Hello all; first of all, I am sorry for my hiatus from posts (paucity of posting) for such a long time, but also, I am happy to say that I have found a new home on the web, and I will be once again posting much more frequently!
From now on, I will be posting about Tajikistan at
http://studentdigitalus.org/TajikistanFocus/
I hope you will head over and check us out.
Over on Global Voices there is a really interesting post and discussion on LGBT rights and discrimination in Tajikistan (hit the link for more):
Gay issues are a taboo subject in Tajikistan. Although the country decriminalized homosexuality fifteen years ago, there is still very little tolerance toward sexual minorities within its conservative society. In addition to homophobic attitudes, those rare individuals who dare to disclose their ‘unconventional’ sexual orientation become easy targets of physical and psychological abuse, including from police (pdf). As a result, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community remains ”one of the most closed and secretive parts of Tajik society”.
A recent discussion in the country’s blogosphere offers a rare glimpse into what it means to be gay in Tajikistan and how the country’s people view members of the LGBT community.
‘It means PAIN…’
The discussion started after blogger Rishdor wrote [ru] about a violent incident at his university. Students there found out that one of their classmates was a gay. Rishdor writes [ru]:
Как-то все восприняли это как личную обиду. Гомика решили проучить. Человек 8 однокурсников избили его в туалете. Жестоко избили, у него все лицо и костюм были в крови…
For some reason, everyone took it as a personal offence. It was decided that the [gay] should be taught a lesson. About eight of our classmates beat him up in the bathroom. They beat him up badly; there was a lot of blood on his face and clothes…
Tajikistan is turning ageism into state policy. Supposedly seeking to “attract young specialists” into government service, the president’s office has instructed officials to lay off elderly government employees –including teachers, doctors at state hospitals, and office functionaries – regardless of their qualifications.
Critics fear the policy will exacerbate the decline of Tajikistan’s intellectual capital. The December 6 order covers those who are old enough to qualify for pensions – 63 for men and 58 for women. Signed by the president’s chief of staff, former Justice Minister Bakhtiyor Khudoyorov, the order is designed to “accelerate the use of modern technologies, especially in the area of e-governance.”
Telecommunications engineer Ilkhom Shomuddinov, 64, is among those affected. He has worked for the state for more than 40 years. “Believe it or not, I don’t remember taking a single sick day. Now, I am told that I am dismissed – they [the managers] follow instructions from above. They don’t know whom to replace me with. Even if they manage to find a young specialist with my qualifications, it is unlikely he would work for that joke of a salary,” Shomuddinov told EurasiaNet.org.
Government wages are paltry: High school teachers earn about $70 per month, doctors between $100 and $200, and secretaries between $100 and $150.
But pensions (a form of social security issued to all, regardless of where a pensioner worked) are more difficult to live on, not only because they are smaller, but because they do not afford one the opportunity to use his or her official position to earn extra income (teachers offer their students private lessons, doctors see patients outside of office hours, and bureaucrats pocket bribes). The order effectively condemns many older workers to poverty. According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, there are 590,000 pensioners in Tajikistan; the average monthly pension is 152 somoni (less than $32).
Judging from reactions in local media, the order is deeply unpopular. Some legal experts argue it not only undermines Tajiks’ constitutional rights, but also their human rights according to international law.
Multiple attempts to discuss the order with officials at the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and the president’s office failed. Officials repeatedly transferred calls to phones that went unanswered.
In response to media criticism, during a January 7 press conference Education Minister Nuriddin Saidov promised “no dismissals will be carried out in the educational system in relation to the age of employees,” the Asia-Plus news agency quoted him as saying. “Many workers who have reached the pension age are qualified and experienced cadre, and we need them [as badly] as we need the air.”
Yet layoffs in the education system, which the minister oversees, have occurred. In early January, Khujand State University dismissed 11 professors who had passed retirement age, the Avesta news agency reported. At Kulyab State University, 23 elderly teachers have reportedly been laid off.
Government sources say they are faced with a dilemma: Ignore authoritarian President Imomali Rahmon’s order and face punishment from the chief executive’s office, or replace aging specialists with unqualified and untested young people who have come up through the dilapidated post-Soviet education system. “On the one hand, we cannot ignore instructions from the president’s office; on the other hand, it would be a crime to fire professors. Who will train young doctors then? Both the education and health sectors have decayed during the years of independence and the civil war,” said a source in the Health Ministry’s Education Department, speaking on condition of anonymity because of a fear of retaliation.
via Tajikistan: Executive Order Disregards Collective Wisdom | EurasiaNet.org.
After five months’ negotiations, Tajikistan has agreed to import some 30,000 tons of white crystal sugar from Pakistan, through Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP). Sources in ministry of commerce told Business Recorder on Thursday after getting green signal from Tajikistan, the state-run grain trader would sign a commercial agreement for the export of sugar and sent to Tajikistan officials for their endorsement.
via Tajikistan to import 30,000 tons of crystal sugar | Business Recorder.
Tajikistan in 2012: A Year in Review
The past year was an eventful one in Tajikistan on the economic, political and military fronts, with both domestic and regional ramifications. Importantly for Tajikistan’s economy, in May 2012, construction on the controversial hydroelectric Rogun Dam on the Vaksh River—a tributary of the Amu Darya river—was suspended following an order from the World Bank. The suspension reportedly put 5,000 people out of work and will remain in effect until the ecological impact study of the dam is completed. It is expected that the Word Bank’s feasibility study will be published this summer. Rogun is commonly seen to be at the heart of the hostility between Tajikistan and downstream Uzbekistan, which fears that the dam would severely damage Uzbekistani farmers’ ability to irrigate their cotton crops and would accelerate the ecological disaster in the Aral Sea. Uzbekistan has retaliated by periodically not allowing Tajikistan-bound rail and truck cargo to cross its borders and cutting off the flow of natural gas, exacerbating Tajikistan’s perennial energy shortages (Ozodi, January 1).
The year 2012 did however bring some good news for Tajikistan’s hopes of energy security with the news of the discovery of potentially huge hydrocarbon reserves in the Bokhtar region. The find was announced earlier this summer by the Canadian firm Tethys Petroleum and was deemed credible enough to attract investment from both the French energy giant Total and China’s National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Corporation (CNODC) (Asia Plus, December 24, 2012). While further exploration needs to be done, the potential reserves of oil and gas are estimated to be more than enough to make Tajikistan a net exporter of hydrocarbons. Such a development would free Dushanbe from its energy reliance on Russia and Uzbekistan and no doubt influence its foreign policy calculations.
In December, Tajikistan joined the World Trade Organization, which local economists hope will lower domestic customs tariffs, curb the power of monopolies in certain sectors such as aviation, lower prices on domestic goods, and encourage foreign investment (BBC Tajik, December 11, 2012). On the other hand, some critics have raised concerns over the potential negative short-term effects on the competitiveness of Tajikistan’s two chief exports, aluminum and cotton. The country’s cotton industry is not only an important economic force but, given the continued existence in Tajikistan of Soviet-style collective farms (kolkhozy), an important socio-political institution as well.
On the political front, the big story looming in 2013 is the presidential election slated for November. The election will mark the first in Tajikistan since 2006 when Emomalii Rahmon secured his third term in office. That vote was boycotted by several opposition parties including the largest, the Islamic Renaissance Party (IRP). However, this time the opposition parties are expected to participate and possibly put forth a coalition candidate. Nonetheless, 2012 was a rough year for the opposition as both religious and political figures such as Muhiddin Kabiri (the head of the IRP) and Hoji Akbar Turajonzoda (prominent cleric and former deputy prime minister) were legally harassed, imprisoned (such as Umarali Quvatov, businessman and head of the exiled opposition group “Group 24”), and even killed (notably, Sabzali Mamadrizoev, head of the IRP in the remote Gorno-Badakhshan region). Since the last presidential vote in 2006, Rahmon has seen neighboring states and allies embroiled in contested elections and subsequent hostility (witness Iran’s 2009 presidential election, the 2010 coup in Kyrgyzstan as well as the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011-2012). Despite assurances from some quarters that the country’s civil war has bred a war-weary and politically disinterested population, the regime will likely increase the pressure on the opposition and consolidate its power during the run-up to the elections in anticipation of potential unrest. President Rahmon may attempt to secure his rule by exaggerating the threat of Islamic extremism and proffering himself as a bulwark against regional instability in the context of a post-2014 Afghanistan. However the unrest this summer in Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan that killed dozens was a sobering reminder of at least three things: 1) not all Tajikistanis are war weary, 2) not all threats to the regime are inspired by Islam, and 3) the regime underestimates the domestic and international backlash against such heavy-handed tactics.
via UNHCR | Refworld | Tajikistan in 2012: A Year in Review.
DUSHANBE, January 17 (RIA Novosti) – Tajikistan has once again blocked access to the popular social networking site Facebook, prolonging a months-long ordeal that has earned the Central Asian country widespread criticism.
The blocking order came from the chief of Tajikistan’s communications service, Beg Zukhurov, and also affects three other websites, including Radio Liberty’s Tajik service, Internet provider Telekom Tekhnolodzhi told RIA Novosti late Wednesday night.
This is the second time in nearly as many months the Tajik authorities have blocked Facebook access. Last November, access was cut off after officials found what they said was slanderous content that criticized the country’s leadership.
At the time, Zukhurov blasted the people responsible for the content, who he claimed were being “paid well” to post it. He also noted that officials were acting on the requests of “indignant Tajik citizens.”
The move earned criticism from the European Union, which in early December called on Tajikistan to relax control over the Internet amid concerns of a crackdown on freedom of speech.
The EU Delegation to Tajikistan noted “with concern that such obstruction occurs frequently in Tajikistan which raises questions about the state of media freedom,” according to a December 6 statement posted to its website.
The administration of President Emomali Rakhmon, who has been in office since 1994, has often come under fire for alleged corruption and undemocratic behavior.
via Tajikistan Blocks Facebook – Again | World | RIA Novosti.
Authorities in Tajikistan have ordered Internet service providers, again, to block access to Facebook, local news agencies report. The blocking orders (which this time also target the local service of Radio Liberty) have become so familiar in the past year that there’s little new to say. So let’s look at how the man in charge of Internet access has explained his thinking in recent months.
Last March, the head of the communications service, Beg Zukhurov, after denying any order to block Facebook, said his office had actually blocked the site for “prophylactic maintenance.”
Internet service providers have said they were ordered to block Facebook last weekend, along with three or four news portals, by the state communications service, after one of the portals published an article severely criticizing [President Emomali] Rakhmon and his government. When queried by news agency Asia-Plus, the head of the service, Beg Zukhurov, denied any order to block Facebook, but said the authors of offensive online content “defaming the honor and dignity of the Tajik authorities” should be made “answerable.” Tajikistan frequently uses libel cases and extremism charges to silence critical journalists.
In November, Zukhurov again flipped the switch and memorably called Facebook a “hotbed of slander” when he sought a meeting with the social network’s founder and chairman, Mark Zuckerberg.
“Does Facebook have an owner? Can he come to Tajikistan? I’d meet him during visiting hours. If he does not have time, I’d talk to his assistants,” the BBC’s Russian service quoted Zukhurov as saying. (Zukhurov’s visiting hours are Saturday’s from 10am to noon.)
Zukhurov would like to discuss with Zuckerberg his theory that Facebook users are being paid to complain about their leaders, which is keeping them from discussing more important issues: “For example, somewhere in Tajikistan there is no water or roads are bad or the weather forecast is incorrect. But users do not write about these [topics]. They write especially about money issues. I was told that the users who post critical comments about officials and entrepreneurs are paid $5,000 to $10,000 for doing this. I’m very surprised about how expensive the comments are.”
The following month, over a long weekend in December, Zukhurov blocked 131 sites, seemingly chosen at random, for “technical” reasons.
The latest, short-lived mass blockade lasted from December 21- 25, and had observers scratching their heads. Some believe Zukhurov is honing techniques intended for use during elections this coming November, when President Imomali Rahmon is expected to seek another seven-year term. Tajikistan has no independent television outlets and no daily newspapers, leaving the Internet as the sole outlet open to Tajiks to air criticism of the government. Others say Zukhurov is trying to demonstrate his value to Rahmon.
[…]
Zukhurov’s actions may have unintended consequences, contends former education minister Munira Inoyatova. “The blocking of web resources – especially social networks – is widely seen as impeding access to information and prohibiting free communication. These prohibitions always increase social tensions,” Inoyatova told EurasiaNet.org.
For many, the most memorable Zukhurovism was his explanation for a communications blackout in the restive Gorno-Badakhshan province last summer, scene of heavy fighting between government troops and local warlords: A stray bullet had taken out a cable, he said, severing all phone and Internet connections to the region for a month (he did not explain the simultaneous YouTube block).
The repeated attempts to cut Tajiks’ access to the Internet – and the nonsensical explanations – have drawn widespread criticism from diplomats, press freedom watchdogs, and Tajiks embarrassed for their country. Whatever Zukhurov’s motivations, he’s helping turn isolated Tajikistan into a black hole for media freedom.
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan – The Central Asian nation of Tajikistan has blocked social media website Facebook for the third time in twelve months.
Also blocked Thursday was the U.S Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tajik language service. Internet service providers say they denied access to the sites at the request of communications authorities.
Tajikistan has low levels of Internet penetration, but Internet regulation in the authoritarian former Soviet republic is nonetheless expected to be strict ahead of November’s presidential election.
Emomali Rakhmon has ruled the impoverished country for two decades and expected to easily retain power, but officials remain nervous of any signs of opposition to the government.
via Tajikistan renews Facebook, Radio Free Europe access ban in presidential election year.
16 January 2013 Last updated at 04:49 ET Help
Afghanistan is the world’s biggest opium producer and it is estimated about a third of the drugs produced there go to Russia and Europe via Tajikistan.
Tajikistan is the poorest country in Central Asia and the rewards that come with trafficking the drugs are hard to resist for its people struggling to make a living along its long and open border with Afghanistan.
With Nato troops preparing to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 there are fears Tajikistan may become even more vulnerable to the trade.
The BBC’s Rustam Qobil travelled to one Tajik village on the border between the two countries where drug dealers try to recruit couriers for their trade.
Listen to the full report on Thursday, 17 January on Assignment on the BBC World Service.
As many as 53 new small hydropower plants are to be built in Tajikistan by the end of this year, Asia-Plus news agency said on Wednesday citing the head of the Agency for Construction and Architecture under the Government of Tajikistan Abduvali Komilov.
According to him, more than 50 small hydroelectric complexes were commissioned in the country last year.
The Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan, said as of early 2013, the number of small power plants in Tajikistan was 181 with a total capacity of over 15 MW.
Half of these plants are located in districts of republican subordination (90 units with a total capacity of 6 MW). Another 58 units with a 5.3 MW capacity are located in Sughd province, 20 units with over a 3.2 MW capacity in Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous province and 13 with a 686.4 kW capacity in Khatlon province.
via Tajikistan to build 53 small HPP by year end – Trend.Az.
Tajikistan is a transit point for one of the most lucrative drugs routes in the world.
Illegal drugs from neighbouring Afghanistan flood into the country on their way to Russia and Western Europe.
The rewards that come with trafficking the drugs can be hard to resist for Tajik people, who struggle to make a living along the country’s long and open border with Afghanistan.
In many Tajik villages on the border, villagers are sometimes recruited to help smuggle drugs along their journey into lucrative markets.
Prison sentences
Shadia (not her real name), a woman I met in a remote region near the Afghan border, knows only too well about the risks people in her village take when they give in to temptation.
“My husband wanted to buy some flour to make bread and agreed to carry some drugs,” she says.
“The police caught him along with his two brothers. Now they are all in prison.”
Unemployed and with no income, she is looking after her children by herself.
In this remote and impoverished rural community it is virtually impossible to find a job.
By Lt. Kyle Schlais, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 Public Affairs
BAHRAIN (NNS) — U.S. Navy Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 133 deployed to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in November as part of a Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI), the first Seabee mission in Tajikistan.
In support of the Office of Military Cooperation (OMC) and Tajikistan Ministry of Defense (MOD), the Seabee crew began construction alongside the MOD’s construction force, the Stroibat, on phase one of a $1 million project at the Peace Support Operation Training Center (PSOTC) at Shamsi Base, funded by GPOI.
To help boost the local economy and establish lasting relationships with contractors and vendors, the building materials were procured in nearby street vendor markets by Utilitiesman 1st Class Justin Walker, the Seabee project supervisor, and Air Force contracting officer, 1st Lt. Sunset Lo. The vendors delivered the materials in a timely manner, enabling the project to move forward on schedule.
Throughout the first phase, which included the construction of a new roof, English language lab classroom, kitchen renovations and electrical distribution repairs, the Seabees mentored 10 Stroibat soldiers, teaching them basic construction skills while building strong relationships through coordination with MOD Stroibat forces and communication with high level Tajikistan military officers.
“Working with Stroibat has been a great experience,” said Builder Constructionman Xavier Knowlesball. “It has been educational working through language barrier challenges and I am honored to be a part of the crew.”
Construction Electrician Constructionman Hunter Kiser expressed a similar sentiment.
“It has been an awesome experience working with the local construction force,” said Kiser. “Their hospitality is amazing and made our visit to Dushanbe easy, allowing us to focus on the tasking.”
With the first phase scheduled to conclude in January, planning for the second phase has already begun.
NMCB 133 is currently deployed as a part of engineering support operations throughout the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility.
For more news from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/nmcb133/.
New Delhi: Strengthening its overseas footprint, state-run BHEL today said a renovated hydro project with enhanced generation capacity has been commissioned in Tajikistan.
The power equipment major is also implementing hydro projects in Rwanda, Afghanistan, Vietnam, DR Congo and Bhutan.
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has completed the renovation, modernisation and uprating (RMU) of the 2×4.75 MW Varjob hydro power plant of Barki Tojik in Tajikistan. The project is funded by the Indian government.
The company, which had supplied the complete electro-mechanical package for the project, enhanced the capacity from two units of 3.67 MW to 4.75 MW each.
Both the units have achieved uprated full load and are running successfully following the RMU job.
“The successful completion of this project by BHEL will help in strengthening business relations between India and Tajikistan and open a new market for India in Tajikistan,” BHEL said in a statement.
via BHEL renovates, commissions hydro power plant in Tajikistan – NDTVProfit.com.
Tajikistan’s foreign trade turnover last year amounted to $ 5.137 billion, or 15.1 per cent ($ 674 million) more than in 2011, Asia-Plus information agency said today.
According to the Statistics Agency under the Tajik President, the trade balance was negative and amounted to about $ 2.418 billion.
During this period, Tajikistan had foreign trade relations with 102 world countries, in particular with 10 CIS countries and 92 foreign countries.
The export volume of goods last year amounted to more than $ 1.3 billion, or 8.1 per cent more than in 2011. The goods were imported to the country to the amount of over $ 3.7 billion, or 17.8 per cent more than the year before.
The export of finished food products decreased by 52 per cent, machinery and equipment – by 42.6 per cent, non-precious metals and their items – by 18.9 per cent, vegetable products – by 8.2 per cent in 2012 compared to 2011.
via Tajikistan’s foreign trade turnover exceeds $ 5.1 bln in 2012 – Trend.Az.
Dushanbe, Tajikistan, January 10, 2013—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, supported Tajikistan’s first private credit bureau in acquiring a license from the central bank, helping the country strengthen financial market infrastructure and improve access to finance for small and medium enterprises, and entrepreneurs.
The National Bank of Tajikistan in December issued a license to the Credit Information Bureau Tajikistan, enabling it to become the first private credit bureau in the country and start credit information sharing services. From now on, it is officially authorized to start collecting information on borrowers from Tajik financial institutions.
This initiative will enable Tajik financial institutions and other potential participants such as mobile operators and utility companies to have timely access to accountable and objective information on borrowers, which could allow them to reduce loan processing times and credit defaults, and lend to more small and medium enterprises.
“Launching a bureau of credit histories plays an important role in enhancing the sustainability of the whole banking system,” said Abdujabbor Shirinov, Chairman of the National Bank of Tajikistan. “The credit bureau will help financial institutions get credible information on borrowers and reduce credit defaults.”
via IFC Home.
Investors operating in three post-Soviet Central Asian republics face an “extreme risk” of having their businesses expropriated, according to a survey released last week in the UK.
Maplecroft, a Bath-based political risk consultancy, said on January 9 that it had found plenty of reasons to be wary of the business climate in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan after “evaluating the risk to business from discriminatory acts by the government that reduces ownership, control or rights of private investments either gradually or as a result of a single action.” Recent fits of resource nationalism in Kyrgyzstan — where the Kumtor gold mine, operated by Toronto-based Centerra Gold, accounted for 12 percent of GDP in 2011 and more than half the country’s industrial output – and rampant authoritarianism in places like Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have led Maplecroft to rank these countries among the most risky in the world. Not far behind, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan both fall in the “high risk” category.
From the study:
Central Asia is characterized by areas of increasing natural resource exploration and exploitation, but also for poor respect for property rights. Indeed, Turkmenistan (11), Tajikistan (18) and Kyrgyzstan (20) are all categorized as extreme risk. Kazakhstan (26), Azerbaijan (58) and the already mentioned Uzbekistan [24] are rated as ‘high risk’. As such, the region presents high expropriation risk particularly motivated by low regulation enforcement and widespread corruption. Various instances of expropriation have occurred in 2012. These include the allegedly unlawful expropriation and demolition of housing in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku; the expulsion of Russian telecommunications firm MTS in 2012 and the continued fallout associated with the expropriation of a gold mine belonging to Oxus in 2011 in Uzbekistan; and increasingly frequent hostility towards the mining sector from parliament in Kyrgyzstan.
The index, released as part of Maplecroft’s fifth-annual Political Risk Atlas, will offer little surprise to embattled foreign investors. Yet it offers a chance to rank the region, legendary for its pervasive corruption and venal dictators, internationally. Turkmenistan, regularly named by human rights groups as one of the most authoritarian and closed regimes on the planet, sits right after Omar al-Bashir’s war-weary Sudan in the expropriation index. Nepotistic Tajikistan, where the president’s family reportedly controls almost all business interests, is sandwiched between Angola and Bolivia.
via Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan Present “Extreme Risk” to Investors – Survey | EurasiaNet.org.
DUSHANBE, January 14 (RIA Novosti) – Tajik law-enforcers seized some six metric tons of drugs in the country in 2012, up 41.1 percent since 2011, a spokeswoman for the country’s drug control agency said on Monday.
“Cannabis-based drugs – weighting 4.8 metric tons in total – accounted for the bulk of the seizures. A total of 630 kilograms of raw opium and 515 kilograms of heroin were also seized,” Drug Control Agency spokeswoman Umeda Yusupova said.
A total of 895 drug-related crimes were registered in the country in 2012, and citizens of Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan were detained.
As of 2012, the country had more than 7,200 registered drug users, including 4,882 heroin addicts.
About 90 percent of heroin consumed in Russia is smuggled from Afghanistan, the world’s largest heroin producer, via former Soviet republics, including Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
via Six Tons of Drugs Seized in Tajikistan in 2012 | Crime | RIA Novosti.
DUSHANBE(BullionStreet): Former soviet state Tajikistan said country has mapped prospective reserves of stream gold deposits.
According to Tajikistan’s chief geologist Azim Ibrohim, prospective stream gold reserves in the country make about 100 tons.
The stream gold deposits mainly lie in the north and the south-east of the country. Over 1,500 work places will be created during development of these deposits, he said.
The geological exploration at the Hirshona deposit developed by the Tajik-Chinese joint venture Zarafshon found the deposit hosts around 10 prospective tons of gold.
Several companies prepare to launch gold extraction in Tajikistan, including UK’s Kryso Resources Plc, which plans to start gold production at Pakrut deposit in March 2014.
The prospective reserves at this deposit exceed 100 tons. The finds will be welcome news to the impoverished nation, which is seeking new miners to exploit its gold and silver reserves.
It will provide a significant boost to the nation’s proven reserves of the precious metal. The country’s mining industry currently produces from between 1.3 tons and 1.5 tons of the precious metal per year
An agreement on financing ‘Professional literacy programs for poverty reduction’ was signed in Dushanbe between the Republic of Tajikistan and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), AsiaPlus news agency reported on Saturday.
The total project cost is $ 11 million on a credit basis. The project will be implemented until 2016.
According to the Secretariat of the Tajik Finance Ministry, the agreement was signed by the Minister of Finance Safarali Najmiddinov and Vice – President of the IDB, Ahmet Tiktik.
The ‘Professional literacy programs for poverty reduction” are aimed to decrease poverty rates, especially in rural areas; training of young people and women by enhancing relevant professional literacy, practical skills and productivity.
via IDB to contribute $ 11 million to Tajikistan to reduce poverty – Trend.Az.
