UPDATE 2 The OSCE did in fact visit Uzbekistan. Apologies to our readers for the mistaken reporting!
UPDATE: There is some question as to the accuracy of the below information. Nathan has the lowdown at the Registan on who is saying the OSCE visited Uzbekistan, and who says they didn’t. The link […]
You notice right away that Uzbekistan is a “young” country. Children are all over the place. Some claim that up to 45% of the population is under 15 years of age (UNDP human development report 2004. Chidren are everywhere and in many cases one only notices them when children live on the streets, work on the markets or beg you for money. But they also play, have fun and can get on your nerves pretty much if you don’t take your time to understand them.
In Samarkand I started thinking about a way to take pictures of children who play on the street, without having to ask them. At some point I figured out a good way which is actually exremely simple. You just have to take out the camera and take pictures of something. If there are kids around, they will spot you and ask you to photograph them. Funny thing is. They do pretty much the same things I did when I was a kid and somone took a picture of me. These are details like the donkey or rabbit ears (the V-sign with your hand behind the head of your friend) and that children like to be either completely cool or dead serious.
Well, the photos are staged but still show a lot of the way the kids see themselves:
In an article for Ferghana.ru, Galima Bukharbayeva (known to those interested in Uzbekistan through her Andijon coverage for the IWPR) voices sharp criticism towards Germany’s Uzbekistan policy.
As this blog has covered the German-Uzbek relations before (here, here, here and here), I thought it was only right to add my two cents to her points. […]
In a recent posting on the World Bank’s decision to halt lending to Uzbekistan, James remarked,
“For countries as mired in corruption as Uzbekistan, it is impossible to ensure that loans and grants made directly to the government for development projects are well spent. Therefore, it makes more sense to offer more targeted assistance, and […]
The recent events in Belarus and the reactions from Western nations (here and here) made me think about possible developments a presidential election in Uzbekistan scheduled for December 2007 is to bring. Unlike Belorussians though, who had a choice between incumbent president Lukoshenko and a unified opposition leader Aleksandr Milinkevich et al, Uzbeks will […]
Dear Friends!
The Bukhara Tourism Association has the great pleasure to announce the upcoming Silk & Spice Festival.
As every year, craftspeople from all over Central Asia will gather around Lyabi Hauz and the Association in conjunction with the Hokimyat will make an effort to provide an interesting cultural program.
This could be an ideal moment […]
The final press conference of Uzbek President Karimov and his Kazakh counterpart Nazarbayev yesterday was used to explain why Uzbekistan seems busy at the moment North-Koreanising itself. Regnum reports that:
Karimov said when speaking of the attempts to defame Uzbekistan in the West — attempts that can lead the country to another Andijan. “Don’t tell […]
That the atmosphere for civil society in Uzbekistan is very difficult is nothing new. After a number of international news agencies had to leave (BBC, RFERL, Deutsche Welle) and important Human Rights NGOs (like Freedom House) now even UN agencies are asked to leave (UNHCR).
While these events are alarming at an international level, the […]
This entry has been cross-posted at kazakhstan.neweurasia.net
In an effort to improve notoriously sour relations, Kazakh President Nazarbayev is attending a summit in Uzbekistan on the invitation of President Karimov. Both countries are aspiring regional leaders, but are pursuing very different policies. Surprisingly, however, Uzbekistan’s recent radical change in policy direction may make […]
The World Bank just decided to halt all new lending to Uzbekistan.
Martin Reiser, World Bank Country Manager for Uzbekistan, said lending to the authoritarian state would be suspended as part of an ongoing strategy review but corruption was not explicitly cited as its motivation. He told the news agency by telephone from Tashkent that […]
