Postcard from Bishkek

The closing moments of the 1966 World Cup final, between England and West Germany, gave us one of the most famous and memorable sporting quotations of all time: “They think it’s all over … It is now!”.

The game had gone into extra time after the sides drew in regular time … and the home team, England, had managed to score a lead over their rivals … three – two.  The final whistle was approaching and the ball was passed to Geoff Hurst.  Some England fans, ecstatic at the thought that their team were going to be crowned World Champions and walk off with the prestigious Jules Rimet Trophy, began to invade the pitch.  This led to the comment the BBC commentator, Kenneth Wolstenholme, on the possibility of premature celebrations: “Some people are on the pitch.  They think it’s all over …”, but no sooner had  uttered those words than Hurst put the ball past the goalkeeper into the back of the net for a fourth goal and a commanding, unbeatable lead, and so Wolstenholme was able to confirm, “It is now, … it’s four!” …

The work of a sports commentator must be extremely difficult … not only do they need to know the sport back to front, the rules (or laws) governing the game, technical terms and all sorts of jargon; to have background historical and statistical data at their fingertips or on the tips of their tongues;  they have to be able to recognize and know the names of all the players on the field;  and to have the “gift of the gab”: the ability to talk and convey information whilst maintaining the interest and attention of the audience … with whom you have no contact … from whom you get no feedback; … and able to keep going, responding to events that happen with extreme rapidity.  It’s not surprising that they are often caught out or make embarrassing mistakes … but every now and again, as on this occasion, they come up with a real classic.

I have had Kenneth Wolstenholme’s voice uttering these words, ringing in my ears all week … thinking of the Referendum.

After all the upheaval and tragedy, great hopes have been put on the outcome … and like the crowd storming onto the pitch in 1966, it seems as if many people “think it’s all over”.

Many people seem to be of the opinion that a resounding and convincing positive result in the referendum is thought will resolve all our problems … mean no more upheaval and disorder, death and destruction.

For example, an official from the Issyk Kul region commenting on the lack of tourists to the region so far, expressed the conviction that once the referendum was over, everything would “return to normal” and the hotels and resorts around the lake were not only ready but were expecting visitors to come flocking ove the border to take the sun on the beaches that make up the shores of “the Pearl of the Tien Shan”.  As far as I can tell, and to many more of those of us who work in the industry, there is no sign of an impending influx of tourists this year … “they just ain’t coming”.   There are some … but it is just a trickle rather than a flood.

It is true that a resounding and convincing positive vote would solve some problems … it would, for example, legitimize the current arrangements, give de jure authority Roza Otunbaeva as President (albeit in a Caretaker role … she says that she is going to drop the “Interim”), rather than the de facto authority that she has exercised since April 7th.

In the end it did turn out to be a fairly resounding result … over 80% of the potential electorate voted, with some 90.55% in favour of the new constitution and approving Roza Otunbaeva as President.

Most observers agree that the vote was well organized, fair and transparent, with few violations or improprieties.  There were some complaints by some of the opponents of the Interim Government – who had been against holding the referendum in the first place – but the comments on the internet forums on the day itself reported that all was quiet, peaceful and in order … in the past, they have been the first place where violations have been reported.

You speak as you find, and our experience was that everything passed off properly and in order.  I was in Naryn for our regular monthly visit, and three of our group from Bishkek wanted to vote, so we turned up at the local polling station – much to everyone’s surprise … they were probably the only three Russians voting in Naryn.  It was an hour after the polling station had opened and there was slow, but steady stream of voters arriving.  The ballot box was transparent so it was possible to see that it hadn’t been stuffed with ballot papers … we think that there were about 50 or 60 completed forms already there … that suggested a rate of about one a minute which seemed to reflect the rate at which voters were arriving.  The staff manning were polite and efficient.  They checked the identity documents and then the thumbs of the intending to vote, to make sure they hadn’t been marked as having already voted … before handing over the ballot forms and marking the thumbs.  There was no one checking to see how people voted, and no-one there applying pressure to vote one way or the other.

