Postcard from Bishkek

Every city has a has a number of sights which are associated with it – and today marks an important anniversary for one of London’s: Westminster Abbey.

Although construction of the building which everyone recognizes today began in 1245 and, according to tradition, there was probably a church on the site since the seventh Century … the Abbey assumed a particular importance when King Edward the Confessor began a project sometime in the 1040′s to construct a Royal Church where he could be buried.

His church wasn’t finished until 1090 but it was sufficiently complete for it to be consecrated on 28th December, 1065 – just a week before his death on 5th January, 1066.

It has since become the traditional place for the coronation of English, (and later British), monarchs as well as providing a burial site for many of them and the venue for a host of royal marriages and, as such, forms one of the centerpieces of public life in Britain. We don’t have anything quite like it here in Kyrgyzstan – there are the Bishkek Central Mosque and the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Resurrection here in Bishkek but, perhaps, the venue that comes closest to providing the centerpiece for most official or significant events here in Kyrgyzstan is the Central Ala Too Square in Bishkek.

The square is packed and the access roads closed to traffic on special occasions and holidays; concerts are often performed on specially erected stages; parades pass by the podium under the gaze of the statue of Aikol Manas, (Magnanimous Manas), erected in 2011 … and, of course, many a political rally has been held in the Square – including those that led to our two recent revolutions, (in 2005 and 2010).

Later this week, it will once again be the focus of attention as the seven and half million som celebrations for welcoming in the New Year get underway.  Already a New Year Tree stands, (which fortunately hasn’t been toppled as last year’s was), models dressed as Ded Moroz, (Father Frost – the local equivalent of Santa Clause), and his helper Snegorochka pose for photographs with passersby.

New Year may be approaching, but the old year still hasn’t let go …

The big story, of course, is all about Kumtor.  Last October the government were given until 23rd December to finalize negotiations with the Canadians about the reorganization of the mine … aIf agreement couldn’t be reached, the unilateral renunciation of the 2009 agreement between the Canadians and the Kyrgyz government at that time … and there have been calls for the mine to be nationalized.  As a result of this decision, the share price of the Canadian company running the mine plummeted.

The two sides had previously agreed on the creation of a new joint venture on the basis of equal shares being owned by the two sides, (at the moment Kyrgyzstan holds just 30% of the shares in the parent company and for the extra shareholding would pay something like 100 million dollars … although there was some debate about whether this represented actual cash changing hands), but the parliament, (bowing to popular pressure), decided to press for a two thirds stake in the new enterprise … and some other conditions.  Ever since then the talks have been going on … and on … and on.

The President, Prime Minister, Minister for the Economy went on to the offensive saying that the target of 67% ownership was not achievable – indeed it had been explicitly rejected by the Canadians, and that renunciation of the agreement and nationalization – effectively the only alternative – would have disastrous implications for the economy.

Well,, finally, the government met, (“behind closed doors”as one press report put it), to discuss the final report before it was presented to parliament and they approved the final document which went into more detail and had grown from just a couple of pages to twenty something.  It’s probably just as well that the meeting was held in private session because, as another report put it, the “major part of government members oppose denunciation of the agreement on the Kumtor project” – in other words there was some dissent on the matter.

The new deal sticks at a 50-50 ownership but without any payment being required from the Kyrgyz side for their increased share.  There are several mechanisms included, depending on things like the price of gold, which govern how much Kyrgyzstan will receive in terms of payments to the budget, contributions into the local economy and so on.  All in all, the 67% threshold should be met, it is said, in terms of benefits to the country without formal ownership.

In recommending the report, the Prime Minister said that if it was rejected by the parliament then he would be happy to resign.

Not everyone, however, is as happy with the deal as he is.  A Public Meeting criticized the government for “not listening to the people” and urging the deputies to vote against the deal.  When the Minister for the Economy was introducing the report to the parliament, one of the deputies who opposes the deal, was “laughing out loud” and creating a disturbance which upset some of the other deputies.  One got up and approached him … and a scuffle broke out … all caught on video … and broadcast over the internet.

Some other parliaments around the world have seen far worse altercations, but this one didn’t go down too well, and I think it may have sent a few shock waves around the country.

Mind you, it has been well received abroad … the share price of the Canadian company recovered somewhat even though the Parliament hasn’t given its approval to the report – probably helped by the news tof good results in terms of some 18 tons of gold bearing ore being extracted this year – despite all the upheavals that have surrounded operations – and with projections of about 14 more next year.  They have added one addendum, asking for more money to be allocated for the support of the Naryn Region, in addition to the earmarked funding in the deal for the support of the Issyk Kul oblast, (where the mine is located).

If everything goes well … it is hoped that attention will now move to the Jeroy mine, which is sitting and waiting for exploitation, but interest has been somewhat muted due, at least in part, to the uncertainty hanging over the Kumtor project.

