Postcard from Bishkek

 I keep getting asked by people if I have seen this or that film, and they seem genuinely surprised when I reply, “No”. I have to remind them that I have been here for over sixteen years and although many of the films that they refer to are available here, I don’t bother going to the Cinema very often because I would have to cope with the dialogue being in Russian, (or Kyrgyz) and when they are shown on TV, I tend to fall asleep in the middle of them. (I haven’t for example seen any of the Harry Potter films through from Beginning to the end – although I have probably seen the almost all of the first one in snippets and snatches).

In fact, one of the things I used to miss a lot when I first came out here was being to watch films and TV programmes in English. In fact, I posted myself parcels of video cassettes, (remember them?), and whenever I went back to the UK, I made a point of picking up new films to bring back with me.

This slowly became less important over the years, for several reasons. Some shops, for example, started selling video cassettes in English or with subtitles; then came DVD’s with multiple language versions stored on them; several people would bring or send me new DVD’s; many titles are available on the internet; and these days I can watch many films and, (although it’s a bit more like hard work), I can follow most of the dialogue even if it is in Russian – provided it’s not a simultaneous, single voice, translation dubbed over the top of the original soundtrack.

One film I have recently seen, for example, was “300”, telling the story of Leonidas and his Spartan army standing in the path of the Persian army under Xerxes at Thermopylae almost two and a half thousand years ago. To be honest, I found the film strange, violent and dark, but even so I, surprisingly, enjoyed it. It’s not quite true to history, however.

I remember visiting Themopylae when I was in Greece many years ago, on my way from Athens to the Oracle at Delphi. I particularly remember being surprised about how wide the coastal plain appeared to be and wondering how 300 soldiers could possibly make stand here against an opposing force a million strong. Apparently Herodotus puts it at over two and a half million, although modern scholars think it was probably somewhere between 70,000 and 300,000. In fact, after the bulk of the main 7000 strong force of Greeks were dismissed by Leonidas after the first two days of battle, the 300 Spartans were supported by contingents of Thebans, Thespians, (both of which were actually larger than the Spartan contingent), and some other small groups representing different city states. Of course, the modern coastal plain is much wider than it was in ancient times, the modern road more or less follows the ancient coastline. Even so, taking all of that int account, the defenders were still in a most unfavourable position and the result must have seemed to be a foregone conclusion.

All this came into my mind this week because of an interesting blog post that I cam across during the week: “Kyrgyzstan – the hero of Hollywood“. It’s in Russian, but it gives examples of how Kyrgyzstan has been the unsung character in various films, including reference to “The Day the Earth Stood still”, ( a scene of a protest rally in Bishkek ); “Air Force One”"; “Babylon of our time”; “Cobra”; “Interpreter”; “The False Mask”; “Whiteout” … oh, yes, and of course “Borat”. He even refers to an old French film, “The suffering of Alfred”. If he wanted to widen the list, however, then it seems to me that’s he’s missed a few; he could have, for example, mentioned the references to Kyrgyzstan in “The West Wing”.

I am not quite sure what Hollywood would make of what is happening here at the moment. Some of the news these week looks like it could have come from the script for a Hollywood Bluckbuster.

There have been spectacular revelations, for example, in the hearings in the court case against those accused of abuse of power which led to the April 7th revolution last year. Details are coming out about how Bakiev is supposed to have tried to impose a State of Emergency on the country; about how shots were fired at the White House for over the street; about soldiers without insignia were roaming the corridors of the building during that fateful afternoon – there has now been a law passed to prevent police and security officers wearing masks except in special circumstances.; about how the order to shoot at the protestors was given by Janysh Bakuiev, the President’s brother and head of the security services; about how Bakiev fled from the building at about six in the evening, leaving behind his faithful bodyguard to face their fate. There are even allegations about how Bakiev’s supporters were distributing weapons to the protestors in order to provoke a “bloody clash”. This definitely sounds like material for Hollywood.

Even more spectacular are the revelations about the death of the former head of the Presidential Administration, Medet Sadyrkulov. He had fallen out with Bakiev and sought to set up as a political rival. There have even been revelations on Wikileaks about how he sought support from the American Ambassador, but she apparently told him that the American government wasn’t in the business of toppling regimes. Anyway, he had been in Almaty and on his return to Kyrgyzstan, his vehicle was involved in an accident in the Alamedin valley, caught fire and the bodies of all three passengers in the vehicle were burnt to a cinder. The driver of the other vehicle was prosecuted and went to jail … he has since died. There were questions and doubts about the official account from the very first reports. What was he doing in Alamedin?, How come the vehicle burned so rapidly and completely? and so on. Foul play was definitely on people’s minds.

Well, it turns out that the President’s brother, Janysh Bakiev, is being well and truly implicated in the affair. He is blamed for sending an ear and a finger to a KGB general as a warning not to continue with an investigation and that when Sadyrkulov ordered an investigation into this grisly parcel resulted in information implicating Janysh, the President ordered the investigation closed. This seems to have been the point at which Sadyrkulov finally decided to break with his former master. On his return from Almaty, Sadyrkulov, apparently, was detained on the border and taken to a police station where he was interrogated and beaten. According to the evidence recounted in court, Janysh turned up and joined in with the beating, finally giving the order to “finish the job”. The car’s passengers were then strangled and placed in the car which was drive to a remote spot where an accident could be faked, doused with petrol and set alight. The witness said that the murder could not have been committed “without the permission of Kurmanbek Bakiev”.

Now, four suspected accomplices in the events have been arrested in Tajkikistan. Apparently they were hiding in a basement. And, furthermore, there are suggestions that there will be more arrests soon in both Tajikistan and Russia.

This definitely sounds like material for Hollywood.

It’s being claimed that some things never change and the connections between Janysh and organized crime are now being continued with other high ranking officials including, as I said last week, speculation involving Almazbek Atambaev, the Prime Minister, which have been repeated during the week. If those allegations refer to the transfer of drugs through Kyrgyzstan, then illegal trade in another commodity has been making the headlines this week – fuel. For a long time, now, there have been stories about smuggling fuel into Tajikistan and some officials have not only been implicated but also arrested. Several others have been dismissed. This also sounds like material for Hollywood, or for an episode of The Sopranos.

Two national security officers have also been arrested for involvement in the smuggling of previous metals. Although this mat not sound like good material for a blockbuster, I’m sure Hollywood could make something of it, especially when considering some of the other controversial issues that have arisen in the Mining sector. Indeed, the Prime Minister even felt that he had to say that he was ashamed for some of the incidents that have occurred – and that he thinks “all citizens of Kyrgyzstan should be ashamed”. The comments came during talks with Chinese officials and he was talking particularly about cases involving Chinese investors, but there have been many other incidents and there are major concerns being felt by investors from other countries as well. Despite these developments, Japan has expressed interest in the extraction of rare earth metals and the Ministry of Natural Resources expects three new goldfields to come on stream in 2012 and 2013.

In another story, a Colonel from the Interior Ministry has been arrested for concealment of the kidnapping of the Mufti last year. The kidnappers demanded a huge ransom and there was apparently a telephone conversation between them and the colonel when he asked them not to beat the cleric but release him. It’s this phone call that seems to be the subject of the main investigation. He was, in fact, found the next day in a village outside Bishkek. Perhaps this could be the basis of a scene in a film, if not exactly a scenario for a blockbuster.

A more recent event which is in the headlines centers around a car accident which involved the official car of the the Chairman of the National Security Commission in which a pedestrian died. The original investigation cleared the driver of any wrongdoing saying that the pedestrian was drunk. This led to sarcastic comments in social media about how he had apparently thrown himself under the wheels of the vehicle. The affair just won’t go away and now the Prosecutor’s office have been tasked with getting to the bottom of the incident. Maybe Hollywood could do something with this – after all, Bonfire of the Vanities revolves around one man’s attempt to escape from a Hit-and-Run charge.

