Gulnoza Saidazimova

Also by Gulnoza Saidazimova

• July 06, 2005

  Kyrgyzstan: Bakiev Out Front In Presidential Race

  Kurmanbek Bakiev (file photo) On 10 July, Kyrgyz voters will go to the polls to elect a new president. Among the candidates, the frontrunner is acting President Kurmanbek Bakiev. Some analysts say the question now is whether so many people regard Bakiev’s victory as certain that there will be a low turnout. As RFE/RL Gulnoza Saidazimova reports from Bishkek, that could rob the next government of the popular mandate it needs to build stability.

• July 01, 2005

  Georgia: Opposition Lawmakers Protest Violence Against Demonstrators

  A protester confronts police yesterday in Tbilisi Opposition lawmakers in the Georgian parliament today demanded the resignation of the country's interior minister. The call followed clashes yesterday between riot police and hundreds of protesters attempting to block a major road in the capital Tbilisi. Opposition leaders joined the protesters, who had gathered in support of two prominent athletes accused of extortion, and the demonstration quickly grew into a protest aimed at the ruling authorities. Dozens of protesters and opposition activists were detained.

• June 27, 2005

  Uzbekistan: Detentions Highlight Ongoing Crackdown In Andijon

  Over a month after the violence, the streets of Andijon remain tense Yesterday, Uzbek police detained a group of opposition activists, as well as an RFE/RL correspondent in Andijon, amid a continuing crackdown in the eastern Uzbek city. Correspondent Gofur Yuldoshev said he was conducting interviews in a teahouse with several activists, when police detained the group, taking them to a police station for questioning before releasing them four hours later.

• June 23, 2005

  Kyrgyz Prosecutor To Send 29 Uzbek Refugees Home

  Uzbek refugees in Kyrgyzstan Prague, 23 June 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Kyrgyz officials said today they will return to Uzbekistan 29 refugees who fled the mid-May violence in the eastern Uzbek town of Andijon. The move comes in the wake of a concerted effort by the United Nations to halt such forced returns.

• June 22, 2005

  Uzbekistan: Tashkent Reveals Findings On Andijon Uprising As Victims Mourned

  Mourning of the dead in Andijon was kept quiet An Uzbek parliamentary commission investigating the causes of the unrest in the eastern city of Andijon on 13 May says the violence was planned outside the country and was aimed at overthrowing the government of President Islam Karimov. The report comes as international groups continue to demand an independent outside inquiry into the events and to criticize the Uzbek government for refusing unmanaged visits to Andijon. The report’s release yesterday coincided with the 40th day since the unrest -- a day Andijon residents reserved for mourning their dead in accordance with Muslim tradition.

• June 21, 2005

  Kyrgyz Alliance Highlights North-South Relations

  Kurmanbek Bakiev (file photo) Prague, 21 June 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Kyrgyzstan's two leading politicians, Kurmanbek Bakiev and Feliks Kulov, have suspended their duties as interim prime minister and first deputy prime minister as part of an alliance the two leaders have agreed to form in the runup to the 10 July presidential vote.

• June 17, 2005

  Officials Say Kyrgyz Capital 'Stabilized'

  Bishkek, 17 June 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Kyrgyzstan's acting Deputy Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov says the situation in the capital Bishkek has "stabilized" after police drove hundreds of supporters of a disqualified presidential candidate from the main government building.

• June 16, 2005

  Uzbekistan: New Reports Say Media Harassed Post-Andijon

  Andijon following the crackdown on 13 May Uzbek police have again detained independent journalist Tolqin Qoraev, just two days after his release from jail in the southern city of Qarshi. Qoraev was later released, but human rights activists say he is just one of several victims of a government crackdown on the independent media that has intensified since the unrest in Andijon in mid-May. The media harassment was outlined in reports released this week by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Moscow-based Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations.

• June 15, 2005

  Uzbekistan: UN Human Rights Officials In Kyrgyzstan To Investigate Andijon Violence

  Uzbek refugees from Andijon in Kyrgyzstan (file photo) A team from the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights arrived on 15 June in Kyrgyzstan to examine last month's violence in the city of Andijon, in eastern Uzbekistan. The investigation is set to last 10 days. During that time, the UN team will interview Uzbeks who fled to Kyrgyzstan after the 13 May clashes between government troops and protesters that left at least 173 people dead.

• June 13, 2005

  Kyrgyzstan: Violence On Rise As Election Nears

  Kurmanbek Bakiev (file photo) Several people were wounded today when a crowd of some 200 stormed a hotel in the Kyrgyz city of Osh, in apparent protest against a lawmaker with a financial interest in the business. The incident is just the latest act of violence as the Central Asian state prepares to elect a successor to ousted President Askar Akaev. The country's acting president, Kurmanbek Bakiev, is to formally register today as a candidate for the 10 July vote. On 11 June, unidentified assailants burst into Bakiev's campaign headquarters, beating two guards. That incident followed the fatal shooting on 10 June of lawmaker Jyrgalbek Surabaldiev, an Akaev ally, in the capital Bishkek.