MOSCOW, January 11 (RIA Novosti) – Taking care of facial hair became a murky affair in Tajikistan after local authorities, known for their fight against long beards, also urged local barbers to stop giving their clients a clean shave.
The measure should help combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in the nation, Tajik Health Minister Nusratullo Salimov said at a press conference in Dushanbe on Thursday, CA-News.org regional news website reported.
The number of HIV-positive people in Tajikistan grew 17 percent to 4,500 over 2012, according to official statistics, which gave no separate figures for the number of cases where the infection was transmitted through barber razors.
UNAIDS estimated the real number of HIV-positive Tajikistan residents at 11,000 in 2011, the latest year for which statistics are available. The country’s government won some praise in its anti-HIV efforts, but prevention and statistics are both hampered by negative public attitude to the disease and a drug epidemic blamed on an inflow of Afghan heroin.
via Beard-Fighting Tajikistan Urges Ban on Barber Shaving | World | RIA Novosti.
MINSK, 11 January (BelTA) – Belarus and Tajikistan are determined to step up cultural and humanitarian cooperation. This statement was made at the session of the Tajikistan-Belarus friendship society on 11 January, BelTA learnt from the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Belarus.
The session reviewed the work of the friendship society in 2012 and outlined the plans for the year 2013. The participants of the session emphasized the need to expand contacts between educational and research facilities of Belarus and Tajikistan and boost the bilateral cultural and humanitarian cooperation.
08 January 2013, Dushanbe, Tajikistan – With the financial support of the European Union, the World Health Organization (WHO) Country office in Tajikistan launched a new project “Technical assistance in support of health care reform in Tajikistan” aiming to enhance the health system reform in Tajikistan.
The project is a part of the EU Delegation support to Republic of Tajikistan, namely technical assistance to the health sector to ensure the effectiveness of the health care reforms planned by the Government.
The overall objective of the project is to improve the health status of the population with a focus on the most vulnerable groups through strengthening of the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Health to deliver population based and results orientated service with focus on primary health care.
“WHO is committed to continue the work in the field of health systems strengthening jointly with the Development Partners to support the Ministry of Health in improving the quality, access, equity of health services in line with the National Health Sector Strategy 2010-2020, in particular for building of capacity of the health care reform in the country”– said Dr Pavel Ursu, WHO Representative/Head of WHO Country office in Tajikistan.
via EU contributes to WHO health reform project in Tajikistan | ReliefWeb.
Tajikistan’s Interior Ministry says three suspected members of the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) have been apprehended in a special operation near the Uzbek border.
According to a ministry statement, one police officer was wounded in the operation conducted in Tajikistan’s northern region of Maschoh overnight between January 9 and 10.
Police and security forces confiscated ammunition and weapons from the suspects.
The IMU, which says it wants to establish an Islamic Caliphate in Central Asia, is believed to have links with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
It had been active in the region but moved its operations to neighboring Afghanistan in recent years.
Tajikistan saw a spike in militant activity beginning in 2010 that led to the deaths of dozens of troops.
Russia and Tajikistan will discuss issues related to labor migration and abolition of export duty on light oil products imposed by Russia towards Tajikistan, CA-News reported with reference to diplomatic sources on Friday.
According to the report, the negotiations will be held during the brief visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Tajikistan, which is scheduled for Jan.16.
via Russia, Tajikistan to discuss abolition of export duty on light oil – Trend.Az.
SHAMSI BASE, Bahrain- U.S. Navy Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 133 deployed to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in November as part of a Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI), the first-ever Seabee mission in Tajikistan.
In support of the Office of Military Cooperation (OMC) and Tajikistan Ministry of Defense (MOD), the Seabee crew began construction alongside the MOD’s construction force, the Stroibat, on phase one of a $1 million project at the Peace Support Operation Training Center (PSOTC) at Shamsi Base, funded by GPOI.
To help boost the local economy and establish lasting relationships with contractors and vendors, the building materials were procured in nearby street vendor markets by Utilitiesman 1st Class Justin Walker, the Seabee project supervisor, and Air Force contracting officer, 1st Lt. Sunset Lo. The vendors delivered the materials ordered in a timely manner, enabling the project to move forward on schedule.
Throughout the first phase, which included the construction of a new roof, English language lab classroom, kitchen renovations and electrical distribution repairs, the Seabees mentored 10 Stroibat soldiers, teaching them basic construction skills while building strong relationships through coordination with MOD Stroibat forces and communication with high level Tajikistan military officers.
“Working with Stroibat has been a great experience,” said Builder Constructionman Xavier Knowlesball. “It has been educational working through language barrier challenges and I am honored to be a part of the crew.”
via DVIDS – News – NMCB 133 Conducts First-Ever Mission in Tajikistan.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank group, has supported the first private credit bureau in Tajikistan in acquiring a licence from the Central Bank, CA-News reported on Friday with the reference to the corporation’s office in Dushanbe.
