Central Asia "-Stans Summary": 2003-08-22

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on Central Asia, guest blogged by Nathan Hamm of The Argus. Nathan got a feel for the area while with the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan.

Top Story

• Cross-border confrontations between Afghan and Pakistani troops continue, and Hamid Karzai warned Pakistan that Afghanistan will not tolerate these incidents. The Telegraph also has a report from the frontlines.

Other Topics Today Include: More reports from Afghanistan; Naval exercises complicate a Caspian compromise; SCO takes aim at Uighur separatism; Uzbek-Kyrgyz border problems; Iran and Pakistan plan to boost trade in Central Asia; Rising violence and a new plan for Afghan reconstruction; India looking for a perch in Central Asia; Birth of a dynasty in Azerbaijan?; Kazakhstan eager to enter WTO; Uzbek human rights activist jailed for homosexuality.

• Highlighting the poor security situation along the Afghan-Pakistan border, two Pakistani soldiers were shot by US soldiers. Pakistan's Daily Times calls for better communication and joint patrols to combat confusion as various parties chase militants along the border.

• Violence in Afghanistan continues as over 60 were killed in one day in factional fighting, a Taliban bombing, and fighting between government forces and Taliban and al Quaeda forces. Eurasianet asks whether reconstruction can surge amid growing violence and also highlights a new approach to security that blurs the line between soldier and humanitarian workers.

• In more positive news,
  Karzai has sacked some regional warlords. Now, can he make it stick?

• Reports indicate that the US is waking up to the smell of strong coffee in Afghanistan. A new reconstruction plan will be announced soon.

• Key to this plan is appointing Afghan-born Zalmay Khalilzad as the new American ambassador to Afghanistan and giving him power comparable to those held by Paul Bremer in Iraq. Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Omar Samad disagrees by noting that unlike Iraq, Afghanistan has a government bureaucracy. I think it's fair to disagree with Samad and call for a much stronger approach in Afghanistan.

• US-Azeri naval exercises, to which Iran expressed concern were held in the Caspian Sea. Not to miss out, Turkmenistan got in on the action. After last year's exercises, this leaves Iran as the only Caspian state to have not recently demonstrated its naval muscle in the Caspian. Numerous and serious differences (see here as well) over the status of the Caspian exist, and Iran recently declared it is serious about getting it's share" of the Caspian.

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) held joint military exercises on both sides of China and Kazakhstan's Xinjiang border in what many believe is a move to quell Uighur separatist sentiments. Uzbek troops were especially notable... for their absence. Uzbek officials said their troops were not adequately prepared for the joint exercises. It is much more likely that Uzbekistan is distancing itself from its traditional partners in favor of the United States. However during a visit by Vladimir Putin to President Karimov's hometown of Samarkand, Karimov had only glowing things to say about Russia and the crucial role that Russia plays in the region.

• Uzbekistan is demanding that Kyrgyzstan apologize for an attack on border guards while the Kyrgyz call for an Uzbek apology. The Kyrgyz-Uzbek border is a site of constant tension as countless villages such as Karasuu have been cut in half, families cut off from each other, and the border mined by the Uzbeks in recent years. Kyrgyz pleas to remove the mines have fallend on deaf ears, and have taken matters into their own hands (second item down).

• Iran and Pakistan both have plans to boost Central Asian Trade. Pakistan's city of Gawadar is slated to become Central Asia's port of peace, but current agreements only cover Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmentistan and Tajikistan. Iran's alternative is to rebuild the Silk Road with sea, road, and rail links that will both increase access to Central Asia and serve as an alternative to the Suez canal.

• As the US and Russia increase their presence in Central Asia and the Transcaucasus, it appears that India wants a piece of the action and Russia may support them [the article is mostly about a new "Great Game" in Central Asia, but mentions India's role].

• In other Great Game news, the US Ambassador to Tajikistan is trying to quiet rumors that the US has offered $1 billion to keep a new Russian military base from opening in Tajikistan.

• Azerbaijan's President, Heidar Aliyev, who is receiving treatment for heart and kidney problems in Cleveland, recently appointed his son Prime Minister as the election season gets under way. This move is widely seen as a move on Aliyev's part to assure that his son, Ilham, assumes the Presidency. Some doubt that Ilham is up to the job and Eurasianet and Radio Free Europe see fault lines among Azerbaijan's elites. Azerbaijan's opposition is trying to halve the field of candidates by selecting a single candidate.

• Radio Free Europe looks at why Kazakhstan is so eager to join the WTO. WTO and Kazakh officials feel that the structural changes needed to join the organization will lead to change, but the experience of Kyrgyzan suggests otherwise. England's Economic Intelligence Unit points out in this regard that "you can officially comply with WTO standards but at ground level, as long as you have a corrupt customs administration and widespread smuggling, it's not really going to make a difference."

• Infant mortality rates in Central Asia and the Caucasus are five times higher than in the rest of Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Most of these deaths are entirely preventable.

• In a story that hits close to home, Ruslan Sharipov has been sentenced to five and a half years for homosexuality. Uzbekistan has used this strategy for silencing opposition before. Sharipov, an independent journalist and human rights activist, had been extremely critical of corruption and human rights abuses in Uzbekistan. He withdrew all of his criticism of the regime and pled guilty to protect his mother from police harassment.

• I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan and had the opportunity to teach bright, enthusiastic students like Ruslan. He was president of the Bukhara English Club, founded by Peace Corps Volunteers, from 1998-2002--one of those incredible young people who were energized by the Peace Corps and made it all worth it for us to be there. I have a little more on my feelings on the Sharipov case over The Argus.

• In lighter far, when traveling in Central Asia, being stuck in Bukhara is a blessing. Doing anything in Uzbekistan is a hassle coupled with a burden, so sitting by the Lyab-i-Hauz (the site at which I celebrated America's 225th birthday during a party at a rented bathhouse with fireworks my saint of a mother mailed to me) doing nothing is one of the best things to do if you're ever stuck in Bukhara.

Regular updates concerning Central Asian events can be found at The Argus.