Page 515 – The Times Of Central Asia

28 Oct 2024

Central Asia, Tajikistan Justice, Justice, Uzbekistan, International Affairs, Tajikistan, Local Politics, Uzbekistan Justice, Uzbekistan Local Politics

Five Uzbeks and One Tajik Escape Russian Penal Colony

October 28, 2024
By Sadokat Jalolova

On the morning of October 26, news broke that six prisoners had escaped from a penal colony in Russia’s Lipetsk region. The escapees—five from Uzbekistan and one from Tajikistan—had been planning their escape for over six months. They stole tools seven months prior and used them to dig two tunnels.

The Lipetsk prison is where the infamous Aleksey Sherstobitov is serving a 23-year sentence. Sherstobitov, known as ‘Lyosha the Soldier’, was a notorious hitman in the 1990s, working for the infamous Orekhovskaya crime group.

Law enforcement has detained five of the six prisoners, who escaped through a dug tunnel. The prisoners, all convicted of rape and drug trafficking, had planned to reach the Kazakhstan border but only managed to travel a few dozen kilometers toward Tambov and Moscow. The search for the remaining escapee is ongoing.

A criminal case has been opened for negligence against the colony officials who allowed the prisoners to escape. If found guilty they could face up to seven years in prison under Article 293 of the Russian Criminal Code.

28 Oct 2024

Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Features, Local Politics, Uzbekistan Justice, Uzbekistan Life & Culture, Features, Uzbekistan Local Politics

Uzbekistan President’s Party Wins Landmark Election Held Under New Voting System

October 29, 2024
By Sadokat Jalolova

On October 27, Uzbekistan held elections for deputies of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis (Lower House of Parliament) and local councils. This marks the first time these elections were conducted using a mixed (majority-proportional) system and featured electronic voting.

For over a month, parties actively promoted their election programs to the public, with televised debates and messages on public transport urging citizens to participate in the elections and shape the country’s future. As required by law, all campaign activities were halted one day before the election.

The electoral platforms of the five parties registered in Uzbekistan saw The Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (UzLiDeP) emphasize poverty reduction and promoting internal labor migration over the next five years. The party also campaigned on expanding public-private partnerships in water management, ecology, and energy to increase the private sector’s share in the economy to 85%. Additionally, UzLiDeP pledged to improve education, healthcare, and social services, focusing on providing clean drinking water and sewage systems in schools. The party pledged to double the annual budget for healthcare to $6 billion, and advocated to enhance healthcare and social support for citizens over the age of 70.

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) focused on accessibility and social support, including assistive technologies at public transportation points for people with disabilities. They proposed adopting a “Social Housing” law, requiring luxury housing developers to allocate funds for social housing. This would benefit vulnerable groups, such as the homeless, people with disabilities, and those coming through the orphanage system. The party’s environmental initiatives included the Water Code and creating “Health Parks” for seniors near apartment complexes.

The Milli Tiklanish (National Revival) Party’s platform spanned various topics, including youth development, cultural enrichment, family support, economic growth, and tourism. One key pledge emphasized Uzbekistan’s international relations, focusing on friendly ties with neighboring countries, cooperation, and maintaining peace – this despite party leader, Alisher Qodirov’s anti-Russian rhetoric, including recent comments that “it would be better for [Russia] to deal with their own affairs [which are] full of problems than to deal with our internal issues.” Qodirov has been actively responding to international discussions about Uzbekistan, reinforcing the party’s commitment to advancing national interests and strengthening Uzbekistan’s presence on the world stage.

The Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party ran on a platform of advocating for media freedom, proposing reforms to safeguard journalists’ rights and prevent interference. Adolat pledged to introduce a “Presumption of Property Rights” to protect ownership and put forward affordable energy and price stability initiatives.

The Ecology Party’s motto, “We are responsible for the future!” set out to drive home its focus on environmental and social issues. The party promoted government, business, and civil society efforts to address environmental challenges, whilst seeking to improve environmental legislation and education, and transitioning Uzbekistan toward a green economy.

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According to Uzbek legislation, the election would be deemed valid once 33% of voters participated, and by 1pm local time 47.62% of voters had cast their ballots.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and his family voted in the 59th polling station on Tashkent’s Mirzo Ulugbek district. More than 850 international observers participated in the elections as part of fully-fledged missions from the CIS, SCO, the Organization of Turkic States, and the OSCE Bureau for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. Chairman of the Central Election Commission, Zayniddin Nizamkhodjaev, announced that 74.72% of registered voters had voted in the elections.

According to preliminary results, President Mirziyoyev’s UzLiDeP has won 64 seats in the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis. National Revival gained 29 seats, Adolat 21, the PDP 20, and the Ecology Party 16 seats. Some Western outlets, such as Barron’s, characterized the elections as “tightly controlled” with “no real opposition,” whilst according to The Diplomat, all of the entities allowed to register “have always been perceived as mere extensions of the state.”