Even if there was a resounding “Yes” vote, however, that doesn’t necessarily mean that all those who voted “Yes” stand wholeheartedly behind the new constitution … they were given only a limited choice and many may have chosen what they saw as “the lesser of two evils”, (for want of a better phrase).  There have already been some comments on this score … and one prominent politician has come out to say that there are serious flaws in the new constitution … which makes me wonder why he didn’t speak up beforehand, whilst it was being drafted.

Some external bodies have also expressed concerns, most prominent amongst them President Medvedyev of Russia.

However, most people now seem to agree that Kyrgyzstan has taken a step forward … and we can hope for  a more stable political environment in the future.

To quote another famous saying “… this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

Today, Saturday, saw the inauguration of Roza Otunbaeva as President.

Next comes the election of a new Parliament … and that could be interesting.  Under the new constitution, members of the Government are not allowed to be involved in party politics so we may face a rash of resignations as the campaign gets underway.  Who will then be left to assist Roza Otunbaeva and accept responsibility for the running of the country?

There’s certainly a lot to do and a lot of important decisions to take.

The apparent unanimity of the result belies the fact that there are still a lot of homeless, anxious, if not frightened, people.  If the prime movers behind the civil disorders of the last few months really were organized crime, or dissatisfied politicians eager to protect and promote their own personal interests, then that still remains an issue to be tackled.  More importantly, the thought that terrorists were involved, either in order to further their own particular cause or recruited as mercenaries, then we could face more than a few incidents in the future, and we know that terror acts are difficult, if not impossible, to predict and control.   Security has been stepped up at key installations like the massive Toktogul Reservoir, Dam and Power station.  On our trip to Naryn we passed several roadside checks where our documents were checked and recorded.  At the moment it is fairly unobtrusive and low key, but I suspect that could easily change.  For me, it started to bring back memories of coping with 30-odd years of “troubles” in Northern Ireland … trying to come to terms and deal with IRA and Loyalist shootings and bombing campaigns.

What’s more, the economy is still in poor shape.  Even the official figures are showing it … growth is slowing down and that means the government are receiving less tax revenues … which in turn means the tax office is asking if we can make advance payments.

With all those caveats, however, things are settling down once more … life goes on … with meetings, the usual round of social events … people are getting married, celebrating birthdays, changing jobs, going into hospital and having operations … students are taking examinations and completing internships … the Health inspectors have been in to our hotel to do their annual inspection … and, yes, tourists are arriving to the country – not many, to be sure, but there are some.

There have even been some positive stories in the press … thanks, in particular, go to Tony for sending me links to a series of articles in the New Zealand Herald.

Apart from all the usual characters, there has been another man who has featured heavily in the local news this week: Bakhadyr Kochkarov.  That’s not exactly a name that trips off the tongue … but I suppose it’s possible that some people outside Kyrgyzstan will recognize it.   Bakhadyr is currently in South Africa where he is serving as Kyrgyzstan’s first representative at the World Cup where he’s officiating as an “Assistant Referee”.  I had no idea what that meant when I saw it for the first time, but it apparently means that he’s a “linesman”.  He ran the line in the England-Algeria game, for example … and will be doing so again in some of the later stages of the competition.  No doubt he’ll come home with many memories – hopefully god ones … but he’ll probably never forget his first appearance in the World Cup.  Apart from the fact that it was an important match … the opening game of the competition between South Africa and Mexico … it was just as the troubles in Osh were starting – and he comes from Osh.  According to reports in the Russian media – whilst he was performing his duties there, his family in Osh were hiding in a basement.   This week he commented that it was nice, now, to see his country in the news for things other than political chaos, riots and civil disorder.

From one World Cup to another … so, if it is a case that “they think it’s all over” … lets hope that we can soon say with the same resounding confidence that Kenneth Wolstenholme was able to: “It is now!”

Incidentally, there will be more detail about our “spectacular … but scary” trip to Naryn posted on my website (ianbek.kg) after the weekend, including some background information on some of the places we visited: Naryn itslef, Koshoi Korgon, Tash Rabat, Son Kul, Suusamyr … and a Swiss charity: Pamir Bridges.

Tags: Expat, Interesting_Times, Kyrgyzstan, Life_in_Kyrgyzstan, Weekly_Postcards