Field Reports
ISKANDAR HAMIDOV IS FREE. WHAT IS NEXT FOR HIM?
By Fariz Ismailzade (1/14/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Iskandar Hamidov, alongside with Former Defense Minister Rahim Gaziyev and the leader of the separatist movement in the South Alikram Humbatov, was considered the top political prisoner in the country both by the local human rights organizations and the Council of Europe. In his position of the Minister of Interior in 1992-1993, Hamidov acted as an independent maverick politician, crushing his political opponents with the use of force and championing nationalist rhetoric in regard to the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. He also chaired the ultra-nationalist party Boz Gurd (Grey Wolves), which promoted Pan-Turkic nationalism.KAZAKHSTAN’S LOWER HOUSE APPROVES DRAFT LAW ON THE MEDIA
By Olivia Allison (1/14/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Journalists now say their only hope is that President Nursultan Nazarbaev will decide not to sign the law, as the Senate is expected to approve the law. Debate over the law had intensified in the two weeks preceding the Mazhilis vote, when journalists, human rights groups and international organizations vocally criticized the law, while pro-government politicians called on deputies to approve the law and condemned international involvement.Kazakh journalists staged a protest, releasing two special editions of the oppositional paper Assandi Times.
CHINESE REACTION TO THE UYGHUR PEOPLE
By Ruth Ingram (1/14/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
They stand for peace and harmony, tolerance, understanding and of course equality between the varieties of peoples that populate Xinjiang. Every alleyway and street corner throughout the province is similarly, though not as colorfully grafittied. Unity in Xinjiang, at least in theory, is fashionable.KAZAKHSTAN’S FALLS SHORT OF WESTERN EXPECTATIONS
By Marat Yermukanov (12/17/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
A survey published not long ago by the independent newspaper “Soz” showed that most residents of Kazakhstan avoid any contact with the police and, more often than not, try to settle their legal problems out of court. The profound mistrust towards law enforcement bodies among the population can be partly attributed to frequent press reports about unsubstantiated detentions, beatings of detainees in police cells and crooked judges who send innocent people to prison. But judges themselves are increasingly realizing that lawlessness in prisons and courtrooms have already grown out of all proportions.Visit also
Staff Publications
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.
Analysis Svante E. Cornell, "Promise and Peril in the Caucasus," AFPC Insights, March 30, 2023.
Oped S. Frederick Starr, Putin's War In Ukraine and the Crimean War), 19fourtyfive, January 2, 2023
Oped S. Frederick Starr, Russia Needs Its Own Charles de Gaulle, Foreign Policy, July 21, 2022.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Rethinking Greater Central Asia: American and Western Stakes in the Region and How to Advance Them, June 2022
Oped Svante E. Cornell & Albert Barro, With referendum, Kazakh President pushes for reforms, Euractiv, June 3, 2022.
Oped Svante E. Cornell Russia's Southern Neighbors Take a Stand, The Hill, May 6, 2022.
Silk Road Paper Johan Engvall, Between Bandits and Bureaucrats: 30 Years of Parliamentary Development in Kyrgyzstan, January 2022.
Oped Svante E. Cornell, No, The War in Ukraine is not about NATO, The Hill, March 9, 2022.
Analysis Svante E. Cornell, Kazakhstan’s Crisis Calls for a Central Asia Policy Reboot, The National Interest, January 34, 2022.
Book S. Frederick Starr and Svante E. Cornell, Strong and Unique: Three Decades of U.S.-Kazakhstan Partnership, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, December 2021.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, S. Frederick Starr & Albert Barro, Political and Economic Reforms in Kazakhstan Under President Tokayev, November 2021.