Afghanistan, Tajikistan
Central Asia's Guns-for-drugs Trade Helps Arm Insurgents Worldwide
Rome News-Tribune (Georgia) / McClatchy-Tribune News Service
7 July 2008
BADAKHSHAN, Afghanistan -- The bazaar sits on a small island in the middle of the Panj River, the shallow waterway that serves as the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. On either side loom the Pamir Mountains, a range of high peaks that cuts the region off from the rest of the world. When the bazaar first opened five years ago, people on both sides of the border cheered the opportunity for commerce to flourish between the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Kazakhstan
Unregistered Rifles, Pistols Collected in North Kazakhstan Gun Buyback
BBC Monitoring Service (Astana) / Kazinform
11 May 2008
During a campaign to voluntarily hand in unregistered rifles, pistols and explosives to police in [Kazakhstan's northern] Pavlodar Region, people brought 611 weapons, a Kazinform [news agency] correspondent has reported. Police valued the arsenal at 3.79m tenge [over 30,000 dollars], Maskhat Yeshmuratov, deputy head of the public security directorate of the [regional] interior affairs department, said. The explosives, which were... ( gunpolicy.org )
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Former Soviet States Plan Database of Gun Runners, Illicit Arms Dealers
BBC Monitoring Service / Interfax, Transcript
11 April 2008
A joint CIS database of transnational criminal groups involved in illegal arms trafficking will be created, the press service of the Minsk-based CIS Executive Committee has told Interfax. "This is stipulated by a draft agreement on cooperation in combating the illegal manufacturing and sale of firearms, ammunition, explosives and explosive devices, which has been discussed by the committee's expert group," the press service said.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Georgia
Pro-American Georgia Ditches Kalashnikov AK-47 for US M4 Assault Rifle
Agence France Presse
19 January 2008
TBILISI -- Ex-Soviet Georgia's army began yesterday to switch from the Russian-designed Kalashnikov to the modern US M4 rifle, pro-Western president-elect Mikheil Saakashvili announced. "Today is a historic day for the Georgian armed forces: we start to switch to Western armament. From today, we will use the best weapon in the world-the M4 assault rifle," Saakashvili told troops at a new military base at Gori, in the north of the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan Legislates for Gun, Ammunition Amnesty, Buyback, Destruction
BBC Monitoring Service / Interfax, Transcript
15 January 2008
The law on buying firearms, ammunition and explosives that are in illegal possession of population, if people voluntarily hand over these weapons, comes into force as of 1 January 2008, the head of the Kazakh Interior Ministry's press service, Bagdat Kozhakhmetov has said. "With the aim of ensuring public safety and preventing crimes committed with the use of firearms, the law stipulating buying firearms, ammunition and explosives... ( gunpolicy.org )
Tajikistan
Tajikistan Reports Over 200 Guns Seized in Tajik North in First Half of 2007
SEESAC / BBC Monitoring Service / Asia Plus News, Transcript
22 July 2007
Internal affairs officers in [northern] Sughd Region have confiscated 205 firearms from local residents in the first half of this year. A source in the regional internal affairs directorate told Asia-Plus that the figure was less by 10 compared to the same period of 2006 (215). The source said that among 205 firearms there were three assault rifles, six pistols, nine rifled-barrel guns and 187 smooth-bore guns. "Furthermore,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Kyrgyzstan
Small Arms in Kyrgyzstan: Post-revolutionary Gun Trade and Proliferation
ReliefWeb / Small Arms Survey, Web Page
20 March 2007
The ousting of President Askar Akaev from power in March 2005 has resulted in a deteriorating security situation and an increase in the demand for and use of small arms in Kyrgyzstan. The Small Arms Survey study published in 2004 (MacFarlane and Torjesen, 2004) found that small arms were less of a problem in Kyrgyzstan than commonly assumed: few families owned arms; demand was limited; and trafficking was modest. While the proliferation... ( gunpolicy.org )
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyz Lawmakers Pass Bill Allowing Themselves to Carry Guns
Itar-Tass (Russia)
14 December 2006
BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz lawmakers on Thursday approved a law allowing them to possess firearms. Most of the deputies believe that they need arms for self-defense. Opposition lawmakers repeatedly stated that they had been often threatened by unidentified persons. The law provides for lawmakers' keeping firearms after quitting office. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev refused to sign the bill several days ago, but the parliamentarians... ( gunpolicy.org )
