Non-Azeri News

Whilst the international media and majority of blogs occupy themselves with Azerbaijan; I thought i'd bring you a slice of other Democracy related news:

• United Press International asks are Central Asian Strongmen Weak? The focus of this piece largely centres around the succession problems of the ex-Soviet Presidents and adds to the questioning of whether the Tulip Revolution was democratic.

• Zimbabwe's MDC has confirmed it will not participate in the Senate elections. The BBC takes up the story

• The Boston Globe has a piece about Syria's Sagging Opposition

• A topic I haven't mentioned before, but interesting nonetheless. Botswana's bushmen have recently been evicted from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The reasoning is that Diamonds exist under the reserve and the government wishes to mine them. However the Botswana High Court ruled on Friday of last week that the government must allow one Bushman, Amogolang Segootsane, and his family to return to their land. A big victory in one of Africa's few multi-party democracies.

• Finally, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting looks at Turkmenistan: Election Talk Postponed

Happy reading!