 

Another long running saga – that of the negotiations for Kyrgyzstan’s admission to the Customs Union – has been on more or less on hold.  The President has gone off on a visit to Moscow where the Armenians have signed up but Kyrgyzstan has raised some concerns.  It looks as if Armenia will go ahead and join in what some commentators refer to as Putin’s attempt to resurrect the Soviet Union, sooner than we will – despite the fact that in a recent survey it was reported that the more Armenians feel that the collapse of the Soviet Union was good for the country than regretted it.

In the meantime, the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Economic matters has urged the country to avoid “panicking” over the issue … there is still a lot of discussion to take place and consideration of any final decision will explicitly explore all aspects of the issue – positive and negative.  President Nazarbaev of Kazakhstan, for example, has said that special deals or conditions should not be allowed … which looks like a sideswipe at Kyrgyzstan’s expressed concerns and requests for concessions.

In the meantime, one of yesterday’s headline said that the Depuuty Prime Minister had said that “Many WTO members may put forward claims to Kyrgyzstan in connection with entry into Customs Union” but, tantalizingly, the report itself contained no details … from whom?, the nature of the claims and … how much “compensation” is involved?

 

The third epic saga which seems to have hogged the headlines in the recent past – the future of the Transit Base at Manas airport – was in the news briefly with a surprising piece from the US military … saying that there had been some “concern” expressed by locals about what would happen if, and when, the base finally closes later in the year.  It quoted examples of people who work at the base and would find themselves out of work, with the lack of alternatives available to them.  Apart from appearing a bit late in the day – it was interesting that towards the end, it reported that most people had no real view on the matter.  If they are not directly affected, they have too much to worry about in their daily lives to worry about the finer points of public policy.  Hmmmm.

To counteract that, there has to be a story about the Russian Base in Kant – about 60 kilometers away … and it was reported that the Russians have brought in some new aircraft – SU-25 fighter bombers according to the press reports.

Although there has been some speculation that the Turks may be involved in efforts to restructure the Base into a civilian hub, (and there have been some suggestions that this might be a back door designed to keep the Americans here – although President Atambaev has flatly refuted this),  I doubt that they will get a look in as the two major players, (China and Russia) have also expressed interest.  It is certainly true, however, that Turkey has, over the years, shown a great interest in this part of the world and are looking for further opportunities.  So, I was intrigued when I saw another report which chose to examine the efforts being made by Turkey to enhance “Pan-Turkish relations” throughout Central Asia – concentrating on the creation of a Turkvision Song Contest in rival the Eurovision one – which, incidentally, was won by the Azerbaijan entry.  Kyrgyzstan’s entry was described as a “clean cut, tie wearing boy band”, (somehow, that doesn’t fit), “that looked like a Turkic version of the Monkees” … I wonder what Davy, Mike Pete and Mickey would make of that.

 

Foreign deals have been in the news in another way … a proposal has been approved which would mean that Kyrgyz citizens who have left the country and accepted citizenship elsewhere, should be allowed to buy land, the sale of land to foreigners is currently prohibited.   Last week, the commission which approves the sale of housing accommodation to foreigners was abolished, thus freeing up the property market, and proposals were made that would allow foreigners to purchase land as well … which it is thought would help to attract foreign investors who are currently restricted to leasing the land under their buildings.   Indeed there have been discussion about allocating land in the Issyk Kul region to a group of Koreans.

We have had some surprising pieces of foreign news during the week.  One of the strangest was the report from the Belorussian embassy that the ambassador knows nothing about the reports about former President Bakiev receiving a Belarus passport … if he did, then he would have had to renounce his Kyrgyz citizenship.  Anyway, they added, as it was an administrative issue and not a political one (!?), they wouldn’t necessarily have been informed (!?) … but the authorities in Minsk would certainly communicate with the Kyrgyz authorities if there were any developments.

Another was that Iraq is looking to open an embassy here – an interesting sign of the potential and growing significance of the country?

Another story about foreign relations, however, is far from being so positive.  Tensions continue on the Tajik border and the situation on the border in 2013 has been described as “a year of conflict” with  47 incidents and most of them in the Batken oblast.

Also down south, the group that started a hunger strike in support of the imprisoned former Speaker of the parliament have decided to call it off.  According to their spokesman, Keldibekov himself addresses a message to the group asking them not to “suffer in vain”, especially as some of them have already become ill.

 

Turning to domestic matters … one of the big issues in the news in 2013 has been Corruption – or the attempts to try and combat it.  The “fat was put on the fire”, so to speak, this week when it was reported that several corrupt schemes exist in the GAI, (the traffic police), including inspectors buying their position, paying a retainer to their superiors, extracting payments for the issuance of documents … or when investigating accidents … and so on.  The timing of the release of the report was a bit unfortunate for the Head of the Bishkek Traffic Police as had to go go before the local authority to give an account of the year’s activities … and, guess what, he was grilled on the press reports.  He was adamant that there was no corruption in the service, no one bought their post, paid retainers or took bribes.