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan Loosens Gun Law, Allows Shooting to Protect Private Property
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
16 November 2006
Businessmen in Kyrgyzstan have welcomed a new law making it legal for them to use weapons to defend their property. However, there are a number of grey areas in the law which NBCentralAsia commentators say need to be defined more clearly -- including what actually constitutes property, and what the police and courts should do when a violent incident takes place. On November 14, the Kyrgyz parliament passed a bill amending current... ( gunpolicy.org )
Somalia, Kazakhstan
Somali Leader Orders Surrender of 'Every Single Gun' as More Arrive by Air
Associated Press
1 August 2006
BAIDOA, Somalia -- Somalia's president told residents of the only town his government controls Tuesday that they have a week to give up their weapons or "every single gun" would be seized by force. President Abdullahi Yusuf said his government would pay people for any arms surrendered and that details of the disarmament plan would be released Wednesday. He did not say why his government decided on the measure, but two lawmakers... ( gunpolicy.org )
Somalia, Kazakhstan
Somalis Watch Helplessly as Kazakhstan Cargo Plane Flies in More Guns
Associated Press
26 July 2006
MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Somalia's virtually powerless government said a cargo plane that landed at the capital's airport Wednesday morning was carrying weapons for Islamic militants who have seized control of much of southern Somalia. The Ilyushin-76 was only the second aircraft to land at Mogadishu International Airport in more than a decade of anarchy here, demonstrating the Islamic militia's total control of the capital. A... ( gunpolicy.org )
Georgia
Conference Looks at Staunching the Flow of Small Arms Into Georgia
Messenger (Tbilisi)
12 June 2006
Parliamentarians from all over the world met in Tbilisi last week to discuss issues of illegal arms trafficking in the CIS and how to develop measures that will reduce this destructive phenomenon. The two-day seminar entitled "Parliamentary Workshop on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SA/LW) in the Commonwealth of Independent States Region" which was held at the Georgian Parliament on June 9-10 hosted visiting parliamentarians primarily... ( gunpolicy.org )
Kyrgyzstan
Small Arms Race in Kyrgyzstan is a Growing Concern for Authorities
IRIN (UN News)
8 June 2006
OSH, Kyrgyzstan -- The spread of small arms in Kyrgyzstan has become a growing concern for government officials and law enforcement agencies responsible for combating rising crime in the Central Asian state. "The problem is clear: illegal proliferation of small arms has a tendency to grow. This becomes a threat to public order and results in the growth of criminal incidents and assassinations," said Col. Ravshan Abdukarimov, deputy... ( gunpolicy.org )
Georgia, United Nations
Tbilisi, Georgia to Host UN Conference on Illicit Arms Trade
Civil Georgia (Tbilisi)
6 June 2006
Parliamentarians from around the world, as well as officials from the UN and European Commission will gather in Tbilisi on June 9-10 to discuss challenges within the CIS in implementing the 2001 UN Program Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons. The Parliamentary Workshop on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SA/LW) in the CIS Region will be held with the support of the Office of Weapons... ( gunpolicy.org )
Armenia
Embarrassed Armenian PM Promises Stricter Gun Control
Radio Free Europe
6 October 2005
Prime Minister Andranik Markarian pledged late Wednesday to be more careful in presenting government officials and friends with firearms and effectively admitted that one of those "gifts" was used in a recent high-profile murder. He said he asked the Armenian police to screen prospective recipients of such presents "more strictly." Markarian has faced embarrassing questions about his weapons-giving practices since an extraordinary... ( gunpolicy.org )
Georgia, Russia
Sham Disarmament, Say Georgian Officials
Messenger (Georgia)
21 July 2004
Russia is shipping useless ammunition and arms from different military bases to the Tskhinvali region in a ploy to challenge Georgia, officials in Tbilisi claim. Deputy Minister of State Security Gigi Ugulava stated at a briefing on Tuesday that Russia is sending mainly useless firearms and other military equipment. They will be first delivered to the Tskhinvali population and then withdrawn from them by the de facto government.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Kyrgyzstan
Hunting Guns: A Country Awash With Guns?
