The Big Orange

KYRGYZSTAN: Crime, crime, crime

Crime is out of control in this Central Asian country. Kyrgyzstan is rated 16^th out of 62 countries surveyed in terms of murders per capita. In 2005, the number of murders and attempted murders had risen 17 percent. But as the population acquires more and more guns, the military is puzzled why its stockpile is shrinking. Prime Minister Felix Kulov launched an investigation to discover where the military arsenal disappeared to under the former regime.

One of the prominent murders last year was Member of Parliament Tynychbek Akmatbayev. He was killed by prison inmates when he made an exploratory visit. Three men who were arrested were found guilty and sentenced to death. But since Kyrgyzstan has a moratorium on the death sentence, it really is a life in prison sentence. Thirty-five other people received various prison sentences in relation to this murder.

Ryspek Akmatbayev, a criminal warlord, ran for parliament to avenge the death of his brother Tynychbek. The government tried to block his candidacy because of the ongoing investigations of his crimes. But he finally won his seat, only to be subsequently murdered himself. And now his nephew has been killed. Nurlan Konoyev was shot at point-blank range at a prestigious lake resort.

A by-election in a southern region of the country ended in violence. Supporters of both candidates began throwing rocks and petrol bombs at each other. Police stepped in with tear gas to end the fighting. The Supreme Court had annulled the election win by one of the candidates and had ordered a new election. On June 14, the Supreme Court had upheld that decision, which caused the violence to erupt.

Also in that southern region, a Protestant pastor has been attacked in this predominantly Muslim region. On July 31, about 80 residents entered his home and burned all of his books. They demanded that he leave the country.

GEORGIA: Russian minority rights not honored

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has accused Georgia of violating a 1994 cease-fire agreement that prohibits military activity within the Abkhazian conflict zone. Georgia shot back that it was not a military operation, but a police action against organized crime operating within the gorge.

On July 28, the Georgian government announced that it would move the Abkhazian government-in-exile into the Kodori Gorge to administer the region. This is the pro-Georgian faction that had ruled within Abkhazia before being thrown out during the war of 1992-1993. The breakaway Abkhazian government threatened military action if Georgia were to move forward with this plan.

Having swiftly regained control of the region from criminal factions, the police began pulling out of the Kodori Gorge by July 29, although a sizable force was left behind to maintain control.

Georgia is not the angel in all of these disputes. The reason these regions had broken away was because the Georgian authorities had ignored the rights of the ethnic Russian population. That is why the Armenians now want to create their own autonomous region within Georgia. And the Azerbaijan minorities have also risen up recently. Many Azeris have been detained who belong to organizations fighting for the rights of ethnic Azeris within Georgia. Two Azeris have recently died in the scuffles, and the local Azeri newspaper, Hummet, has been shut down by the government.

The Azerbaijan minorities are demanding the release of all detained members of their organization and the return of all the copies of their newspaper. If these demands are not met, they have threatened to block the main highway between the Georgian and Armenian capitals, which runs through two cities inhabited mostly by Azeris.

GEORGIA: Territorial struggle goes critical

President Mikhail Saakashvili has final say in the matter of the independence of ethnic provinces and will use this vote as leverage in his talks with Russia on a number of disputes, including a Russian ban on Georgian wines and water and Georgian efforts to block Russia from joining the World Trade Organization.

Earlier in July, President Saakashvili made a trip to the United States, where President Bush hosted him and called him “my friend” as a message to Russia that the U.S. will stand behind Georgia in its struggle for territorial integrity. President Bush also promised to help Georgia join the NATO alliance.

The situation really became critical in July. The only part of Abkhazia still controlled by the Georgian government is the Kodori Gorge, which controls the only approach to this Black Sea region. Local strongman Emzar Kvitziani, who was a former governor of Abkhazia and the head of a local militia, attempted to gain control of the gorge and merge it with the rest of Abkhazia.

Georgian police poured into the gorge on July 25 to regain control. The operation took two days, and Kvitziani was allowed to escape to Abkhazia proper rather than cause the deaths of many innocent civilians. The Georgian government offered a $55,000 reward to anyone who provides information on the whereabouts of Kvitziani. In a country where the average wage is $1,500 a year, this is a substantial reward.

A phone clip aired which suggested that the Abkhaz government had offered arms to Kvitsiani to stage his revolt. The phone conversation was between Kvitsiani and opposition politician Irakli Batiashvili, who had served previously as the state security minister. Batiashvili has been arrested and charged with treason, but he claims that the entire phone conversation was not played where Kvitsiani turned down the offer of Abkhaz weapons. Which is really a moot point, because his testimony proves that the offer was made.