DUSHANBE, April 1 2013, Asia-Plus:
March 1 – Russia raised export duty on its oil products fro Tajikistan again. By Russian government’s decree an export duty on petroleum has was raised from US$363.00 per ton in February to US$378.60.
March 2 – Tajikistan became a full member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO approved Tajikistan’s accession in December and named March 2 as the official entry date. Tajikistan becomes the 159th member of the WTO, following Kyrgyzstan as the only WTO members so far from among Central Asia”s five post-Soviet republics.
March 5-6 – The first meeting of Tajikistan-Switzerland intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation took place in Dushanbe. The sides reportedly considered issues related to implementation of joint projects in Tajikistan, promotion of investments, development of entrepreneurial activity and attraction of more investments for development of Tajikistan’s economy.
March 6 – Lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of Tajikistan”s parliament passed a new education legislation exempting village teachers from compulsory military service. According to the amendments to the Law on Education, teachers in rural areas will also benefit from free land lots, tax cuts, and other financial benefits;
– The U.S. Embassy’s Office of Military Cooperation issued more than $ 460,000 worth of communications technology and individual equipment consisting of personal protective gear, cold weather clothing, and tactical gear to the Border Guard Detachment in the Shouroobod district. The equipment will enhance the capability of the Tajik Border Guard Mobile Special Groups to secure Tajikistan’s borders against drug traffickers and extremist elements;
– Human Rights Dialogue between Tajikistan and the European Union took place for the fifth time in Dushanbe. The dialogue was held in a friendly atmosphere, with an exchange on a wide range of issues of mutual interest or concern, as well as discussions on possibilities for concrete cooperation in the field of human rights.
March 7 – Tajik national air carrier, Tajik Air, resumed flights the Azeri capital Baku;
– A Dushanbe court ordered the Ministry of Interior (MoI) to pay a 30,000 somoni compensation to the widow of a suspect who died after he was allegedly beaten by police. Safarali Sangov, 37, died after he was arrested on drug-related charges in March 2011. Police initially said Sangov injured himself while trying to commit suicide. Sangov”s relatives insisted he had been severely beaten while in custody. Both policemen were freed under a general amnesty decree in October 2012 before a trial could take place;
– The Tajik authorities lifted all restrictions on electricity countrywide, one month earlier than usual, and regions now have power 24 hours a day.
March 8 – Tajikistan celebrated the Day of the Mother.
March 11 – Tajikistan celebrated the Tajik Press Day.
March 13-14 – Austrian President, Dr. Heinz Fischer, was in Tajikistan on an official visit. During his stay in Dushanbe, Austrian president met with high-ranking Tajik state officials to discuss bilateral cooperation between Austria and Tajikistan. Negotiations between governmental delegations of Tajikistan and Austria resulted in signing of thee cooperation documents. A forum for representatives of the business communities of Tajikistan and Austria took place in Dushanbe on March 13.
March 15 – a court in Kiev’s Shevchenko district ruled that former Tajik Prime Minister Abdumalik Abdullojonov can be held in detention for up to 12 months while the issue of his possible extradition to Tajikistan is decided. Abdumalik Abdullojonov, 64, was arrested at Borispol Airport near Kiev on February 5 on an international warrant after arriving from the United States. Abdullojonov, who challenged veteran Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in the 1994 presidential election, is accused by the Tajik authorities of involvement in a 1996 assassination attempt on Rahmon. He is also accused of backing a 1998 militant attack in the Sughd region, and of organized-crime and terrorism-related offenses. Abdullojonov denies the charges.
March 15-16 – Colonel-General Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, heading a Russian military was in Tajikistan on a two-day visit. During his stay in Dushanbe, Gerasimov held talks with Sherali Khairulloyev, Defense Minister of Tajikistan and Ramil Nadyrov, the Chief of the General Staff of Tajikistan’s Armed Forces. The sides reportedly discussed a number of issues related to military and military-technical cooperation between Tajikistan and the Russian Federation.
March 16 – A leader of ethnic Uzbeks in the southern province of Khatlon went missing. According to some sources, Shamsiddinov, 58, was severely beaten by unknown attackers in May last year. That attack reportedly came after Shamsiddinov suggested in a series of interviews with Tajik media outlets that certain officials within the Tajik government were pursuing “nationalistic” policies. A provincial police official said an investigation has not found any sign that Shamsiddinov was beaten or kidnapped by force. Khatlon police also rejected a statement by rights monitor Amnesty International noted that said Shamsiddinov’s disappearance “could have been a politically motivated abduction.”
