Thursday, February 16, 2012

Kyrgyzstan

'Unshaken' Kyrgyz President Flags Constitutional Vote

Prime Minister Feliks Kulov (left) with President Kurmanbek Bakiev (file photo) (AFP)

BISHKEK, April 19, 2006 (RFE/RL) – Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev declared that his goverment will not be shaken by a series of rallies expressing discontent with the government's performance.

TEXT SIZE - +

April 19, 2006

Bakiev said he knows "very well" what the organizers of the protests and ordinary Kyrgyz think, but that they too "know perfectly well" what he and his government are doing to improve life in Kyrgyzstan.

Bakiev made his comments in a televised debate with leading members of the opposition about plans for reform. During the debate, Bakiev promised there would be a referendum on constitutional amendments this autumn.

Prime Minister Feliks Kulov and the speaker of parliament, Murat Sultanov, also took part in the debate.

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