Transitions Online
9 March 2004
It is commonly believed that Central Asia is awash with arms and that gun possession and trading is linked to other security problems in the region: trafficking in drugs and people, the criminalization of the police and security forces, religious fundamentalism, and ethnic rivalries. One influential report, published in 2002 by the UN's Institute for Disarmament Research, suggested that "the existence of a considerable infrastructure for... ( gunpolicy.org )
Kyrgyzstan
New Report Shoots Down Assumptions About Gun Proliferation
Times of Central Asia
1 March 2004
KYRGYZSTAN -- A new report counters preconceptions that Central Asia is a "hotbed of gun proliferation and misuse." The study uses Kyrgyzstan as a case study and finds that, despite suffering from socio-economic problems and ethnic tensions, there is little evidence that this has led to increasing violence and gun proliferation. Neil MacFarlane is a professor of international relations at Oxford University in Britain and the co-author of... ( gunpolicy.org )
Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan
New Report Shoots Down Assumptions About Arms Proliferation
Radio Free Europe (Czech Republic)
27 February 2004
PRAGUE -- A new report counters preconceptions that Central Asia is a "hotbed of gun proliferation and misuse." The study uses Kyrgyzstan as a case study and finds that, despite suffering from socio-economic problems and ethnic tensions, there is little evidence that this has led to increasing violence and gun proliferation. "Some states are better than others at controlling small arms. But they are nonetheless vulnerable in key... ( gunpolicy.org )
Kyrgyzstan
Gun Ownership Less Serious Than Previously Believed
Eurasia Net
19 February 2004
A new survey on gun ownership in Kyrgyzstan raises questions about widely held assumptions concerning Central Asian security conditions. The study found that guns are less prevalent in Kyrgyz society than previously believed. The findings suggest that Kyrgyzstan should not be lumped together with "its friction-prone neighbors" when considering the potential for conflict in the region. "Small arms are less of a problem in Kyrgyzstan... ( gunpolicy.org )
Kyrgyzstan
Study Finds Less Small Arms in Kyrgyzstan Than Previously Thought
News Central Asia
19 February 2004
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan -- A report released yesterday by Small Arms Survey, a Geneva based study group, shows that small arms are less prevalent in Kyrgyzstan than in neighboring countries, countering the conventional wisdom that the entire Central Asian region is a hotbed of gun proliferation and misuse. According to "Kyrgyzstan: A Small Arms Anomaly in Central Asia?", Kyrgyzstan experiences low levels of civilian gun violence, has... ( gunpolicy.org )
World, United States, Russia, Europe, China, Central Asia, South Asia, South East Asia
World's Trigger-Happy Population Keeps Growing
Asia Times (Hong Kong)
29 July 2003
The international stockpile of small arms continues to grow, according to the latest edition of an annual yearbook, the Small Arms Survey group, based in Geneva. About 7 million mostly civilian small arms are produced annually, far exceeding the amount of arms removed from the weapons supply. The survey said its estimate of the global value of small-arms production remains unchanged at about US$7.4 billion -- with the United States... ( gunpolicy.org )
World, Central Asia, South Asia, United Nations
Dealing With the Problem of Small Arms
Dawn (Karachi)
31 July 2001
The UN conference on the problem of proliferation of small arms and light weapons held in New York from July 9-20 ended with the UN member states finally agreeing to a political rather than a legally binding document to deal with the scourge and the impact of the spread of such weapons. This was a conference at which civil society organizations and activists were allowed to lobby. The hope of the non-governmental organizations and individuals... ( gunpolicy.org )
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan Says There is No Inventory of Country's Weapons
Baltimore Sun (Maryland)
15 June 2000
ASTANA, Kazakhstan -- Kazakhstan, hit by an arms export scandal last year involving MiG-21 jet fighters sold to North Korea, said yesterday it did not know exactly what weapons it owned. "Unfortunately, up to now we do not have a full inventory and do not know how many arms we own, not to mention what condition they are in," Defense Minister Sat Tokpakbayev told reporters. His comments were likely to add to Western concerns... ( gunpolicy.org )
Georgia, Russia
4 Killed, 7 Wounded in Shooting in Western Georgia
Itar-Tass
5 April 1998
TBILISI -- Four people were killed and seven wounded in Zugdidi, western Georgia, on Sunday when an unidentified man opened sub-machine gun fire at a funeral procession. It was the burial of Gocha Esebua, the 29-years-old head of a terrorist group that took hostage U.N. officers in February 1998. According to information of the Zugdidi police, the procession came under fire several hundreds of meters away from the cemetery. ... ( gunpolicy.org )
Georgia, Russia
Five Killed at Georgian Opposition Funeral
Reuters
5 April 1998
TBILISI -- Five mourners were killed and eight wounded in former Soviet Georgia on Sunday when gunmen opened fire on a funeral procession for an opposition figure who took several United Nations personnel hostage a month ago. A Georgian police spokesman told Reuters in the capital Tbilisi they had no indication of the identity of the attackers, who strafed the procession at Zugdidi in western Georgia with automatic weapons and also... ( gunpolicy.org )
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