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Catapulted onto Western headlines only after September 11 and during the War on Terror in neighbouring Afghanistan, Central Asia had been off most foreign policy radar screens after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The region lies landlocked between Russia in the north, the Caspian Sea in the west, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan in the south, and China in the east. The five countries and former Soviet republics, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan all have made different experiences since they were 'released' into a sudden independence in 1991. However, there are unifying themes and mutual problems.
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 Anjelika Mamytova's report offers an unusually detailed look into the unsatisfactory election standards and unhealthy conditions that have interfered with the women's ability to participate equally in the latest parliamentary election campaign in Kyrgyzstan.Write Comment (2 Comments) |
 Bruno De Cordier's analysis aims to shatter the common misconceptions
held by the majority of Western experts as to the violent nature of
Islam in Central Asia.
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 Olesya Ryzhova questions the efficacy of the Western approach in imposing democracy on the Uzbek regime and points to the failure of the American foreign policy even as the US government lavishes millions of dollars on its democratization programs in Central Asia.Write Comment (6 Comments) |
 Florence Hodous paints a dismal picture of the state of agriculture in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan where thousands of farmers and peasants continue to lack necessary technology and financial resources and suffer from poor policy-making and destructive government interference.Write Comment (3 Comments) |
 As Austin Kilroy travels through Georgia, he finds people enlightened by the spirit of change and modernisation yet constrained by their large northern neighbour.
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 Marianna Idrisova and Katy Pearce provide a well-rounded assessment of the impact of the US government sponsored exchange programs on the professional development and career growth of Azerbaijani alumni.Write Comment (8 Comments) |
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The Uzbek leadership’s readiness to use violence against its already hard-pressed people will push Uzbekistan deeper into crisis, says Nathan Hamm.Write Comment (2 Comments) |
 Abdujalil Abdurasulov (from Jalalabad, Kyrgyzstan) dismisses claims that what we saw in Andijon bore testimony to a rising Islamist threat in Central Asia. People on the streets rather showed their dissatisfaction with conditions under Karimov.Write Comment (6 Comments) |
 Zamir Chargynov (20) evaluates his home country Kyrgyzstan's North-South-divide - and identifies it as a threat to future stability.
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 Fardona (20, from Uzbekistan) tells us about her life -- a life that is not easy, living in a country in which women's rights are becoming ever more difficult to retain.
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 Olesya Ryzhova (20), Thinking-East's Uzbekistan special editor, offers her distinct opinion on the topic. While she agrees with Nathan regarding Craig Murray, she does not beatify US foreign policy. Nor does she think highly of her own government.
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 Thinking-East has compiled and edited a few insightful and probing questions written by The Registan's readers in response to Nathan's article.
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 Nathan Hamm (26, from the US) says what in his opinion is a true reflection of the situation in Uzbekistan. Thereby, he tells us why Craig Murray is wrong - and counterproductive. Write Comment (3 Comments) |
 Uyghur political prisoner Rebiya Kadeer's release by Chinese authorities must bring about greater international scrutiny upon the People's Republic to save those terrorized in China's ongoing "war on terror," argues Kilic Bugra Kanat, an Uyghur student from the US. Write Comment (52 Comments) |
 Since the end of the Cold War, oil companies have rediscovered the Caspian Sea's potential in oil and gas extraction. Could the region become a new petrol station for the world, asks Ben Paarmann (23, from Germany).Write Comment (6 Comments) |
Where is the proof that recent Kyrgyz elections were rigged? Elnura Osmonalieva (23, from Bishkek) has got the photos.
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 As a Kyrgyz ex-pat in Istanbul, Chingiz Maatkerimov (26) could not believe the news he heard from Bishkek. For Thinking-East, he shares his opinion on the elections that sparked off the revolution.
