By empty (1/31/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Ramazan Abdulatipov, Russia\'s ambassador to Tajikistan, said in Dushanbe on January 30 that Russia is better placed than other countries to complete the construction of the Roghun hydroelectric power station. A high-ranking Tajik official recently criticized Russian Aluminum (RusAl) for failing to observe an agreement on the construction of Roghun and said that other companies are interested in the project. Abdulatipov stressed that RusAl is a private company and disagreements between it and the Tajik government should not cause problems in bilateral relations.

By empty (1/30/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE representative on freedom of the media, has called on Kazakhstan to repeal its media law criminalizing the criticism of state officials. In a statement, Haraszti criticized Article 318 of the Kazakh criminal code, or Kazakhstan\'s so-called \"insult laws,\" as being \"contrary to modern democratic practice.\" Opposition Kazakh journalist Kazis Toguzbaev was handed a two-year suspended sentence on January 22 for the \"infringement on the honor and dignity of the president.

By empty (1/30/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Serik Primbetov, deputy secretary-general of the Eurasian Economic Community (EEC), said in Almaty on January 30 that Uzbekistan has fallen behind schedule on joining agreements required by its membership in the group. Primbetov said, \"By January 1, 2007, for example, [Uzbekistan] was obliged to join 20 [agreements], but signed only 16.\" Primbetov called the four remaining agreements the \"most difficult ones,\" noting that one of them involves visa-free travel.