Whiskey Galore
WWD 2013 Logo
There can’t be many 21 year old university undergraduates that get congratulatory resolutions passed in Parliament … but University of Aberdeen student Blair Bowman seems to have got not just one, but two … in the space of a year.
They are in recognition of his initiative in creating the World Whiskey Day … which is, incidentally, today.
The first WWD was held last year when they claim over 20,00 attended over 200 events around the world. This year they only have about 75 events listed on the site but there were still two weeks to go when I last checked … there was nothing listed for Bishkek – in fact Central Asia was remarkably empty on their map.
Although it is possible to find quite a range of Whiskies here in Bishkek, (Johnny Walker have their own “Kyrgyzstan” page where they run adverts almost daily … and there are several cafés, bars and shops which carry a respectable collection of labels), once you get out into the country it’s quite rare. Vodka and Cognac, (locally produced), are the favourite tipples – although some recent research has revealed that Beer has actually overtaken them – at least in terms of volumes consumed. Vodka and Cognac are remarkably cheap here and Whiskey relatively expensive, even if prices are close to their worldwide equivalents.
Of course, a drink like whiskey can be used either as a toast or something with which to drown your sorrows.
I am not sure if Maxim Bakiev drinks, (and. if he does, if he has acquired a taste for whiskey), but if he does then, might well be downing a dram or two in toasting the fact that America has decided not to pursue it’s request to have him extradited from the UK – apparently due to lack of evidence. One is left wondering if they lacked the evidence then why did they issue the request in the first place, especially if it means, (as one legal pundit has put it), it means he can’t be arraigned on the same charges again.
Members of the Kyrgyz government, on the other hand, might also choose to down a dram or two to drown their sorrows. As it is they have had to limit themselves to expressing their “disappointment” with this turn of events, and asking Washington for an explanation.
President Lukashenko of Belarus, (where ex-President Kurmanbek Bakiev, his brother Janysh and apparently many of their entourage are apparently living in exile), might also want to down a dram or two, in order to stiffen the sinews for his forthcoming visit to Bishkek. Although the governments and officials of both Kyrgyzstan and Belarus insist that bilateral relationships between the two countries continue to be good, (despite the fact that no-one has been appointed to fill the vacant ambassador’s post), there have been “promises” that there will be a warm welcome for Lukashenko from protesters on his arrival. They’ve been getting in a bit of practice with demonstrations outside the British and American embassies during the week.
President Lukashenko might face a “warm welcome”, but that’s nothing compared to what might await the somewhat controversial Russian nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovskiy if he should try visiting us once again. The Jogorku Kenesh, (the parliament), have voted to declare him a persona non-grata, because of his call in a debate in the Russian Duma for Kyrgyzstan to give Russia Issyk Kul in exchange for writing off its debt, which means he won’t be allowed into the country again. I’m not sure if he will be toasting the decision – after all it’s given a fillip of publicity – or drowning his sorrows … but by all accounts, he is somewhat bemused by the move.
Some other people that might find themselves being declared persona non-grata are the Norwegian comedians Ylvis who upset a lot of people when they appeared on a popular TV show singing their song about rescuing girls from captivity in Kyrgyzstan. The song uses lyrics in both Russian and Kyrgyz and was quite a hit here when the first video, shot in the Kyrgyz mountains. On the show, however, they appeared on stage riding on the roof of a Lada car, with the number plate bearing the word “slut” in Russian … and they called out obscenities in Kyrgyz. The audience, who obviously didn’t understand the words clapped away in time to the music, obviously enjoying the performance. It created quite a stir … with some people taking it as an insult. You can see the two videos here including an interview, (in Russian – but you can also liten to it in English), with the artists where they explain why they did it and how they didn’t want to offend anyone but thought it would be a humourous counterpoint.
It may simply be a case of the “bogey man” but there have been more claims that the Bakiev’s are still funding groups in aimed at creating instability in the country.
Meanwhile, bilateral relationships between Kyrgyzstan and the States are also, apparently, doing well despite the decision. Some pundits have suggested that the Maxim Affair was all part of the Great Game being played out over the future of the Manas Transit Base.
The American ambassador has thanked the Kyrgyz authorities for their help in investigating the crash of the KC-135 tanker plane in which three servicemen died. They have been reviewing the dialogue between the dispatcher and the crew has proved to be inconclusive in determining the cause of the crash. The bodies of two of the airmen have been recovered and returned to the States, whilst the search continues for the third one and the plane’s “black boxes”.
Mind you, all that could change -0 the Foreign Ministry have reported that the all important note ending the agreement for the base has to be delivered before January 2014.
There have been further revelations of abuse at the base … with an instructor being found guilty on over thirty counts of cruelty, beating recruits, coercing recruits into homosexual relationships, dereliction of duty and violation of instructions. As, in theory, he faced the prospect of “life in prison”, it might have been safe to assume that there would be no drams for him – however, he’s been only received a six month sentence, (and a reduction to the ranks), so he’ll probably be able to raise a shot glass or two fairly soon.
I am not sure who will be toasting the events surrounding the Kumtor, and who will be drowning their sorrows. This week there were elections to the board which caused some controversy – as did the size of the remuneration packages for members of the top management team. There has also been some interesting statements about the removal of the rubbish dumps which it’s claimed are polluting the glaciers. Meanwhile, discussions between the government and the company are continuing. The general impression seems to be that the government are looking for way out of a catch 22 situation … should they be shareholders or simply regulate the company and collect taxes from their activities. Funny, but to me that seems to be rhetorical question – where the answer obvious and doesn’t need to be stated.
