Catherine Putz
Tuesday, August 18, 2015 - 08:32
Outgoing Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Ambassador Richard E. Hoagland said, “We need to pay attention to international security, but I want to emphasize, it’s not like the barbarians are at the doorstep ready to sweep into all of Central Asia.”
Friday, July 31, 2015 - 05:46
Earlier this week RFE/RL’s Tajik service reported that a group of drunken, disrobed Russian soldiers got into a brawl with local Tajiks in Kulob. Russia has three military installations in Tajikistan, 7,000 troops, and a 2012 agreement extends Russia’s base leases until 2042.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015 - 05:48
Kazakhstan hosted a conference on countering violent extremism in South and Central Asia in Astana earlier this week.
Thursday, July 2, 2015 - 06:15
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Central Asia and Russia for the first time next week–with counterterrorism and energy topping the agenda.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015 - 06:13
More than 70 percent of the Kyrgyz that have gone to join ISIS are of Uzbek descent, Ryspek Abdysatarov, a representative of Kyrgyzstan’s Secretariat of the Council of Defense.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015 - 06:30
Rashid’s op-ed was clearly sparked by the defection of Tajikistan’s special police commander Gulmurod Halimov to ISIS and falls into a popular trope: hyping the jihadist threat in Central Asia.
Monday, June 1, 2015 - 05:27
Of the five Central Asian states, only Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan have had power change hands–but always through death or revolution. needless to say, their leaders are noticeably younger.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015 - 07:23
Central Asia is excited by progress in the P5+1′s negotiations with Iran because it presents a valuable economic opportunity that has long waited in the wings: a relief from the pressures of Russia and China. The progress also validates, in a way, the region’s decision to remain non-nuclear, providing states with dubious human rights records something the international community can commend them for.
Friday, April 3, 2015 - 07:54
Though considerably overshadowed by ISIS at the moment, and perpetually linked directly to Afghanistan, the U.S. military continues to maintain and build ties with Central Asia.
Thursday, April 2, 2015 - 07:19
Mihra Rittmann, Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch, commented in the group’s press release that “President Atambayev may have grounds to ask for military assistance to fight legitimate extremist threats…But that should be no excuse for harassing well-known human rights lawyers and interfering with attorney-client privilege.”