Field Reports
ISKANDAR HAMIDOV IS FREE. WHAT IS NEXT FOR HIM?
By Fariz Ismailzade (1/14/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Iskandar Hamidov, alongside with Former Defense Minister Rahim Gaziyev and the leader of the separatist movement in the South Alikram Humbatov, was considered the top political prisoner in the country both by the local human rights organizations and the Council of Europe. In his position of the Minister of Interior in 1992-1993, Hamidov acted as an independent maverick politician, crushing his political opponents with the use of force and championing nationalist rhetoric in regard to the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. He also chaired the ultra-nationalist party Boz Gurd (Grey Wolves), which promoted Pan-Turkic nationalism.KAZAKHSTAN’S LOWER HOUSE APPROVES DRAFT LAW ON THE MEDIA
By Olivia Allison (1/14/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Journalists now say their only hope is that President Nursultan Nazarbaev will decide not to sign the law, as the Senate is expected to approve the law. Debate over the law had intensified in the two weeks preceding the Mazhilis vote, when journalists, human rights groups and international organizations vocally criticized the law, while pro-government politicians called on deputies to approve the law and condemned international involvement.Kazakh journalists staged a protest, releasing two special editions of the oppositional paper Assandi Times.
CHINESE REACTION TO THE UYGHUR PEOPLE
By Ruth Ingram (1/14/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
They stand for peace and harmony, tolerance, understanding and of course equality between the varieties of peoples that populate Xinjiang. Every alleyway and street corner throughout the province is similarly, though not as colorfully grafittied. Unity in Xinjiang, at least in theory, is fashionable.KAZAKHSTAN’S FALLS SHORT OF WESTERN EXPECTATIONS
By Marat Yermukanov (12/17/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
A survey published not long ago by the independent newspaper “Soz” showed that most residents of Kazakhstan avoid any contact with the police and, more often than not, try to settle their legal problems out of court. The profound mistrust towards law enforcement bodies among the population can be partly attributed to frequent press reports about unsubstantiated detentions, beatings of detainees in police cells and crooked judges who send innocent people to prison. But judges themselves are increasingly realizing that lawlessness in prisons and courtrooms have already grown out of all proportions.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.