Postcard from Bishkek

Salaries and Prices seem to have been the main themes of the week.  The proposed salary increases for teachers, medical workers and others working in the public sector have not been universally welcomed.  The International Monetary Fund, (IMF), have fired a warning shot across the government’s bows, suggesting the “targeted social programmes” were a better way to try and alleviate poverty rather than across the board increases in salaries and pensions.  The key concern seems to be, as the former Minister of Finance tried to point out, there just isn’t the money in the budget.   It’s not clear where the government is going to find the resources to pay the increased salaries.  In addition, however, the IMF is concerned that paying this increase will only help to feed inflation.

In terms of prices, it was announced that inflation has soared to almost 20% and, so far, we only have one month’s figures for this year.  Particular concern has been expressed when it comes to food prices.  After a difficult year with freak weather conditions affecting the grain baskets of Europe, Russia, the US and Australia, food prices are rocketing out of control.  It may be true that parts of Africa have enjoyed bumper harvests, but that has had little effect on the prices in the Bazaar.  There is a call for an investigation to see if bakeries are colluding over prices and profiteering.  There is also concern that both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have started eating into their reserves of grain etc.  The government are going to remove import levies on certain basic foodstuffs, and introducing new tariffs on their export.  With the help of the EU, there is work undergoing on developing the food processing industry, but that looks to me like a long term project which won’t help much in the short term when it comes to dealing with potential shortages.

I have heard several people complaining about government inaction on this front but, it seems to me, there is not much that they can actually do that they aren’t already trying … it’s not in their hands, not unless they want to return to state control as under the former Soviet Union.  It’s a global problem and even CNN has been showing news items on the global trends on the supply of basic products and the effect on prices.  The UN World Food Programme, (WFP)< are so concerned about the potential “perfect storm”, (a combination of soaring costs, weather emergencies and political instability), that they have been put on “red alert”, according to the Executive Director, and are continually assessing needs and reassessing plans so that they are ready to assist, in almost any situation.

Of course, the local population doesn’t see it like that.  They are not interested in what is happening elsewhere in the world but are more concerned about how they are going to cope with the current situation.  When salaries are already so low, with such a proportion going to pay for food, then large price hikes So, it has to be acknowledged that rising prices is yet another cause for tension.

However, it’s not as simple as that.  As one Tweeter put it: “Higher food prices won’t lead to another revolt. The perception that fat gov’t officials are living better at the expense of the poor, will!”

There has been a certain amount of speculation about the potential for further upheavals.   It seems to have been a recurring theme in speeches given by Roza Otunbaeva and during the week her office gave a explanation of why she was concerned.

There was another explosion during the week, this time at the home of an official working for one of the local authorities near to Bishkek.  It seems, however, that this wasn’t a case of terrorism, but may have been related to a decision taken as part of his official duties and a criminal investigation has been instigated.

Talking of the security situation, you will probably be aware from earlier postcards that I have a fascination for “Global Surveys” and “Indexes”, that create League Tables comparing different countries standing on this or that issue.  They are so frustrating for several reasons – the methodology, the headline results, (or specifically, how those results are used), and the fact that, normally, Kyrgyzstan doesn’t feature too well in them.  On the other hand, it is always interesting to see how we compare to other countries.  Well, this week I came across a new one, The Global Peace Index, and as I scanned the league tables for Kyrgyzstan, I asked myself:  Should I start at the top of the table and work my way down, or at the bottom and work my up?  Well, New Zealand, Iceland, Japan, Austria and Norway topped the list of 149 countries in 2010, (that is, they were the most “peaceful”), whilst at the bottom, (that is, the least “peaceful”), were Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq.  I breathed a sigh of relief as Kyrgyzstan wasn’t in that last five, especially given last year’s events, but as I scanned the tables I became confused … where was Kyrgyzstan?  It turns out that they had no data for Kyrgyzstan, and so it wasn’t there.  I wonder if it will be included next time.

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“Nationalism” seems to have been one of the other watchwords of the week.  In a follow up to last week’s postcard, it has been suggested to transfer all the frequencies of foreign TV channels, including the Russian ones, to Kyrgyz television broadcasting companies.  One suggestion is that this might be a reaction to “anti Kyrgyz” bias being perceived in the Russian media, but it seems to me to go further than that.  Apparently, in the south of the country it is possible to receive 18 different foreign channels.  The MP who raised the question spoke about “informational security” and the fact that whereas large sums of money are paid to retransmit foreign channels, many people in rural regions cannot watch Kyrgyz channels.

It has also been announced, incidentally, that digital broadcasting will not be introduced in the country until 2015 … That news item confused me because it seemed be one of the arguments that was given last week for the reallocation of frequencies in favour of the Kyrgyz channels.

The controversy over frequencies for TV channels took a slightly different turn when one MP suggested that a new channel should be established devoted to culture.  He said that only distinguished artists should appear on this channel, but it wasn’t clear in the news reports that I have seen, what sort of culture he had in mind: traditional Kyrgyz culture, or a much wider vision which would include, for example, classical music and Jazz.

Some businesses in the south have apparently been criticized for having documentation only in Russian, (even though it is an official language which according to the constitution is supposed to have the same standing as the state language Kyrgyz), and told that they should transfer them into Kyrgyz.  Needless to say, members of the Russian speaking community are not happy about the turn of events which have led one of leaders of civil society to criticize the use of nationalism by some politicians as divisive.

In one report a woman who had worked as a waitress but was now in Moscow, said that the reason she had emigrated  was that it was so difficult for Russian speakers to find employment in Kyrgyzstan.  In the remote Russian province of Sakhalin, it’s been reported that last year over 800 people had sought Russian citizenship, and the vast majority of these were from Kyrgyzstan.

More worrying is the fact that some anti-Russian graffiti has appeared in one of the microdistricts, (suburbs), of Bishkek last weekend.  The offending texts were painted out, but were given front page treatment by the most popular newspaper, Vecherniye Bishkek, (Evening Bishkek) and led to one official announcing that there was no place for anti-ethnic sentiments in Kyrgyzstan.

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In other news, there have been some reports that look like people trying to “muddy the waters” and “stir up” doubt about members of the interim government that took office when Kurmanbek Bakiev resigned and fled the country.  There have been numerous questions about how the money seized from private, bank safe deposit boxes were used, and ministers seem to have had to admit that they cannot account for every som.  Then there was the request by the Head of the Interim President’s administration, to give a diplomatic passport to the person being blamed for the troubles in the South of the country last year.  Roza Otunbaeva has denied claims that she has an expensive property in Britain, dismissing them as laughable, and her son has been the subject of some interest suggestions that some people were trying to use him to get to her over the row concerning fuel supplies for the American Air base.  Now some documents have appeared which suggest that he has not repaid a bank loan and that has a vehicle which is not registered with the authorities.  It would be nice to think that people have learned from the mistakes made by others in the past, but the suggestion seems to be that we haven’t and that history is repeating itself and it’s “business as usual”.  In fact there is some doubt about most, (if not all), of these, but the tendency to believe that “there’s no smoke without fire” makes each accusation more powerful … even if it’s not true.

As well as commenting on the past and present leaders in the government, all this seems to me to be part of a campaign to influence the presidential elections which are planned for later in the year.  Under the transitional arrangements, Roza Otunbaeva cannot stand again.  Ata Jurt, the largest party in the parliament, has already declared that it their leader, Tashiev, decides to stand then he will be the next president and other politicians also seem to be position to run for the office.  There might, however, be a problem as there are proposals to amend the election laws and the timetable is tight … a draft has to be submitted to parliament by the middle of March if it is going to be passed in time for the election process to start in August.

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One news item that seems to have attracted a lot of attention on the internet concerns a proposal to shoot some of the stray dogs that roam Bishkek’s streets.  The authorities say that they receive about 20 requests a day to deal with stray dogs that frighten residents or passers-by and last year some 5000 were shot.  This year, it is estimated that as many as 10,000 could be shot, mostly in the early mornings or evenings when the streets are relatively quiet.  It is true that there are a lot of stray dogs and although some of them are solitary creatures, sometimes there are packs with about five or six members of different sizes and breeds.  Not all of them, by any means, are viscous but, being strays, they tend to be nervous and I can understand why people may be afraid of them.  A friend’s mother was attacked by a dog in the street on Christmas Eve and had a huge chunk of flesh taken out of her leg as a result of a bite.  She is still receiving treatment, limping and recovering.  In this case it wasn’t a stray but a neighbour’s dog that happened to get out of the yard and into the street.  The authorities say that they don’t have the resources to build a pound and even in the West where there are many “dog pounds” like the Battersea Dog’s Home, many stray dogs that are picked up on the streets end up being “destroyed” because homes cannot be found for them.  Here the sentence is more summary.

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Finally, on a happier note, if any of you happen to be in Switzerland in the third week of March, the Charity Pamir Bridges are organizing a series of Soirees, or Cultural Evenings in Solothurn, Sursee, Lucerne and Basle which I think should be quite interesting … I’ll post some information on ianbek.kg and you can find some more information on their website: http://www.pamirbridges.ch.

Tags: Expat, Life_in_Kyrgyzstan, Weekly_Postcards