• June 10, 2005

  Turkmenistan: Marriage Gets Cheaper As Turkmenbashi Drops $50,000 Dollar Foreigners' Fee

  Saparmurat Niyazov Turkmen women and men used to be the most expensive brides and grooms in the world. That was until President Saparmurat Niyazov scrapped a rule forcing foreigners to pay a so-called "insurance deposit" of $50,000 to marry a citizen of Turkmenistan. This week, he issued a new decree he said was aimed at protecting Turkmens married to foreigners. But neither change is likely to mean much to the foreigners who marry Turkmens the most -- people living in the border regions of Uzbekistan. For them, legal matrimony remains as difficult as ever.

• June 10, 2005

  Kyrgyz Parliamentarian Assassinated In Bishkek

  Surabaldiev (left) and his driver (right) following the attack Prague, 10 June 2005 (RFE/RL) -- A leading Kyrgyz parliamentarian, Jyrgalbek Surabaldiev, has been shot dead in Bishkek. The assassination today comes a month before the country is to hold presidential elections in the wake of the ouster of former President Askar Akaev in late March.

• June 06, 2005

  Uzbekistan: Crackdown On Journalists, Activists Intensifies

  Karimov appears to be tightening his grip Uzbek human rights activists and independent journalists continue to be harassed and arrested following last month's events in Andijon, where soldiers reportedly fired on and killed hundreds of civilians. Among the latest detainees is Tulqin Qoraev, a correspondent for the London-based Institute for War and Peace Reporting, who was detained in the southern town of Qarshi on 4 June. As RFE/RL reports, scores of human rights activists have been detained or gone missing and many others find themselves closely tracked by the security services.

• June 03, 2005

  Chechnya: Kidnapped Relatives Of Slain Leader Released

  Slain Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov (file photo) Seven of the eight relatives of slain Chechen independence leader Aslan Maskhadov who were kidnapped in December 2004 have been freed. Those freed include two brothers, a sister, and a niece of Maskhadov. It is still unclear who had held them and where. Human rights activists have said the abductions were the work of Russian troops or their Chechen militia allies attempting to pressure Maskhadov. But Russian authorities have denied such accusations.

• June 02, 2005

  Uzbekistan: Sanjar Umarov -- An Oligarch Angling For The Presidency?

  Sanjar Umarov A new name has emerged on the political scene of Uzbekistan: Sanjar Umarov. Considered an "oligarch," Umarov is involved in cotton and telecommunications and has been relatively unknown -- until now. A recent wave of Internet articles suggests that Umarov, also a member of the opposition group Sunshine Uzbekistan, is likely one day to succeed Uzbek President Islam Karimov. In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL, Umarov spoke about the political and economic platform of his coalition as well as his political ambitions.

• May 25, 2005

  Uzbekistan: Spontaneous Popular Uprising In Andijon, Or Terrorist-Led Upheaval?

  The number of dead has been widely disputed The events leading up to the killing of reportedly hundreds of Uzbeks on 13 May in the eastern city of Andijon have been described in very different ways. President Islam Karimov contends that chaos was sparked by armed "bandits and terrorists" who attacked and seized a prison, releasing hundreds of inmates. But independent observers and locals use other terms -- such as "popular uprising" and "revolution" -- to describe what happened.

• May 19, 2005

  Uzbekistan: Sister Of Karasu Popular Leader Tells About Her Brother’s Arrest

  Bakhtiyor Rakhimov is one of dozens of people arrested after Uzbek troops entered the divided border town of Karasu today. Rakhimov's sister Yulduz Rakhimova told RFE/RL's Uzbek Service correspondent Gofur Yuldoshev in Andijon about the arrest of her brother this morning.

• May 12, 2005

  Uzbekistan: Extremism Trial Postponed, Charges Reduced Amid Protests

  Judges in Uzbekistan yesterday postponed a key hearing and prosecutors altered the charges against 23 men accused of belonging to a banned Islamic group. The decisions followed mass protests outside the courthouse in the eastern town of Andijon in Uzbekistan's Ferghana Valley. The accused have gone on hunger strike to protest against the charges, which they say are politically and economically motivated. Rights activists say recent protests have led Uzbek officials to soften their stance.

• May 11, 2005

  Uzbekistan: Protesters Charge Officials With Using Extremism Charges To Target Entrepreneurs

  Hundreds of people have taken to the street in the town of Andijon in Uzbekistan’s Ferghana Valley to protest the trial of 23 people accused of belonging to a banned Islamic group. Observers say the demonstration yesterday was the biggest peaceful protest in the area in months. As RFE/RL reports, the charges against the 23 men are controversial. The government charges them with security violations but their supporters say the accusations are politically and economically motivated.

• May 09, 2005

  World War II -- 60 Years After: For Some Central Asians, 'Great Patriotic War' Is More Controversial Than Ever

  The 60th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany is a time for celebration -- but also for controversy. The participation of some Central Asian leaders in Moscow's Victory Day celebrations might indicate that they are backing down from their traditional reluctance to honor the Great Patriotic War. Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov's and Uzbek President Islam Karimov's trips to Moscow are seen as significant because they mark the first time those two have officially acknowledged the holiday.

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