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 Were the recent parliamentary elections in Tajikistan rigged? The opposition thinks so, but the international community isn't listening. Daler Rahimov (23, from Tajikistan) seeks an answer but finds only darkness...Write Comment (5 Comments) |
 Elnura Osmonalieva writes about a historic and unbelievable day in Bishkek. Her vivid and lively account of what has happened in Kyrgyzstan on March 24th is supplemented by her extensive and exclusive photo-documentary.Write Comment (5 Comments) |
 To bridge the time between now and the release of Thinking-East's next issue (which will come out next Monday), we thought we might draw your attention to some of the comments that have been written in response to our articles.Write Comment (2 Comments) |
 12/03/05: On the eve of the second round of parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan, Thinking-East has some new first-hand accounts.Write Comment (4 Comments) |
 Decentralisation of democratic movements may be the key to change in
Kyrgyzstan, says Benjamin Paarmann (23, from Germany).Write Comment (0 Comments) |
 Nathan Hamm (26, from the US) introduces his weblog 'The Argus', in which his coverage of the Kyrgyz and the Tajik elections is second to none. Thinking-East.Net asked some questions.Write Comment (3 Comments) |
 KelKel, a youth movement uniting about 200 students from universities in Bishkek, works to prevent election fraud and tries to convince young people to use their right to vote. Read responses to a KelKel pamphlet by other young persons in Central Asia.Write Comment (18 Comments) |
 As the Kyrgyz election preparations are drawing to a close, Muratbek Imanaliev says that however the Kyrgyz regime decides to act, it is in a strong position to shape not just this election but the presidential vote, too.Write Comment (3 Comments) |
 Vote rigging is only one tool to alter the outcome of elections. More subtle and less evident are encroachments that occur during the preceding election campaign. The international community could help avert a crisis in the making, says Daler Rahimov (23) in Dushanbe.Write Comment (4 Comments) |
 Kyrgyzstan’s election year has scarcely begun, but protests are already heating up in the sleepy capital Bishkek. Ben Paarmann (23) provides background information on the country.Write Comment (10 Comments) |
 Olesya Rhyzova (20, Uzbekistan) and Benjamin Paarmann (23, Germany), two children of Soviet imperialism, engage in an Email dialogue which sheds light on the hopelessness and submissiveness endemic throughout Uzbek society, and the inapplicability of Western ideas. Yet, there is also a breath of hope which prevails.Write Comment (2 Comments) |
 Bek Zhan (22), from Kazakhstan, says that despite all their shortcomings, there is currently no alternative to the present elites.Write Comment (9 Comments) |
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As UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw prepares to visit China next week, Thinking-East.Net's first article published in September is still topical: Alongside human right violations, a new and subtle Cultural Revolution is taking place in China's Muslim West. And it will be utterly detrimental for the native indigents in the long run, writes Benjamin Paarmann.Write Comment (13 Comments) |
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Olesya Ryzhova (19, from Uzbekistan) draws a grim picture of the upcoming December 26th elections in Uzbekistan. Beyond usual complaints of ‘elections falling short of international standards’, Olesya sheds light on the diabolical details in the election code that will prevent free and fair elections from actually taking place.Write Comment (2 Comments) |
 Ahead of a wider Thinking-East.Net series on elections in Central Asia, Benjamin Paarmann (23, from Germany) asks whether recent events in the Ukraine and in Georgia could have an impact on democratic processes in Central Asia.Write Comment (4 Comments) |
 After an unprecedented blossoming of unregistered mosques, the Tajik govern-ment tries to regain control over the religious infrastructure. But, the remedy does not lie in bans from on high, says Daler Rahimov (23) in Dushanbe.Write Comment (11 Comments) |
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Scientists predict an ecological and humanitarian catastrophe if the Central Asian republics do not resolve their precarious water crisis. Ambitions of national leaders, sloppy foreign policy, baseless treaties and insincere diplomatic gestures have so far hampered the advent of Central Asian interstate cooperation on one of the most crucial issues of the 21st century, says Aidar Amanzhulov (20, from Kazakhstan).Write Comment (4 Comments) |
 Nafisa Hasanova (22, from Uzbekistan) dares to violate taboo: she visits the Luli, Central Asian Romas, whose community has been marginalised in her hometown of Samarkand. However, in a tragic irony, the Luli themselves have a distorted perception of their own identity, and are on the verge of losing a century-old tradition. If communication within their own community and with the larger society surrounding them does not improve, says Nafisa, their future is bleak.Write Comment (15 Comments) |
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