March 18 – The slander trial of three Tajik Muslim clerics reportedly started in the northern city of Khujand. Prominent religious and political figure Hoji Akbar Turajonzoda accuses the three clerics of blaming him for igniting Tajikistan’s deadly civil war in 1990s. The remarks were allegedly made on a televised talk show a year ago. The moderator of the show is also standing trial. According to Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, the clerics told the court that they did not recall what they said during the television program.
March 18-20 – Colin Roberts, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia visited Tajikistan. To begin the visit, Mr. Roberts met with Tajik Ombudsman, Zarif Alizoda, where they discussed the achievements of the Ombudsman’s office in Tajikistan. Mr. Roberts also visited the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province (GBAO) to meet with regional governor, Qosim Qodir. Both parties discussed the current situation in GBAO and challenges that might face the region following the ISAF drawdown of combat troops from Afghanistan in 2014. Future cooperation, the contribution of the UK in the region’s economic development, and support for border management were also discussed. In addition, Mr. Roberts met with representatives of civil society in GBAO and visited the cross border trade market. Mr. Roberts later met with Tajik drug control chief Rustam Nazarov. Mr. Roberts also visited the OSCE Border Management Staff College before leaving Tajikistan on March 21.
March 20-21 – Tajik President Emomali Rahmon attended the International Navrouz Celebrations in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. On March 20, the presidents of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a railway line linking the three countries. The 400-kilometer railroad is to connect the Afghan town of Akina-Andkhoy to Atamurat-Ymamnazar in Turkmenistan and Panj in Tajikistan.
March 21-25 – Tajikistan celebrated the Navrouz holiday
March 21 – Three Afghan citizens and a Tajik man were reportedly killed in a hostage-taking incident in Tajikistan”s south. Three armed Afghans came to the village of Dehi Kozi in the Shouroobod district near the Tajik-Afghan border and took four local citizens hostage, trying to take them to Afghanistan. The hostages resisted their captors, killing all three of them. One of the hostages was also killed in the incident. Armed Afghans regularly enter Tajik territory to abduct local citizens for ransom. They reportedly force Tajiks to pay them money they owe for selling illegal drugs obtained from Afghans;
– Kiev’s appeals court upheld a verdict extending detention for former Tajik Prime Minister Abdumalik Abdullojonov.
March 22 – Tajik Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York. According to the Permanent Mission of Tajikistan to the United Nations, the UN Secretary-General thanked Tajik Prime Minister for his country’s lead role in the designation of 2013 as the International Year of Water Cooperation. They reportedly also discussed High-Level Interactive Dialogue of the General Assembly on Water Cooperation and the upcoming High-Level Conference on Water Cooperation that will be hosted by Tajikistan in August 2013. In addition, they considered some other issues, including the Roghun hydropower station and disaster response and risk reduction in Central Asia.
March 25-27 – Afghan and Tajik officials responsible for water and environment management met in Dushanbe for the third bilateral meeting in the process to establish cooperation on hydrology and environment in the shared upper part of the Amu Darya River Basin. Organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in cooperation with the Committee for Environmental Protection of Tajikistan, the meeting reportedly discussed the following challenges: adaptation to climate change; management of frequent and severe floods; provision of security for staff responsible for hydrological monitoring of the border of the two countries; and protection of vulnerable ecosystems.
March 27 – Visiting Afghan delegation, led by Omar Zakhilwal, the Finance Minister of Afghanistan, met in Dushanbe with Tajik Minister of Finance, Safarali Najmiddinov. The sides reportedly discussed state and prospects of further expansion of economic cooperation between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. A financial model of the Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA 1000) and an agreement on construction of a new railway link connecting Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Iran were also among major topics of the meeting. On the same day, the Afghan delegation also met with Tajik Minister of Energy and Industries, Gul Sherali. The sides discussed issues related to implementation of the CASA-1000 Project, construction of 500kV power transmission line from Tajikistan via Afghanistan to Iran and 500kV power transmission line connecting Tajikistan and Turkmenistan through Afghanistan.
March 28-29 – The 11th Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Ministerial Meeting was held in Dushanbe. The Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) is a body created in 2002 to promote Asian cooperation at a continental level and to help integrate separate regional cooperation organizations such as ASEAN, SAARC and the Gulf Cooperation Council. The ACD was founded by 18 members and currently comprises the 32 states (including all current members of ASEAN and the GCC).
