Musical Thought-Crime in Uzbekistan
Not content with arresting its critics, the government is cracking down on those who listen to dissident views – even when these are set to music.
Not content with arresting its critics, the government is cracking down on those who listen to dissident views – even when these are set to music.
Tight security measures continue to force citizens of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to resort to bribery to visit relatives on the other side of the border.
The south of the country has seen a rise in border trade with Afghanistan, but some fear a new influx of heroin.
Concerns about Islamic insurgency revived after a group steals Kalashnikovs and takes on Kyrgyz security forces, but some say the raiders were common criminals.
The Taleban may have been toppled, but Tajikistan believes Afghanistan is still a source of real danger.
Voices from Andijan speak about the continuing repression designed to stifle any debate on the May 2005 killings.
Talk of the Trans-Afghan Pipeline raises the prospect of big returns for investors and the Kabul government. But security remains the key unanswered question.
The first-ever ethnic Turkmen education minister takes steps to get his people to go to school.
People living on either side of the Turkmen-Uzbek border are reaping the benefits as increasing amounts of petrol are shifted illegally from Turkmenistan to Uzbekistan. The volume has increased threefold in the last two years.
Turn a corner in Istanbul’s famous Grand Bazaar, and you might imagine you are suddenly somewhere in Central Asia. This small part of the sprawling covered market is known as “Turkmen Street”. Here you will hear the Turkmen language spoken as often as Tur