In the meantime – the tender for the license to develop the Jeroy gold mine failed – there was only one, last minute, bidder, by a company with which seems to have been set up with the sole purpose of the bid.
It’s not clear what the official view of the failure is … an unrealistic asking price; political and social instability in the country with “mob rule” – attacks on mines, and calls for a 50 year moratorium on development; uncertainty arising from specific high profile cases such as the one surrounding Kumtor, global issues such as the falling price of gold … the overall scheming machinations, by some person or persons unknown, to return the mine to the former “owners” …
One interesting development was the news that some of the protests that have called for a moratorium on the development of gold fields for ten years … that was interesting because earlier calls had been for a moratorium for 50 years. There were also, for the record, some protests held in support of the Kumtor mine.
A worrying attack on a Human Rights activist and his family, (who, although he happens to be a Kyrgyz citizen, is an ethnic Uzbek), occurred during the week. Some unidentified vehicles blocked the road in front of his car and several “young men” attacked them. In a statement, “Freedom House” called upon “the authorities of the Kyrgyz Republic to conduct a thorough investigation and bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice,” adding that, “regardless of whether the attack is related to his professional activities, officials should examine the aggressive nationalism and the culture of impunity that exists in the country”.
It’s not been the only worrying incident – with yet another mass brawl between young people breaking out over a Chinese company developing a mine down south … leading to some very pointed comments from the Prime Minister criticizing the reaction of the local authorities and, so it seemed to me, exposing a certain amount of frustration” ”
“Such incidents break out as a result of inaction of local authorities. Governors do nothing, instead of meeting with the community. Only once the conflict turns into a violent confrontation, they begin to work, correcting their mistakes. Today, all the necessary resources and authority to carry out maintenance work and prevent any conflicts exist. But no one leads the relevant work in this direction, … All the Government’s efforts to improve the investment climate are offset by the negative incidents. “First of all, we should protect those investors who are already work in Kyrgyzstan. If we can not protect them from illegal actions, new investors will not come to us”.
There were also some ugly scenes in a courtroom down in Osh when a group of women disrupted the trial (re-trial, actually), of an ethnic Uzbek on charges related to the June 2010 disturbances which led to similarly frustrated comments from Human Rights Watch: “If … lawyers, judges, and security officers have to fear for their safety every time they enter the courtroom, something is fundamentally wrong with the system. This case has been plagued by violence from the start and it needs to stop. The Kyrgyz authorities need to prevent these women from violently obstructing the judicial process”.
I don’t suppose the unemployed would be able to afford a dram even if they do drink alcohol. In the past I have mentioned statistics concerning unemployment in Kyrgyzstan. Well, this week it has been reported that, (surprise, surprise), the rate amongst women is growing annually – currently standing at 64% … whilst the equivalent figure amongst males is just 36%.
Another depressing statistic reported during the week was that Kyrgyzstan’s maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in Central Asia – at 50.3 per 100,000 live births. However, that doesn’t actually mean that much as there are only fiver countries in the region. On the other hand, it’s another indicator that we are unlikely to meet out Millenium Goals by the start of 2015 – when it is supposed to fall to 15.7 – there’s less than a thousand days left.
Mind you … if I can return to one of my pet themes – the reliability of official statistics – I see that the Deputy rime Minister has admitted that the National Statistics Committee data on exports is inaccurate. Apparently they pay great attention to imports, after all – they are subject to taxes, but because exports don’t attract taxes, they are subject to less scrutiny. However, he says, the Foreign Exchange reserves in the National Bank are increasing suggesting that we are receiving more foreign currency than we are sending out of the country.
That didn’t stop him claiming that the country’s GDP has risen – 8.2% over the first four months of the year, (5.7% if you disregard Kumtor), currently standing at USD1200, which this means that Kyrgyzstan has outstripped the other CIS countries. This was just one of the indicators that he cited to support his claim when he said, “I would not say the economic situation in Kyrgyzstan is disastrous,”
Iran, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey have decided to set up a Kok Buro International Federation, and they are planning to hold the first Asian Champioship in Astana in September … and it is hoped to get it included as a sport in the Asian Olympic Games. It might be some time, however, before it is included by the International Olympic Committee in the mainstream Olympics – if, that is, it ever is.
I suppose I had better think about going and having a dram to toast the news …
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Postcard from Bishkek: the weekly postcard that I send out as an email also gets posted on the website ianbek.kg each week – and there are other postcards which don’t get sent out. This week, for example, there has been the following postcards:
- Take a City Tour - A City tour can be a good way to get your bearings as well as seeing the highlights – 12/05/03
- A charm for pain and woe. - It’s that time of year for photographs of poppy fields that paint hillsides red – 13/05/13
- Radonitsa - The Tuesday after Easter is a day to remember the dead – 14/05/13
- Yudakhin - A famous linguist who collected traditional nomadic wisdom in thousands of traditional Kyrgyz proverbial sayings – 15/05/13
- Bishkek Riots – 1966 - One of the “interesting times” which presaged later revolutionary situations – 16/05/13
- The Tatars - One of the many nationalities that contribute to the cultural diversity of modern day Kyrgyzstan – 17/05/13
It is possible to follow me on Facebook, (where I have specific pages for Celestial Mountains and ianbek … and also links.kg, Kyrgyz Diary and Kyrgyzstan Visitki), and also on twitter, (@Bishkekpostcard and @celestialMTC ).
Bishkek