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CAUCASUS & CENTRAL ASIA: REPORT DETAILS THE UPS AND DOWNS OF DEMOCRATIZATION
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66410
January 16, 2013 - 1:18pm,
by Joshua Kucera Central Asia the Caucasus EurasiaNet's Weekly Digest
Democratization
Billionaire turned opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili, seen
here exiting a Tbilisi polling station after casting his ballot,
successfully led his party to win Georgia~Rs 2012 parliamentary
elections. In its latest global freedom index, Freedom House noted
that political rights improved in Armenia, Georgia, Abkhazia, and
Nagorno-Karabakh the past year. (Photo: Molly Corso) When it comes to
democratization, the Caucasus and Central Asia are headed in different
directions. Countries and territories in the Caucasus received better
grades on political and civil rights over the past year, while Central
Asia reinforced its reputation as one of the more repressive places
in the world, according to an annual survey compiled by the watchdog
group Freedom House.
In its report ~SFreedom in the World 2013,~T released January 16,
Freedom House noted that political rights improved in Armenia,
Georgia, Abkhazia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Georgia upgraded its status
to ~Selectoral democracy~T as a result of ~Sthe country~Rs first
peaceful handover of power to an opposition party after parliamentary
elections that were judged free and fair by international observers
and featured more pluralistic media coverage,~T the report stated.
Nevertheless, the report's authors criticized Georgia for the spate of
arrests of former government officials after the election. ~S[E]ven
Georgia, which experienced its first orderly transfer of power to
the opposition through democratic elections, finished the year on a
less than satisfying note after the new government quickly arrested
some 30 officials of the previous government, raising concerns about
politically motivated prosecutions.~T
The annual report rates countries around the world on their political
and civil liberties, on a scale from 1 to 7 (with 1 being the most
free). In this year's report, Georgia's ranking on political rights
rose from 4 to 3, while its civil liberties score remained at 3.
Armenia's political rights score improved from 6 to 5 ~Sdue to the
absence of post-election violence following parliamentary balloting
in May and the entry of an authentic opposition party into the
legislature.~T
And two breakaway regions also held elections that boosted their
political liberties scores, Nagorno-Karabakh's from 6 to 5 ~Sdue to
the participation of a genuine opposition in the July presidential
election~T and Abkhazia's from 5 to 4 ~Sdue to genuinely competitive
parliamentary elections that allowed a shift toward independent
candidates and away from either government or opposition parties.~T
Despite the noted progress, the democratization process in the
region still has many shortcomings, said Cory Welt, a political
science professor at George Washington University and an expert on the
Caucasus. Azerbaijan, in democratization terms, remained a problematic
country. Freedom House rated Baku as ~Snot free~T and gave it scores
of 6 for political rights and 5 for civil rights. In addition, the
separatist territory of South Ossetia registered a 7 in political
rights and 6 in civil rights.
Welt also noted that while ~Sthe situation on the ground~T in Abkhazia
and Nagorno-Karabakh have indeed improved for the people living
there, ~SNagorno-Karabakh and, especially, Abkhazia ratings raise
the perennial question of how to rate political rights in entities
that have ethnically cleansed large percentages of their population.~T
Zaur Shiriyev, a Baku-based analyst and editor of the journal Caucasus
International, said that change may be coming slowly to the Caucasus,
thanks in part to pressure from the European Union. ~SIf we take last
year's developments, changes are happening, and happening without
violence,~T Shiriyev said. ~SThe key example is Georgia, where the
ruling party lost the election and political power changed hands
peacefully. This was unprecedented in the Caucasus. In the case of
Armenia, the May parliamentary election was not such a milestone, but
it did prompt increased EU engagement toward 'conditional integration'
into Europe. As the EU increases its role in Armenia, Yerevan is
working little by little toward democratic development.~T
In Central Asia there was no such movement toward liberalization, with
Kazakhstan's and Tajikistan's scores both declining and Uzbekistan and
Turkmenistan remaining among the handful of nations around the world
with the lowest possible scores on both political and civil liberties.
Tajikistan's civil liberties ranking fell from 5 to 6 ~Sdue to a
military operation in Gorno-Badakhshan, which resulted in scores of
deaths, extrajudicial killings, and a media crackdown.~T
And while Kazakhstan's score didn't change over the previous year ~V
rated ~Snot free,~T with a 6 for political rights and 5 for civil
rights, Freedom House said it was on a downward trend, noting that
the country's media environment ~Sdeteriorated in the wake of a
crackdown on labor unrest in late 2011, with authorities banning
opposition newspapers and blocking opposition websites and social
media.~T Kyrgyzstan also registered lackluster ratings, garnering 5s
in both the political and civil rights categories.
