DUSHANBE, March 3, 2014, Asia-Plus:

 

February 1                    - Tajik government launched the first phase of an initiative under which mullahs at registered mosques will receive salaries of $170 to $315 a month, depending on their positions.

 

February 4                    - Radio Salom began broadcasting in the northern Sughd province, bringing the total number of private radio stations in the area to nine.  Radio Salom was reportedly launched with support from the Chkalovsk local authorities;

February 4                    - Deputy Director of the Drug Control Agency under the President of Tajikistan (DCA), Ms. Bunafsha Odinayeva, met in Dushanbe with Mr. Steve Fagin, Chief of Section, the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State.  According to the DCA press center, the two discussed issues related to state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation in combating drug trafficking.

 

February 5                    - Tajik and Kyrgyz delegations met in the Tajik northern city of Isfara to discuss issues related to demarcation and delimitation of disputed segments of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border;

                                    - Officers from the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) reportedly prevented an attempt to smuggle a large amount of Afghan narcotics into Tajik southern Khatlon province.  Security officers spotted two armed Afghan drug traffickers who were illegally crossing the border river in the Qumsangir district.  As a result of skirmish, one of trespassers was killed and more than 53 kilograms of cannabis were found on the spot, the source said; 

                                    - The Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan marked its 15th anniversary.  The party was originally registered in 1999 as the Party of Justice and Development (Hizbi Adolat va Taraqqiyot).

 

February 5-10               - Joint working groups of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan worked in disputed areas on the Isfara stretch of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border.

 

February 6                    - Tajik President Emomali Rahmon met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russian presidential residence Bocharov Ruchey in Sochi.  The sides discussed state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and the Russian Federation.

 

February 9-11               - The World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, Ms. Laura Tuck, visited Tajikistan as part of her trip to the countries of Central Asia.  The goal of the visit was to discuss with key counterparts the World Bank’s current program in the country, which focuses on supporting higher living standards for the Tajik people.   During the visit, Ms. Tuck met with President Emomali Rahmon, and counterparts in the Government and city administration; visited a World Bank-financed water supply project in Dushanbe; and discussed the role of education in poverty reduction with students and faculty of the Tajik National University.

 

February 10-12              - Mr. Juan E. Mendez, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, visited Tajikistan to meet with senior Tajik state officials to discuss issues related to prevention of torture and the results of the work carried out by the Tajik law enforcement authorities in this direction.  Mendez said on February 12 in Dushanbe that Tajikistan still needed to “bridge the gap between policies and reality” when it comes to eliminating torture in the country.  He said the Tajik government must “continue working to ensure that improved laws and policies result in concrete changes in practice.”

 

February 10-13              - Dirk Meganck, Director for Asia, Central Asia and Pacific, European Commission General Directorate for Cooperation and Development led a mission in Dushanbe to review development cooperation between the EU and Tajikistan and confirm priorities for enhanced EU cooperation with Tajikistan in the next multi-annual financial framework from 2014 to 2020.

 

February 11                  - The Commander of the United States Army Central Command (ARCENT), Lieutenant General James Terry, visited Tajikistan to meet with senior U.S. and Tajik officials on issues of bilateral security cooperation and regional interest.  During his visit, Terry met with U.S. Ambassador Susan Elliott and discussed areas of continued military cooperation between the United States and Tajikistan, including ARCENT’s relationship with the Tajik Ministry of Defense.  He and senior military officials also underscored ARCENT’s support to stability and security in Central Asia.

 

February 14                  - Tajik President received visiting Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Ebrahim Rahimpour.  The sides discussed state and prospects of bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.  Issues related to expansion of trade and economic cooperation as well as implementation of joint projects in Tajikistan were a major topic of the talks.  The present day conditions in Afghanistan and its future perspective as well as some regional and international issues being of mutual interest were also discussed at the meeting,  

 

February 15                  - Co-chaired by Tajik Deputy Prime Minister Murodali Alimardon and Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister Tokon Mamytov, the Tajik-Kyrgyz intergovernmental commission for demarcation and delimitation of disputed segments of mutual border met in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.  The sides discussed issues related to implementation of agreements reached during a January 31 meeting in Bishkek.

 

February 17                  - The license of Dushanbe independent weekly Hafta (The Week) was withdrawn.  The Culture Ministry reportedly withdrew the license because the newspaper has covered issues that were not outlined in the periodical''s charter.  According to the ministry, the newspaper was registered last autumn as a new media outlet focusing on culture and education topics, while its first issue in mid-January carried articles with different content.  The newspaper published several articles and interviews on issues related to the social, economic, and political situation in the country.

 

February 18                  - Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan signed in Washington an agreement on the Central Asia South Asia Electricity Trade and Transmission Project (CASA 1000), which will enable Pakistan to import electricity to meet its energy needs.

 

February 18-19              - Shukurjon Zuhurov, Chairman of the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament), attended the 9th Conference of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Parliamentary Union that took place in the Iranian capital Tehran.

 

February 19                  - A court in the northern city of Khujand sentenced resident of the Asht district Zafar Doustov, who is member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan,  to 8 ½ years in prison on February 19.  The sentence followed his conviction on charges of organizing or participating in a criminal group, organizing or participating in an extremist group, and organizing activity of an extremist group.  Doustov will serve his term in a high-security penal colony.

 

February 20                  - Tajik President Emomali Rahmon received the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha.  Bordyuzha reportedly informed Rahmon of the work carried out by the Organization to provide support for protection of Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan.  The SCTO secretary-general told reporters after the meeting with President Rahmon that a document that was signed during the CSTO summit in Sochi last September provides for military and technical support and drawing up a joint program to protect Tajikistan''s border with Afghanistan.  He also told journalists that a joint Tajik-Kyrgyz commission is concluding its works on the delimitation of the border between the two countries.

 

February 21                  - Heads of Tajik and Kyrgyz working groups, set up for consideration of border issues, met in the Tajik northern city of Isfara. 

 

February 23                  - Tajikistan celebrated the 21st anniversary of formation of Tajikistan’s Armed Forces;

                                    - Some Internet Service Providers (ISPs), including Babilon, Beeline and Tojnet, reportedly blocked access to the Tajik and Russian versions of Radio Ozodi.

 

 

February 24                  - Tajik President Emomali Rahmon received Ambassador Richard E, Hoagland, the United States Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs.  The sides discussed state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between the Tajikistan and the United States.  The two also discussed the situation in the region following the scheduled withdrawal of NATO-led troops from Afghanistan at the end of this year and focused on ways of attracting U.S. investors in the Tajik economy and issues related to the implementation of regional projects.  Hoagland, who was on a tour of Central Asia, served as the U.S. ambassador to Tajikistan from 2003 to 2006;

                                    - The U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe released a press statement, which notes that the United States is concerned with the recent blockage of the Radio Ozodi website. 

 

February 25                  - A court in Dushanbe’s Firdavsi district ruled that newspaper Asia-Plus and its editor Olga Tutubalina must apologize and that Asia-Plus must publish a retraction in addition to payment of 30,000 somoni in damages to three plaintiffs that had claimed they were damaged by the article “Unintelligent about Intelligentsia” written by Olga Tutubalina;  

                                    - A press statement released by the U. S. Embassy in Dushanbe notes that court’s decision against newspaper Asia Plus and its editor Olga Tutubalina will have a chilling effect on freedom of the press in Tajikistan.

 

February 26                  - The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) expressed regret over the Firdavsi district court’s decision regarding the article “Unintelligent about Intelligentsia.”  Ms. Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE''s representative on freedom of the media, noted that a democratic society must allow for public debate without triggering financial penalties.

 

February 27                  - The Delegation of the European Union to Tajikistan issued a statement in agreement with the EU Heads of Mission in Tajikistan, which notes that the EU Delegation to Tajikistan is concerned about the decision of the Firdausi District Court in Dushanbe against the Asia-Plus newspaper and its editor which might hamper the freedom of media in the country.  The EU Delegation calls on the Tajik authorities to respect and promote the freedom of expression, in line with Tajikistan''s international commitments and obligations;

                                    - Two women reportedly attempted to disrupt a meeting of activists of the Islamic Revival Party (IRP) in the Kulob region that took place in IRP’s office in Kulob.  A similar incident was held in Dushanbe in early December, when some two dozen female protesters noisily disrupted a press conference of the Social-Democratic Party (SDP) to criticize its leader Rahmatillo Zoyirov and heap praise on President Emomali Rahmon.  SDP representatives that time accused the authorities of using “rent-a-crowd” women to put pressure on government opponents