a Twitter photo campaign to call for the release of an imprisoned journalist and newspaper editor in Azerbaijan. With major British media names such as Jon Snow on board, pro-government supporters in Azerbaijan reacted negatively.
Azerbaijan: Free Eynulla Fatullayev! Twitter campaign
Amnesty International has started a Twitter campaign to call for the release of imprisoned journalist and prisoner of conscience Eynulla Fatullayev. Supported by prominent English journalists such as Channel 4's Jon Snow, more details of how to participate can be found here.
Azerbaijan: Congratulations Scary Azeri!
Global Voices would like to congratulate Scary Azeri, one of the most prolific and original bloggers from the South Caucasus, on news of the arrival of her second child. While Global Voices understands that blogging might not be top of her list of priorities for some time, it also looks...
Georgia: Tolkienesque Clashes on the Streets of Tbilisi
On 21 May, just days before the 20th anniversary of Georgia declaring its independence from the former Soviet Union, protests organized by the opposition People's Assembly accused President Saakashvili of monopolizing power. Some took a humorous look at the clashes that followed.
Technology for Transparency: Final Report
The Technology for Transparency Network is proud to announce the release of its final report, "Global mapping of technology for transparency and accountability". The report is being published by the Transparency and Accountability Initiative (@TAInitiative) along with a over a dozen other reports on the global transparency movement.
Azerbaijan: Eurovision winner Nigar Camal's visa criticism
Dissident blogger and journalist Elnur Majidli, now living in France and facing arrest in Azerbaijan for his Facebook activity, has uploaded a screenshot of a status line apparently written last year by Nigar Camal, one of the two singers who won this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Germany, on the...
Azerbaijan: Bloggers Divided Over Eurovision Win
Last weekend, Azerbaijan was shaking, with thousands of people flooding onto the streets of Baku, the capital, celebrating their country's win in the Eurovision Song Contest held a few hours earlier. However, not everyone was euphoric about the victory in the international music competition.
Georgia: Beyoncé's Girls Rule an Apocalyptic… Caucasus?
The premiere of American singer Beyoncé's "Run The World (Girls)" video on May 18 evoked much debate among bloggers and social media users in Georgia for a less than expected reason. Not that it was the first single from her highly anticipated new album, or even because of its empowering message, but rather a simple road sign that appeared 1 minute and 50 seconds into the video.
Azerbaijan: National Identity
Following a heated discussion on the issue of ethnic identity in the comments section on an entry written about Azerbaijan's recent Eurovision win, Scary Azeri responds in an extensive post to criticism from one reader in particular that she is not Azeri enough.
Armenia: Royal visit to Ireland as an example for the Caucasus
Writing on his official blog, Charles Lonsdale comments on this week's historic visit by the Queen to the Republic of Ireland. The Ambassador to Armenia for the United Kingdom says that even if the conflicts in the South Caucasus are different, the visit shows that “even long-running and seemingly intractable...
Azerbaijan: Manatvision
Global Voices author Leyla Najafli posts an English translation of a blog post commenting on Azerbaijan's victory in last weekend's Eurovision Song Contest. Playing with the name of the local currency and Eurovision, the blogger disagrees with the general euphoria otherwise displayed by many of the blogger's fellow countrymen.
Azerbaijan: Armenian Eurovision boycott dilemma
Following Azerbaijan's success in Eurovision, Eurotrash or Eurotreasure comments on speculation that Armenia might boycott next year's event to be held in Baku. Locked in a bitter stalemate over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, the blog says that the international music competition could provide both countries the opportunity to...
Afghanistan: Partition of the country as a sensible solution
Soraab Ferozgar opines on the current state of affairs in Afghanistan, saying that recent events as well as past historical tribulations have illustrated that the only solution for Afghanistan is separation.
Afghanistan: “Attorney General Dancing Drunk” scandalous video
The Rumi posts a YouTube scandalous video with Abdul Jabar Sabit, former Afghanistan Attorney General, who “jailed many people in Kabul for calling it crime against Islam”.
Uzbekistan: Presidential daughter launched twitter account
Abulfazal writes that a few days ago Uzbek Internet community has probably got the first twitter account for a well-known high-ranking figure, Gulnara Karimova, the Uzbekistan president's daughter, but the question on whether it is a real account or a fake one remains.
Uzbekistan: Anti-Turkish campaign deepens
Ataturk Street in downtown Tashkent is about to be renamed, and in the view of neweurasia’s Avicenna, it’s the latest signal of Turkey and Uzbekistan’s rather bipolar relationship. “It’s obvious that this crisis is probably more serious than anyone thought,” he writes.
About our Central Asia & Caucasus coverage
