Field Reports
SECOND PEACEFUL RALLY ORGANIZED IN KYRGYZSTAN
By Nurshat Ababakirov (5/31/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The rally, consisting approximately of 30,000 people, started with a moment of silence for the recent death of soldiers on the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border, where an armed bandit group attempted to break into Kyrgyzstan. Then it was followed by the opposition’s criticism of Minister Defense Ismail Iskakov, who wanted to organize a festivity dedicated to Kyrgyzstan’s Army Forces Day at the same time, which was understood as an attempt to hinder the gathering of people, similar to the methods of former President Askar Akaev. The celebration was usually held in the National Philharmonic and on 29 May.CENTRAL ASIAN UNION: NAZARBAYEV’S PIPEDREAM OR VIABLE SCHEME?
By Marat Yermukanov (5/31/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Did Nazarbayev abandon his brainchild which was so widely publicized only a year ago? During Nazarbayev’s March 19 visit to Tashkent, Uzbek president Islam Karimov, who made lengthy comments on “eternal friendship and brotherhood”, carefully avoided the thorny subject of a union between Central Asian states, modeled after the European Union, a utopian scheme according to some analysts,. Events that followed Nazarbayev’s visit to Uzbekistan show alarming signs of further deterioration of relations between Astana and Tashkent. On April 19, Bauyrzhan Akhmetov, a 24 year-old resident of Saryagash district of South Kazakhstan region, was severely beaten unconscious by Uzbek border guards and abducted to Uzbekistan where he was later hospitalized with life-threatening head injuries.WILL GEORGIA LEAVE THE CIS?
By Kakha Jibladze (5/31/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The CIS has not been a shining example of achievements by former Soviet countries since it was founded in 1991 by Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Originally intended as a format to help ease the countries’ transition into the free market economy, by 2005 even Russia was distancing itself from the alliance; Russian President Vladimir Putin once called it a ‘civilized divorce’ for the former Soviet states.Georgia has always had a tense relationship with the alliance.
GEORGIAN MILITARY BASE IN SENAKI OPENED
By Kakha Jibladze (5/17/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The ministry has been under attack lately for non transparent spending and the Minister Irakli Okruashvili’s aggressive stance toward both Russia and the de-facto government in South Ossetia. The new military base, located in western Georgia not far from the contested territory of Abkhazia, has fed the separatist governments’ accusations that Tbilisi is still considering a military solution to the frozen conflicts in both Abkhazia and South Ossetia.During the opening event, which took place on the 15th anniversary of the Georgian armed forces, Okruashvili and other government officials were quick to dismiss allegations that the base was built to threaten Sukhumi.
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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.