IWPR
Institute for War & Peace Reporting
The forced eviction of squatters has highlighted the problem of urban migration. By Nataliya Domagalskaya and Aida Kasymalieva in Bishkek (RCA No. 277, 16-Apr-04)
Kazak leader, Nursultan Nazarbaev, has declared war on the independent media
Exiled Uzbek terrorists appear determined to continue their struggle against the Taskent authorities
Huge quantities of old books are being pulped as a result of decrees forbidding their export and ideological purges of the country's libraries.
Unidentified "hooligans" wage reign of terror on opposition journalists.
Angry smokers say they will defy ban on lighting up in public places.
The Kremlin is warning Central Asian states that only Russia can be relied upon to protect them from Islamic radicalism.
Students in Kazakstan are being exploited by unscrupulous private universities.
Kazak farmers believe they have little to gain from the government's proposed privatisation of agricultural land.
Uzbek farmers see hopes of a good harvest receding, as drought attacks rice, cotton and grain crops.