Hollywood seems to like stories about reporters and one of the recurring themes in All The President’s Men was the need to have supporting evidence to back up a story before going to print. Well, Human Rights workers who have been drawing attention to the work of the police during and after the events in Southern Kyrgyzstan last year are now facing criticism for relying solely on the words of the detainees themselves without checking them for accuracy.

Knowing how Hollywood likes a good spy story, I wonder if they could make something of the news that the Kyrgyz security services have received a donation of equipment worth about a million dollars from the Chinese. This may not have the makings of a James Bond plot, but the implications of the growing cooperation between the sister services suggest that it is more in line with the cerebral plotlines of a le Carre novel … although I wonder how Gary Oldman would make of Smiley’s role in analysing the connotations of the gift.

In another attempt to combat potential corruption, Roza Otunbaeva has set up a commission to monitor how Pentagon payments for the use of the Manas Transit Centre, (the US Air Base), are handled. It is hoped that this will improve transparency and bolster public trust in the government and the current arrangements as the 13 strong commission will have to issue reports. It will also monitor the tax revenues received from companies which have contracts with the airbase – so that’s another level of inspections and supervision being imposed on businesses – or at least certain businesses. The US diplomats have apparently welcomed the move. This may not make the basis of an action movie, but Hollywood also has a good record for producing cerebral financial thrillers.

Another “cerebral” drama could centre on the rivals and tribulations of Feliks Kulov, one of the country’s leading politicians who is also in trouble, but this time with members of his own party. He caused a stir with some comments about some of the party’s deputies and instead of simply censuring hem, they have decided to throw him and some other members of the leadership out of the parliamentary caucus – even though an “extraordinary” party congress have confirmed him as the party leader.

We have also seen the death of another prominent figure, a former deputy and head of a television channel, Melis Eshimkanov. He was only 48 and it seems to have been as the result of heart attack and, so far, I haven’t seen anything that would suggest anything more sinister … so maybe there is nothing for Hollywood in this particular story.

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I’m not sure what Hollywood would make of the election saga that is dragging on … and on … and on. At least the list of candidates has been pared down somewhat with more than half of the seventy eight candidates who originally registered being excluded for one reason or another. Many have failed to provide the required deposits or lists of supporting signatures and some have failed the proficiency examination in the Kyrgyz language, (although two are protecting and planning to go to court over the commission decision to exclude them from the ballot paper on the basis of the test). One of the candidates who had passed all the hurdles put before candidates has, however, decided not to run after all.

 

The government are particularly concerned about the effect of foreign media outlets on the election and have banned real time broadcasts by international TV channels. This is primarily directed at Russian TV channels who broadcast material during the parliamentary elections last year which was felt to be biased in favour, or rather against, some of the candidates. Now transmission can only be shown on a “delayed feed” basis and transmission that include material which discredit individual candidates will be cut off. Although that might sound reasonable on the face of it, there is now a problem of how to implement the decision as, for example, there seems to be no clear criteria for what is acceptable … or not.

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, (ODIHR), have opened their mission to monitor the 30 October presidential election with 14 “international experts” based in Bishkek and 28 long term observers to be deployed throughout the country in order to watch the work of the various election commissions and other state boidies as the implement the legislation relating to the plebiscite, including voter registration, media coverage and the resolution of electoral disputes. This team are to be joined by some 350 short-term observers who will arrive to moitor the proceedings on election day itself, (the opening of polling stations, votiong …), and the counting process, (tabulation of results etc.). It’s hoped to issue a statement of “preliminary” findings the day after the election – October 31st – but compilation of the final report will take a couple of months.

They might have a difficult time. How on earth people are supposed to keep track of developments I don’t know – I do know that I am having difficulty keeping up with everything. To further complicate matters, for example, this week saw the launch of yet another political paty, the country’s 157th. Although the new Kyrgyz Liberal Democratic Party are not contesting the Presidential election but say that they intend to field candidates for local and parliamentary elections in the future.

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There have also been a lot of news stories during the week that have been less promising material as far as Hollywood may be considered.

