Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Kazakhstan

Kazakh Opposition Demands Resignation Of Parliament Speaker

Scene from an opposition press conference on 14 February, a day after the body of Altynbek Sarsenbaev was found (RFE/RL)

ALMATY, 23 February 2006 (RFE/RL) -- In the wake of killing of the opposition leader Altynbek Sarsenbaev, Kazakhstan's opposition is demanding the resignation of the speaker of parliament's upper house.

TEXT SIZE - +

February 23, 2006

Sarsenbaev's death has resulted in a number of political casualties in recent days.

The head of the national security service (KNB), Nartay Dutbaev, resigned on 22 February following the news that KNB agents were arrested for the killing.

And then, on 22 February, Erzhan Utembaev, the head of the Senate administration, was arrested for allegedly organizing Sarsenbaev's death.

In a statement released on 23 February, opposition leaders demand that Senate speaker Nartay Abykaev resign, saying he has enough power to influence the probe into Sarsenbaev's death.

Abykayev is also a former head of the KNB.

Opposition figures have accused government officials of playing a role in Sarsenbaev's murder.

Sarsenbaev, who was found shot dead on 13 February, was the co-chairman of the Naghyz Ak Zhol (True Bright Path) party.

RFE/RL Central Asia Report

SUBSCRIBE For regular news and analysis on all five Central Asian countries by e-mail, subscribe to "RFE/RL Central Asia Report."

Attack Of The Cloned Websites...This Time In Uzbekistan

A website has been set up to mirror the site of RFE/RL's Uzbek Service, in what could be a phishing scheme to harvest user information. More

A vendor in the central Bosnian town of Zenica sells heart-shaped cushions with proclamations of love for 1 euro each.

Love It (Or Hate It), It's Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day, the Western holiday celebrating love, has become a global phenomenon over the past two decades. The fall of communism and the emergence of the Internet have helped February 14 become something of an unofficial international day of romance. However, not all the passions the holiday stirs are related to love. While some countries have openly embraced the holiday, others are attempting to ban it or replace it with local customs. More

Production and distribution of rap music is not officially banned, but it

Yo! Turkmen Rappers Flip The Script On Repression

For a growing number of Turkmen youth, rap music has become a way to express their daily struggles and inspire political change in one of the world's most oppressive countries. More