Field Reports
ELECTION OF YEREVAN MAYOR MAY BRING NEW TENSIONS IN ARMENIA
By Haroutiun Khachatrian (4/8/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
A political sensation occurred in Armenia last month: Armenia’s first President, Levon Ter-Petrosian, who leads the radical opposition to the current administration, announced he was going to run in the Yerevan mayor elections scheduled for May 31.
This is extraordinary as Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, houses almost 40 percent of the country’s population and more than half of its economic potential. The May elections of Yerevan’s mayor will be the first in 15 years.
TAJIKISTAN: RESTRICTION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS OR SECULAR STATE?
By Suhrob Majidov (4/8/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On March 26, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Emomalii Rahmon, signed several legislative acts which had already been passed by both chambers of the Tajik Parliament. Among them was a new Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Association. The Law stipulates certain restrictions on the registration of small religious communities; it allows for state censorship of religious literature and for a number of other restrictions, such as prohibiting prayer in hospitals and prisons without special permission from the authorities.
PREVAILING LAW AND ORDER SITUATION IN FATA AND NWFP OF PAKISTAN
By Zahid Anwar (4/8/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On February 25, 2009, the University of Peshawar and the think-tank Citizens’ Voice jointly organized a seminar on the prevailing law and order situation in the FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) and the NWFP (North-West Frontier Province).
Atif Hanif, Secretary General of the Citizens’ Voice, explained that the forum seeks to educate people on contemporary national issues. Omer Khan Afridi, Chairman of the Citizens’ Voice, said in his address that the country is facing the most serious situation since its independence and that if good people will do nothing, the criminals will succeed.
EUROPEAN COUNCIL ENDORSES ‘EASTERN PARTNERSHIP’
By Karoly Benes (3/26/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On 20 March, the European Council endorsed the ‘Eastern Partnership’ (EaP) initiative in Brussels, and called for all necessary preparations to be made for the Eastern Partnership launching summit with the partner countries on 7 May 2009. The European Council also issued a Declaration on the Eastern Partnership, which is basically a short abstract of the Commission’s Communication, issued last December. The simple fact that the Council accepted the Commission’s proposals without major changes is a significant success for those EU countries backing the proposal, especially Poland, Sweden and the Czech EU presidency.
Visit also
Staff Publications
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Greater Central Asia as A Component of U.S. Global Strategy, October 2024.
Analysis Laura Linderman, "Rising Stakes in Tbilisi as Elections Approach," Civil Georgia, September 7, 2024.
Analysis Mamuka Tsereteli, "U.S. Black Sea Strategy: The Georgian Connection", CEPA, February 9, 2024.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, ed., Türkiye's Return to Central Asia and the Caucasus, July 2024.
Book Svante E. Cornell, ed., "The Changing Geopolitics of Central Asia and the Caucasus" AFPC Press/Armin LEar, 2023.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell and S. Frederick Starr, Stepping up to the “Agency Challenge”: Central Asian Diplomacy in a Time of Troubles, July 2023.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.