“Creation of a credit bureau covering credit history plays an important role in enhancing the banking system’s stability. Meeting the challenges facing the credit bureau will reduce credit risks, as well as provide a more effective use of information about dishonest borrowers,” the head of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT) Abdujabbor Shirinov said.
As IFC Representative Fabrizio Fraboni noted, the issued licence is recognition of the progress made by the credit bureau. He said this event is “a significant step forward in the creation of a centre to exchange credit information for the Tajik financial market.”
via Tajikistan’s National Bank issues licence to first private credit bureau – Trend.Az.
Not long ago Tajik police were forcing men to shave their beards, convinced a terrorist lurked behind every whisker. Now the health minister has recommended salons stop trimming Tajikistan’s chins lest dirty razors spread HIV.Nusratullo Salimov said barbers are not doing enough to disinfect their shaving equipment, RIA Novosti quoted him as saying on January 10. The health minister emphasized, however, that the majority of Tajikistan’s new HIV infections are transmitted via dirty needles and unprotected sex. He gave no statistics for new infections from tainted razors.Facial hair is a popular topic of official chatter in Tajikistan. In late 2010, a number of bewhiskered men told local media outlets they were being harassed by police. Some reported being stopped and forced to shave. At the time, an Interior Ministry spokesman confirmed police were detaining “suspicious” men sporting long beards as part of their search for members of banned Islamic sects. Muslim men, moderate and radical alike, often wear beards out of reverence for the Prophet Muhammad.More recently, in November, a new injunction sponsored by the State Committee on Religious Affairs reportedly prohibited men from wearing beards longer than their fists, though some officials later denied the existence of any rules. (Ironically, across the border in Afghanistan, the Taliban were once said to forbid men from wearing beards shorter than fist-length.)The beard vs razor debate will likely overshadow a more pressing issue. HIV is spreading rapidly along the heroin trafficking routes that transit Tajikistan. And in Russia, where a million-odd Tajiks work as temporary laborers – and often engage in risky sex before returning home to their wives – the UN says there are 200 new HIV infections every day. Salimov said the number of new cases in Tajikistan shot up by 17 percent in 2012.
President, Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Dr Mohammad Yousuaf Sarwar stressed the need for further boosting up of bilateral trade ties and business linkages between Pakistan and Tajikistan. This, he stated while talking to members of trade delegation from Tajikistan, led by Abdur Rahman visited here the chamber on Thursday.
On the occasion, SCCI vice presidents, Malik Iftikhar Awan, Mohammad Anees Ashraf, Honorary Consul General of Tajikistan in Peshawar, Engr Saeed Mehmood, and members of SCCI executive committee were present. Yousuf Sarwar expressed his willingness for booting up mutual trade linkages, exchange business delegation and holding of jointly exhibition for promotion of products of both the brotherly Islamic states. He said that the establishment of banking linking, would take equally benefits of business community of the two countries.
via SCCI for enhancing trade ties with Tajikistan | Business Recorder.
DUSHANBE, January 9 (RIA Novosti) – The lower house of Tajikistan’s parliament ratified an agreement on the country’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Wednesday, concluding Dushanbe’s drive to join the trade body.
Tajikistan was admitted to the WTO last December, becoming only the second Central Asian nation, after Kyrgyzstan, to do so. In order for the accession agreement to enter into force however, it had to be ratified by Tajikistan’s Assembly of Representatives.
The country’s Economic Development and Trade Minister Sharif Rakhimzod said on Wednesday his country’s accession “will certainly facilitate the appearance of Tajik goods in world markets and improve investment attractiveness.”
Tajikistan first applied for WTO membership in 2001, promising to enact reforms to open up its economy.
“Foreign investors will be reassured by the applicability of the WTO’s familiar and predictable rules-based system and will know that Tajikistan is now ‘open for business,'” WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said in a statement last month while welcoming Tajikistan to the trade body.
The poorest country in the former Soviet Union, Tajikistan’s business climate has been mired by allegations of pervasive official corruption and the influence of a bustling drug trade from neighboring war-torn Afghanistan.
via Tajikistan Parliament Ratifies WTO Agreement | World | RIA Novosti.
Tajik Government may withdraw two mining licenses from Singapore’s company Marvis, CA-News reported with reference to chairman of Head Administration of Geology under Tajikistan’s government, Azim Ibrohim.
“The company has not fulfilled its obligations with regard to implementation of the projects, what might be caused by the company’s financial difficulties,” Ibrohim said.He underlined that the administration offered the company to prepare the project on mining. However, the offer was left unanswered.
via Tajikistan to withdraw mining licenses from Singapore’s company – Trend.Az.
DUSHANBE, January 3, 2013, Asia-Plus — Deputies of Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament have ratified an agreement between Tajikistan and NATO on physical security and stockpile management (PSSM).
A regular sitting of the fourth session of the Majlisi Namoyandagon of the fourth convocation, presided over by its head, Shukurjon Zuhurov, was held on January 3.
Speaking at the meeting, Jumakhon Davlatov, State Adviser to the President for Legal Issues also President’s Plenipotentiary Representative to Parliament, noted that the agreement was signed in Brussels on January 31, 2012 and it is aimed at improving physical security and stockpile management of ammunition in Tajikistan.
