By Emin Alisayidov (9/22/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: Azerbaijani authorities found themselves between the pressure from NATO to allow military personnel of Armenia, which still occupies significant parts of Azerbaijan’s territory, and the rapidly growing outrage in the Azerbaijani public. In fact, when last month a judge issued sentences ranging up to five years imprisonment for activists of the “Karabakh Liberation Organization” for breaking into the a hall where a NATO pre-exercise seminar was held with the participation of two Armenian officers, the verdict was roundly condemned by virtually all political groups in Azerbaijan. This was followed by a daily campaign conducted by independent and opposition media, printing first page ads and interrupting broadcasts to call for a ban on visits by Armenian officers.

By Aftab Kazi (9/22/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: Uzbekistan’s December 26 elections aim to institutionalize a major political development in the national democratic evolution. For the first time, the people of Uzbekistan will exercise their right to elect a bicameral House of Representatives with upper and lower houses of the Oliy Majlis (Parliament). Constitutional changes regarding the distribution of political power between the executive and legislative bodies and between the offices of President and Prime Minister are coupled with a nationwide public awareness campaign to educate the nation about the newly introduced structural reforms, the rights and duties of citizens as well as the role mass media plays in modernizing societies.

By Olivia Allison (9/22/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: Sarsanbaiuly’s resignation was the final step in a long line of strong statements against corruption and media bias toward pro-presidential parties in the run-up to Kazakhstan’s parliamentary elections. In particular, he criticized stations owned by President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s daughter Dariga, including Khabar and KTK, presenting monitoring results that show these stations’ extreme bias in favor of the pro-governmental parties Otan and Asar, while Channel 31 was found to be least biased by a Western-sponsored monitoring project during the campaign. Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, lost its popular independent TV station Pyramida, when station management sold shares to a government affiliate late this summer.