However, since the death of long-term despot, Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan’s “state apparatus [have] become more open,” as noted by an election observer in 2019. Amidst reforms aimed at tackling endemic corruption, in recent years Uzbekistan has gained ground on Transparency International’s global corruption perception index, and recently partnered with the World Bank on “training, projects, and research to combat corruption.”

In it’s preliminary conclusion, the OSCE stated that Uzbekistan’s parliamentary elections “took place amid ongoing reforms, including
significant amendments to the Constitution, but the political environment remained constrained, not providing voters with a genuine choice. While the electoral framework has gradually evolved, and elections were technically well-prepared, significant challenges in meeting international standards for democratic elections persist in such areas as political party registration, the right to stand, campaign
finance transparency, citizen observation, and the publication of polling station results.”

26 Oct 2024

Home, Uzbekistan, Justice, Uzbekistan Features, Uzbekistan Justice, Features

Big Security Sweep After Attack in Tashkent Region; No Casualties

October 30, 2024
By Times of Central Asia

Authorities in Uzbekistan are searching for suspects who opened fire on a vehicle in the Tashkent region early Saturday, the prosecutor general’s office said. The office did not immediately confirm some Uzbek media reports that Komil Allamjonov, former chief of the presidential information department, may have been in the vehicle.

There were no injuries in the attack, which occurred around 1:40 a.m. while a person identified only as “citizen S.S.” was driving a Range Rover in Qibray district, according to a statement of the prosecutor general’s office. It said “two unidentified individuals fired multiple shots at the vehicle from a firearm and then fled the scene.”

The type of weapon used in the attack has not been determined, the statement said. An attempted murder case was opened and a search is underway.

“Currently, a rapid investigation group consisting of qualified officers from relevant agencies has been formed, and investigative actions are ongoing,” the prosecutor general’s office said.

Gazeta.uz, an Uzbek media outlet, said a large group of law enforcement officials converged on the area where the shooting occurred. It quoted an unidentified person as saying police were asking for video recordings from nearby surveillance cameras.

Allamjonov had worked as head of the presidential press service and held other posts prior to becoming chief of the presidency’s Information Policy Department in August 2023. Saida Mirziyoyeva, daughter of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and a senior presidential aide, thanked Allamjonov when he left that job in September this year. Allamjonov said he would go into the private sector.

25 Oct 2024

Cultural Heritage, Central Asia, Home, Uzbekistan, Life & Culture, International Affairs, Uzbekistan Features, Uzbekistan Home, Uzbekistan Life & Culture, Features, Uzbekistan International Affairs

Uzbekistan’s Cricket Team: We’re Ready For International Matches

October 28, 2024
By Jonathan Campion

Supporters of Uzbek sport have had a lot to celebrate this year. The national football team currently sits at the top of its qualifying group for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while eight of the country’s athletes took gold at this summer’s Paris Olympics.

But next year Uzbekistan wants to enter the world stage in a more surprising sport: cricket.

The Central Asian country joined the game’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), in 2022. As an “Associate” ICC member there are hopes that the Uzbek squad will play its first international matches in 2025, in the Twenty20 (T20) version of the game. T20 games are much shorter than traditional five-day Test matches.

The nation’s rapid progress is due to Aziz Mihliev, the owner of Tashkent pharmaceutical company Anfa. Mihliev fell in love with the game while living in India, where cricket is the national sport. As the founder and chairman of the O’zbekiston Kriket Federatsiyasi (Uzbekistan Cricket Federation), Mihliev has created the Anfa Cricket Academy in the capital’s Yunusobod district, where three practice pitches cover a school playground.

The federation invites students at Tashkent’s sports colleges to the academy to try their hand at cricket. Many of the players picked to wear the red and dark blue striped jerseys of the new Anfa Cricket Club are also talented tennis players.

Mihliev has also built a cricket ground outside the capital, towards the town of Chirchiq, where a game between Salar Stars and Ferghana Rangers will be played this Sunday. There are plans to turn an abandoned Soviet-era stadium outside Samarkand into Uzbek cricket’s second home.

Travelling to represent Uzbekistan at global ICC conferences, Mihliev speaks with the ambition of a man who now rubs shoulders with the most influential people in the sport. From one such trip he writes: “My ambition is to see an Uzbekistan national team play a Test match against the England team. And win, of course!”

Over 4,000 Uzbeks now play the game regularly at schools and universities, from Tashkent in the north of the country to the southern Surkhandaryo region.

Surkhandaryo borders Afghanistan, a passionate cricketing nation that reached the semi-finals of this year’s men’s T20 World Cup. And it was to Afghanistan that Mihliev turned when recruiting a former international player to train his national team. Khaliq Dad Noori played a few games for Afghanistan at the beginning of the 2010s, when his own country was at the start of its journey to the top of world cricket.

Noori coaches his players in the Pashto language, which his Uzbek students can understand. But cricket in Uzbekistan still has a local flavour. Hitting techniques come straight from games of chilla, an old pastime played with sticks. Bats are known as tuqmoq – the name of a wooden club that Uzbek warriors used to brandish.