Elsewhere, Turkey's ranking on civil liberties declined from 3 to 4
~Sdue to the pretrial detention of thousands of individuals~Wincluding
Kurdish activists, journalists, union leaders, students, and military
officers~Win campaigns that many believe to be politically motivated.~T
Editor's note: Joshua Kucera is a Washington, DC-based writer who
specializes in security issues in Central Asia, the Caucasus and the
Middle East. He is the editor of EurasiaNet's Bug Pit blog.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66410
January 16, 2013 - 1:18pm,
by Joshua Kucera Central Asia the Caucasus EurasiaNet's Weekly Digest
Democratization
Billionaire turned opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili, seen
here exiting a Tbilisi polling station after casting his ballot,
successfully led his party to win Georgia~Rs 2012 parliamentary
elections. In its latest global freedom index, Freedom House noted
that political rights improved in Armenia, Georgia, Abkhazia, and
Nagorno-Karabakh the past year. (Photo: Molly Corso) When it comes to
democratization, the Caucasus and Central Asia are headed in different
directions. Countries and territories in the Caucasus received better
grades on political and civil rights over the past year, while Central
Asia reinforced its reputation as one of the more repressive places
in the world, according to an annual survey compiled by the watchdog
group Freedom House.
In its report ~SFreedom in the World 2013,~T released January 16,
Freedom House noted that political rights improved in Armenia,
Georgia, Abkhazia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Georgia upgraded its status
to ~Selectoral democracy~T as a result of ~Sthe country~Rs first
peaceful handover of power to an opposition party after parliamentary
elections that were judged free and fair by international observers
and featured more pluralistic media coverage,~T the report stated.
Nevertheless, the report's authors criticized Georgia for the spate of
arrests of former government officials after the election. ~S[E]ven
Georgia, which experienced its first orderly transfer of power to
the opposition through democratic elections, finished the year on a
less than satisfying note after the new government quickly arrested
some 30 officials of the previous government, raising concerns about
politically motivated prosecutions.~T
The annual report rates countries around the world on their political
and civil liberties, on a scale from 1 to 7 (with 1 being the most
free). In this year's report, Georgia's ranking on political rights
rose from 4 to 3, while its civil liberties score remained at 3.
Armenia's political rights score improved from 6 to 5 ~Sdue to the
absence of post-election violence following parliamentary balloting
in May and the entry of an authentic opposition party into the
legislature.~T
And two breakaway regions also held elections that boosted their
political liberties scores, Nagorno-Karabakh's from 6 to 5 ~Sdue to
the participation of a genuine opposition in the July presidential
election~T and Abkhazia's from 5 to 4 ~Sdue to genuinely competitive
parliamentary elections that allowed a shift toward independent
candidates and away from either government or opposition parties.~T
Despite the noted progress, the democratization process in the
region still has many shortcomings, said Cory Welt, a political
science professor at George Washington University and an expert on the
Caucasus. Azerbaijan, in democratization terms, remained a problematic
country. Freedom House rated Baku as ~Snot free~T and gave it scores
of 6 for political rights and 5 for civil rights. In addition, the
separatist territory of South Ossetia registered a 7 in political
rights and 6 in civil rights.
Welt also noted that while ~Sthe situation on the ground~T in Abkhazia
and Nagorno-Karabakh have indeed improved for the people living
there, ~SNagorno-Karabakh and, especially, Abkhazia ratings raise
the perennial question of how to rate political rights in entities
that have ethnically cleansed large percentages of their population.~T
Zaur Shiriyev, a Baku-based analyst and editor of the journal Caucasus
International, said that change may be coming slowly to the Caucasus,
thanks in part to pressure from the European Union. ~SIf we take last
year's developments, changes are happening, and happening without
violence,~T Shiriyev said. ~SThe key example is Georgia, where the
ruling party lost the election and political power changed hands
peacefully. This was unprecedented in the Caucasus. In the case of
Armenia, the May parliamentary election was not such a milestone, but
it did prompt increased EU engagement toward 'conditional integration'
into Europe. As the EU increases its role in Armenia, Yerevan is
working little by little toward democratic development.~T
In Central Asia there was no such movement toward liberalization, with
Kazakhstan's and Tajikistan's scores both declining and Uzbekistan and
Turkmenistan remaining among the handful of nations around the world
with the lowest possible scores on both political and civil liberties.
Tajikistan's civil liberties ranking fell from 5 to 6 ~Sdue to a
military operation in Gorno-Badakhshan, which resulted in scores of
deaths, extrajudicial killings, and a media crackdown.~T
And while Kazakhstan's score didn't change over the previous year ~V
rated ~Snot free,~T with a 6 for political rights and 5 for civil
rights, Freedom House said it was on a downward trend, noting that
the country's media environment ~Sdeteriorated in the wake of a
crackdown on labor unrest in late 2011, with authorities banning
opposition newspapers and blocking opposition websites and social
media.~T Kyrgyzstan also registered lackluster ratings, garnering 5s
in both the political and civil rights categories.
Elsewhere, Turkey's ranking on civil liberties declined from 3 to 4
~Sdue to the pretrial detention of thousands of individuals~Wincluding
Kurdish activists, journalists, union leaders, students, and military
officers~Win campaigns that many believe to be politically motivated.~T
Editor's note: Joshua Kucera is a Washington, DC-based writer who
specializes in security issues in Central Asia, the Caucasus and the
Middle East. He is the editor of EurasiaNet's Bug Pit blog.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress