Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Tajikistan

Tajik President Creates Opposition-Free Government

Tajik President Rakhmonov in New Delhi in August (epa)

DUSHANBE, December 6, 2006 -- Newly reelected Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov today completed the formation of his government by appointing the heads of state committees and agencies.

TEXT SIZE - +

December 06, 2006

Mahmadtohir Zokirov will head the newly created Emergency Situations and Civil Defense Committee that replaces the Emergency Situations Ministry Rakhmonov abolished on November 30.

Emergency Situations Minister Mirzo Ziyoev, the last remaining opposition representative in the postwar government, has not been assigned to another job.

Two other members of the Islamic coalition that had been holding government posts since the end of the 1992-97 conflict have also lost their jobs.

Those are Zokir Vazirov, whose labor and social-security portfolio was transferred to the Interior Ministry, and Industry Minister Zayd Saidov, whose administration was merged with the Energy Ministry.

Rakhmonov won a new, seven-year term on November 6, following a vote that international organizations say failed to meet democratic standards. He has been ruling Tajikistan since 1992.

(Asia-Plus, Avesta)

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."

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