“Since 1998, Tajikistan has taken a number of measures to destroy anti-personnel mines on the border and this agreement provides for allocation of 575,000 euros,” said Davlatov. “To-date, Japan, the United Kingdom and Turkey have allocated 202,000 euros and the remaining part of sum will be provided by the Government of Canada.”
We will recall that the agreement ratification was postponed on December 26, 2012 because parliamentarians did not quite understand the essence of the document.
According to information posted on NATO’s website, the North Atlantic Alliance hopes the project will help prevent illegal cross-border trade in munitions. The task is even more critical because of Tajikistan’s southern border with Afghanistan, where full control for security is due to transition to Afghan national security forces by end 2014.
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan – A soldier in Tajikistan has been killed in a gun battle with smugglers attempting to cross the porous frontier from neighbouring Afghanistan.
The Tajik security services, which handle border protection, said Tuesday that about 20 intruders opened fire after being intercepted during a nighttime patrol, killing one soldier and wounding another before fleeing.
Tajikistan is a major conduit for the trafficking of heroin and other drugs from Afghanistan to Russia and Western Europe.
The incident took place on Jan. 1. Authorities in the former Soviet republic often delay releasing information on security issues.
via Soldier in Tajikistan killed in clash with smugglers along porous border with Afghanistan.
DUSHANBE, January 4 (RIA Novosti) – A large batch of drugs containing some 122 kilograms has been seized by Tajikistan’s special services in an operation conducted in the Central Asian country’s northern Sughd Province, the State Committee for National Security said.
“A Kamaz truck driven by 46-year-old Sadriddin Safarov has been detained in a special operation,” the committee said in a statement on Thursday. “During the truck’s search, 120 kg of drugs, including 70 kg of hashish and 50 kg of opium, have been seized.”
via Over 120 Kg of Drugs Seized in Tajikistan | Crime | RIA Novosti.
DUSHANBE – The year 2013 promises change in Tajikistan as it is set to join the second World Trade Organisation (WTO) member in Central Asia after Kyrgyzstan.
Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon and WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy on December 10 in Geneva signed a protocol adding Tajikistan to the WTO this summer. The Tajik parliament has until June 7 to ratify the protocol, and Tajikistan will become a full WTO member 30 days later. Tajikistan will join Kyrgyzstan as the two Central Asian countries in the WTO.
Tajikistan first applied for membership in 2001 and for the past 11 years has worked to liberalise its foreign trade and investment laws and reduce customs duties in an effort to be admitted.
“Tajikistan’s accession to the WTO will mark the beginning of a new creative stage,” Rakhmon said at the protocol signing ceremony. “The country will continue to carry out constructive reforms in all spheres of the economy and will focus on developing a free and transparent trading system.”
Two opinions on membership
While some observers agree membership will boost economic development, others are discussing changes that the Tajik domestic market can expect and whether the country will be able to compete on the world stage.
Tajikistan’s accession would help make small and medium-sized business more competitive, Tajik Chamber of Commerce and Industry Deputy Chairwoman Larisa Kislyakova told Central Asia Online.
“Considerable opportunities will open up for small manufacturing companies producing high-value-added products,” she explained. “This business sector will grow, as the main tariff concessions provided by the WTO go to these product groups.” Indeed, Tajikistan’s economy already has benefited from legal reforms mandated by the WTO, according to Saifullo Safarov, deputy director of the Presidential Centre for Strategic Studies.
“Institutionally the republic made automatic progress by adjusting its laws,” he said. “In this respect, Tajikistan is becoming more attractive to investors, whose interests will enjoy protection both under national law and from a global organisation.”
Still, some say that change could be difficult, especially for agriculture.
“Small businesses set up by local entrepreneurs in rural areas hardly will be able to compete with foreign companies,” Social-Democratic Party Deputy Chairman Shokirjon Khakimov predicted, adding that, under the terms of the WTO, agricultural subsidies in developing countries should not exceed 10% of the government budget.
Kislyakova rejected that argument, saying that Tajik agricultural subsidies presently amount to only 4% of government spending, so the cap shouldn’t be a problem. Some farmers will abandon certain crops for others, economist Khodzhimukhammad Umarov said, predicting a decrease in cotton farming and adding, “Tajik farmers will … switch to more profitable crops.”
via Tajikistan’s WTO membership offers pros and cons – Central Asia Online.
Kazakhstan, Astana, Jan.4 / D. Mukhtarov /
An earthquake measuring 4.8 occurred on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, in 462 kilometers from the Kazakh city of Almaty, website of Seismological Experimental Methodological Expedition of the Science Committee of the Ministry Education and Science of Kazakhstan reported.
“Network of seismic stations of the State Institution “Seismological Experimental Methodological Expedition of the Science Committee of the Ministry Education and Science of Kazakhstan” recorded an earthquake at 04:10 on Jan.4 (Almaty time),” the report says.
The earthquake epicenter was in 462 kilometers of south-west of the Almaty city on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
via Earthquake hits border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – Trend.Az.
Focusing on Tajikistan 