Well, as a certain madam once said, “he would say that, wouldn’t he?”  All I can say is that the general feeling here is that “yes they do, yes they do, yes they do.”  It seems to be treated as an unavoidable “fact of life.”

When it was reported that over 104 million soms had been collected in fines from errant drivers, who had committed almost 600,000 offences (which, in fact represents a drop of over 6% on the corresponding figure for last year) in the first nine months of the year … many people were asking, if that’s the “official figure”, then how much actually changes hands?

What the Head of the service wanted to concentrate on, before he got “sidetracked” by the questioning was perhaps more serious.   If the number of traffic offences has fallen, the same cannot be said for the number of accidents which are up by over 60% on last year … the number of injuries up by almost 70%, and the fatalities by just a quarter.   He puts this sad state of affairs down to three things: 1) poor driver education – or in some cases no driver education, with five and a half thousand licenses being issued last year to people who had not been to driving school – which makes one wonder how they passed their test – especially if, as he asserts – no-one is taking bribes; 2) the road road conditions – especially the number of vehicles on the roads.  Even if the local authorities are trying valiantly to repair roads, they are still carrying far more capacity than they were originally designed for; and 3) the “driving culture” – “which leaves much to be desired”.  Although that can be tied to the first point – lack of knowledge and respect for the rules of the road, drivers not being educated to think of other road users and so on … it’s a far more general social point about “selfishness” and inconsiderate tendencies creeping into society … not to mention a cavalier attitude towards members of the GAI who are, rightly or wrongly, assumed to be “on the take”.

At this point I should make clear – that although I have met GAI officers who seem to be more interested in finding ways to fine drivers … I have also known several officers who have been very conscientious and diligent in their duty … and we definitely need them … as the sad statistics show.

 

 

Talking of statistics … there have been some interesting ones this week …

• Thursday saw 13 fires around the country – it’s a small country and that seems like quite a lot.  This year there seems to have been a worrying increase in the number of school fires – almost double the figure of last year.  Like most people, I suppose, I immediately wondered if they were deliberate – perhaps set by discontented pupils, but it turns out that a lot of schools haven’t been inspected for some time and the normal fire precautions are only being laxly enforced – plus there seems to be a lack of attention to the subject in lessons.
• In the week when it was announced that a village in the Djety Ogus region had decided to establish a new museum, mobilizing the local residents to scour the locality for suitable exhibits, the Ministry of Culture reported that, last year, the capital’s museums received only 33000 visitors … out of a population of over a million that’s a pretty low percentage – especially when you consider that many of those will visitors will be tourists.
• Almost 300,000 pensioners receive pensions which are below the official minimum subsistence level, 4890 som – or about USD99.  That’s just over half the pensioners in the country … and about a tenth of the population are pensioners.  Many of them continue working well after retirement in order to supplement their pension and there are almost 130 “self help” groups set up around the country to try and help this vulnerable group.
• In contrast, a list of the 100 richest people in the country has been published … and almost most of the names on it are predictable … the sums reported are somewhat staggering.  At the bottom of the list, for example, in 100th place is former President Roza Otunbaeva with a reported personal wealth of about ten million dollars.  At the top of the list however is former Prime Minister and businessman, Omurbek Babanov, who it says is worth somewhere between one and one-and-a-half billion dollars.  Apart from the obvious questions like Really?!, and Where did they get it?, I think there are quite a few questions about the list itself, like: where did they get their data? … and isn’t that half a billion dollars between the upper and lower estimates of Babanov’s value a little vague? – thus bringing the whole exercise into doubt?   Mind you, as I said, most of the names are predictable and even if the sums prove to be a little inaccurate …

 

That seems like an appropriate moment to stop this week and close with New Years’ Greetings … I hope you all had a Happy Christmas and have a Good New Year.  See you in 2014!

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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:

• MICE - MICE – not furry little rodents … but a type of tourism – 22/12/13
• Night of the Radishes - An unusual Christmas festival (from Mexico) that features a basic ingredient of local cuisine – 23/12/13
• Ayaz Ata - He looks familiar … but is it a case of mistaken identity … the Kyrgyz version of Santa Clause – 24/12/13
• Vladimir Vlasov … composer - It may have been Christmas Day – but it also a Birthday for many people … including one of Kyrgyzstan’s main composers – 25/12/13
• Before you leave home … - Back in Britain, Boxing Day marks the opening of the Summer Holiday advertising Season … so here’s some thought’s about the preparation and planning that goes on before you leave home – 26/12/13
• Passports - It’s not just a piece of paper … you’re nobody without one – 27/12/13

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Tags: In_the_News, Life_in_Kyrgyzstan, Weekly_Postcards