Although some of Uzbekistan’s best cricketers have only been playing for a year or two, judging by the talent on show during a practice session they would beat most amateur teams in big cricketing countries. Mihliev is taking his Anfa Cricket Club on a tour to the Indian city of Kanpur next month, to give the players exposure to different conditions, and a higher standard of competition.

Speaking after the session, Noori is sure that his players have big futures ahead of them – even if some of them are struggling to persuade their families that playing a complicated foreign sport is a worthwhile decision. “In the next 10 years Uzbekistan will be a real cricket country,” he says. “We want to become a full member of the ICC – and for 80% of people in Uzbekistan to understand and love cricket.”

“In terms of [senior] international matches, we first want to play against countries in our region who are also new ICC members: Mongolia, Tajikistan and Iran. We are working to set up junior [national] teams at the under-14, under-17 and under-19 level.”

Whether or not the England team ever walks out for a Test match in Samarkand, simply playing games against Mongolia would be very significant for a country that wants to be seen on the world stage.

On the concrete pitch in Yunusobod, one of the young players, Kamron, says: “I am proud to be in the national team of Uzbekistan. It takes a lot of responsibility. In the future we will win international competitions with our team, and defend the honour of our country.” His teammate Gholib adds: “Our first president Islam Karimov once said that nothing could make the country known to the world faster than sport.”

Another player, Asadbek, backs them up. “Cricket is a lovely game,” he says. “We want to connect with the world, and pass on a message of peace, which the world needs the most right now. I want to see Uzbekistan play the best teams in the world.”

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Jonathan Campion is The Times of Central Asia’s senior editor, and the author of Getting Out: The Ukrainian Cricket Team’s Last Stand on the Front Lines of War.

25 Oct 2024

Central Asia, International Affairs, Kazakhstan International Affairs, Kazakhstan, Business & Economy, Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Authorities Rail Against Use of Kazakhstan in Circumventing International Sanctions Against Russia

October 25, 2024
By Vagit Ismailov

Kazakhstan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko emphasized in an interview with the Polish publication PAP that the country seeks to prevent its territory from being used to circumvent international sanctions imposed against Russia.

According to Vassilenko, although Kazakhstan has not officially imposed sanctions nor joined the anti-Russian measures, the republic’s authorities consider it essential to prevent risks associated with possible secondary sanctions against its companies. This is especially important in regard to its close economic ties with Western countries. At the same time and in acknowledgement of its position concerning both its Western partners and Russia, Kazakhstan has emphasized the need for balance and an avoidance of circumvention of restrictive measures.

Vassilenko also noted that Kazakhstan is actively cooperating with the European Union on the sanctions regime, and as part of these consultations, reported that he had been in dialog with David O’Sullivan, the EU special envoy for sanctions.

Vassilenko denied speculation about growing tensions between Kazakhstan and Russia, and pointing out that the countries maintain close ties, explained: “There are different issues because we are neighbors and have diverse relations. We are working with Russia to solve these issues before they become problems. This is our approach not only to the Russian Federation but to any other country.”

After the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, Kazakhstan took a neutral stance and did not support Western sanctions against Moscow. Nevertheless, the Kazakh authorities have repeatedly stated that they will not allow the country’s territory to be used to circumvent these restrictions. President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev, in his speeches, adheres to the principle of compliance with the international sanctions regime and aims to conduct a constructive dialog with the EU and the U.S. to avoid possible secondary sanctions that could affect Kazakh companies.

25 Oct 2024

Central Asia, Kazakhstan Local Politics, International Affairs, Local Politics, Business & Economy, Kazakhstan International Affairs, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Swiss Company Roche to Produce Anti-Cancer Drugs in Almaty

October 25, 2024
By Sergey Kwan

On October 24, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., in partnership with Nobel Almaty Pharmaceutical Factory JSC, launched the production of innovative drugs in Almaty.

The project followed an agreement between Roche, Kazakhstan’s SK-Pharmacy LLP, Nobel, and the Kazakh Research Institute of Oncology and Radiology, with the support of National Company Kazakh Invest. Under the agreement, Roche committed to establishing local production of three biotechnological drugs for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease that affects up to 20% of breast cancer patients in Kazakhstan.

At the opening ceremony, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Health, Akmaral Alnazarova, said: “The localization [of production] of oncological drugs by a global leader like Roche is a huge step forward for our country. This project will provide patients access to advanced treatments and significantly contribute to developing Kazakhstan’s healthcare infrastructure.”

The transfer of Roche’s advanced technologies and production capabilities to local partners will reduce healthcare system costs in Kazakhstan and significantly expand patient access to essential medicines. Around 5,000 new cases of breast cancer are registered in the country annually, with approximately 1,200 resulting in death. This project is expected to increase the number of patients receiving therapy to 1,335 by 2026.

The project is part of Kazakhstan’s plan to increase the share of domestically produced medicines and medical devices to 50%.