Amongst these were a number of stories that centre on Education. For example, there was the suggestion from the First Vice Prime Minister that some of the state’s school should be “privatized”. I’m not certain if that’s exactly what he means, but perhaps someone should be talking to people in British Education about their experience of introducing Grant Maintained Schools back in 1988.

Then, there were a number of complaints, (about 150), from families which claim that girls who decide to wear the Hijab, a traditional headscarf, face discrimination at school. One family is taking the school authorities to court. There is no legislation prohibiting certain modes of dress, (as there is in France, for example), but the Ministry points out that there are established and approved uniforms for all students. I know that some schools have a uniform, but it seems to me that the vast majority don’t.

Another interesting story revolved around allegations that pupils from the ninth grade, (that’s 13/14 year olds), in one school were released from classes but made to work as unpaid labourers on a construction site building a house for a local businessman. The businessman denied the allegations.

The Asian Development Bank has adjusted it’s forecast for inflation in the country, increasing it by one and a half times, although it is not all bad news because they also expect higher growth in the economy. This may not be material for Hollywood but it is certainly a worry for us in business here. However, the chief of the IMF Mission currently in Kyrgyzstan is much more upbeat and has said that the country has a “good inflation situation”. I am confused. I wonder if someone can explain what he means by “good” because prices are rising and we, (I), am feeling the effect on a daily basis.

One of the main issues they raise is the rise in budget expenses as salaries for government employees and pensions are increased. The government are facing serious problems with trying to balance the books and are loking at how they can effect savings, such as by adopting energy savings programmes. They are also seeking assistance with several planned major projects. During the week it was announced that the main donor agencies would fund some 40 projects and the government proposed some 40 projects, (it’s not clear to me if they are the same projects or different ones), to the Islamic Development Bank for co-financing. The Saudis have agreed to invest in a special development bank, or fund to help finance priority sectors of the economy and, for example, to give fifteen million dollars towards the rehabilitation of the main Bishkek-Torugart highway, a major transport corridor linking Kyrgyzstan with China and Karachi, its nearest seaport. The Saudis are also donating money towards the improvement of energy supplies as is the Islamic Development Bank and a contarct for p[roviding small hydroelectric plants has been signed with a Spanish company.

There is also sign of hope for the economic development of the country in a new international index which suggests that Kyrgyzstan is not as vulnerable to the effects of Global Warming, (access to water, healthcare and infrastructure problems, floods, droughts and hurricanes and so forth), as other countries with similar low levels of per capita GDP. Kyrgyzstan may not be “ripe with investment opportunities” but is doing things differently to their compatriots according to one of the founders of the new statistic … although he didn’t say what that was – at least, not in the report I read. Still it sounds hopeful!

The International Monetary Fun, (IMF), also sounded a positive note with a representative apparently saying that they “positively value” the reforms that are being undertaken in the country. That didn’t stop them asking the government to explain the purpose of creating a new “Development Bank” as part of the country’s mid-term development plan.

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It’s not all “gloom and doom”, however. This week, for example, Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, and Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, were twinned, although it is not clear to me what that will mean in practice. In fact the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan has been here and there been several announcements of cooperative projects and Kyrgyzstan’s potential joining the Customs Union.

An exhibition of Kyrgyz and Chinese photographs opened in Bishkek and a week of Japanese culture brought a variety of activities. It was also CSR Week, (Commercial Social Responsibility), involving a number of special events aimed at improving awareness of the issue amongst businessmen and government officials. Another event was a conference devoted to Walnuts – Kyrgyzstan has the worlds largest relicts of walnut forests. There have been a number of exhibitions around the world which have featured Kyrgyz crafts.

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Now for a confession: Last week I made a mistake, hitting the wrong button in my email program and thus sent the Postcard to everyone in my address book, not just to those who are on the distribution list. That’s the second time it’s happened this year. Now, I know how much I dislike Spam, so I sympathize with anyone who found a copy in their Inbox and didn’t really want it … so, I have set up a different account, (), to try and avoid this happening in future. In the meantime, if by any chance you have received this and don’t want to receive any more, just drop me a line and let me know and I will take you off the distribution list.

 

Postcard from Bishkek: ianbek.kg