Postcard from Bishkek

In a previous postcard I used the phrase, “No news is good news”.  Well, this week has been an example of that … which means that Kyrgyzstan has settled back down to its usual “sleepy” self … and that this week’s postcard is, mercifully, shorter.

That’s not to say that nothing has been happening … just that nothing like the “dramatic” events of the last two months has happened.

Indeed, there has been so little “dramatic” news that one article commented that: “Seen from afar, Kyrgyzstan appears finally to be returning to normal”, but it also went on to say “… analysts warn that the small Central Asian nation is far from stable and could very possibly see further unrest, if not outright political chaos.”  I am not sure I would go along with that … but, it seemed to me, even the article seemed to play down its “worst case” scenario and appeared to highlight the “return to normality”.

It sometimes strikes me that nothing in Kyrgyzstan is ever simple, and that things are not always what they seem.  Although the Kazakhs have now opened the border, it seems that only three, out of eight, border posts are working normally … which means that there are long queues.  But, at least things are moving – both goods and people.

Apparently the controversy over fuel supplies to the American airforce base at Manas which has been simmering away, started to “bubble”, although I am not sure that it will actually “boil over”.  It has led, however, to America ceasing to refuel their flights out of the base.  Whilst the US Congress are looking into the contracts awarded to firms suspected of being associated with Maxim Bakiev, a tax dispute has broken out here.  The agreement between Kyrgyzstan and the States says that the base will enjoy a “tax-free” status … but the there seems to be problems because the Russian are imposing customs duties on all petroleum supplies into the country and this is being passed on by the petroleum companies.  I quite liked one comment from a government official, describing how they would have been able to resolve the problem in the past, and which went something like:  “in the past a problem could be resolved by a single phone call … but now that there is hard law in the country, which applies to everyone, that is no longer possible.”

The situation in the South of the country has settled down and is basically quiet.  One trouble spot has been the Enclaves … plots of territory belonging to once country surrounded by another … such as the Sokh enclave, which is part of Uzbekistan completely surrounded Kyrgyz territory.  There were a few incidents during the week but Uzbekistan has decided to withdraw some of its military from the enclave … so it looks as if things may be less volatile there in the future.

There is some concern that criminal gangs are operating in the country, particularly in the south, but what country in the world doesn’t have criminal gangs? … and the three individuals who escaped from a Bishkek court house about a week ago have been caught once again.

There was one incident which raised concern during the week in Tokmak, about sixty kilometers from Bishkek, when a grenade was apparently thrown at a petrol station in the middle of the night.  Nobody was hurt and the resulting fire was successfully extinguished by the staff before the emergency services arrived.

I have been able to get out and about a bit more this week …

The week began with our regular monthly trip to Naryn, and our guesthouse there.  I normally look forward to my trips to Naryn … they make a nice break in the regular routine.  The journey takes between four and five hours … both, there and back … so I usually get time to catch up on some reading or to listen to some podcasts.  At the moment I am trying to fill some gaps in my history and am reading about the Barbarian nations, (Goths, Huns and so on) and I listened to a very interesting series of podcasts from the BBC, which I can heartily recommend, called Witness … as they say: “Witness – history as told by the people who were there.  Five days a week we will be talking to people who lived through moments of history to bring you a personal perspective on world events”.  While I was there, I even had the chance to watch a couple of films.

There have been a number of meetings at the Hyatt during the week and I have seen more of that hotel this week that I have our own hotel, the Silk Road Lodge.

The tourism season is starting in earnest and there conflicting views about how it is going to be … according to one report the Deputy Minister apparently predicts some two million visitors to Lake Issyk Kul, but that’s not the impression I’m getting.  There are many efforts to advertise in the traditional markets of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Siberia and resorts have apparently cut their prices … including charges for “additional services” in order to try and compete with places like Egypt, Turkey and Thailand.

Although the weather has been fairly changeable so far this year, the sun is out and people have started sporting summer attire.

The baseball season has started … Yes, Baseball.  For several years a group of American volunteers have run a Little League summer season in a stadium on the outskirts of the city.  Some of the kids in family of ten of ten that I know go and that means that they have something to help occupy them in the long … long … summer holidays.

So, all in all, it is true that Kyrgyzstan appears, finally, to be returning to normal.  Yes, there is still uncertainty and some tension in the air, but nothing like the dramatic events of the last two months.

During the week I got a letter from former client which caught me by surprise and brought back memories of those “dramatic” events back in April.  In with the letter were enclosed a selection of cuttings from some American newspapers.  Thank you Ursula for sending them to me … they were very interesting to read, even so soon after the events … I have put them on one side to re-read again in, say, a year’s time … it will be good to see how things have developed.

Tags: Expat, Interesting_Times, Life_in_Kyrgyzstan, Weekly_Postcards