Postcard from Bishkek

Although people here in Kyrgyzstan take almost every and any opportunity to celebrate an anniversary, I have to say that I am not aware of any special events of exhibitions to mark today’s “big” event … well, for us Brits, that is: The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

All across Britain, (and the other 15 realms of which is queen: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis), there are celebrations to commemorate the anniversary.  Actually the celebrations are a little late in that, although we are commemorating the fact that she ascended to the throne sixty years ago, the actual anniversary fell back in February, (February 6th).   Unfortunately that happens to fall in the middle of winter back in Britain, so today was the date chosen for the start of various celebratory events spread over the next few days, and, as it happens, it marks the anniversary of her coronation in 1953.

Back then she was also the queen of South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon – all of which are now Republics but remain in the Commonwealth, which now comprises some 54 member states, (including Mozambique and Rwanda which were never British colonies or part of the British Empire).

I said that I wasn’t aware of any special events to commemorate the Jubilee … in fact we were told earlier in the year that the QBP (Queen’s Birthday Party) was to be a joint event this year – at least, that is, in Kazakhstan.  Here in Bishkek the “shindig”, (there’s no disrespect intended in that term; a dictionary definition is  ”a small party”), takes place next week.  I had to laugh when I got my invitation … which said, “As part of our commitment to a greener office environment, the British Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republicis sending electronic invitations to the celebration of the Queen’s Birthday Party ”, and the  the email also said, “Help save paper – do you need to print this email?” …  After being told that the invitation was “not transferable the covering letter said: “Please bring this invitation and ID to the event” … so much for saving paper!  (To be fair – presumably the only invitations that will be printed are those for people who will be going they didb’t have to print

For the record: The QBP usually falls in June, so I suppose that makes some sense.  The Queen’s actual birthday is in April and, just like the Jubilee celebrations, the official commemoration takes place later in the year: in Canada, for example, it is marked on the last Saturday in May; in Australia and New Zealand, on the first Saturday and in the UK   – on one of the first three Saturdays in June – this year it will be marked on the 16th June.  Oddly enough in Bermuda, (where she is still Queen), no longer celebrates the occasion whereas Fiji, which is republic, does, (as it does the birthday of the Prince of Wales!).

If you find all this confusing, especially the bit about Bermuda and Fiji, then rest assured – you are not alone.   The composition of the United Kingdom, Great Britain, British Isles, United Kingdom and so on … confuses almost everyone – even many of us Brits – but, fortunately, there’s a very good explanation on youtube.

I see that London has followed the “Kyrgyz” example and decided to move the Public Holidays to make things more convenient for the celebrations, moving the Spring Public Holiday to Monday and declaring Tuesday as an additional Public Holiday, thus making a long “four-day weekend” for the festivities.

Incidentally, the Jogorku Kenesh, or Parliament, has now passed the law that strips March 24th of it’s status as a Public Holiday.

I was asked by a local person if I was going to celebrate the Jubilee in any way … he said that he had heard something about “street parties” and I think he was angling for an invite to one and looked distinctly disappointed when I said that I wasn’t planning anything special.  As it happens, one of the kids has an exam today, (a Saturday, of all days!), and then I am off to Naryn for a couple of days.  This also means that I am going to miss Sabantui  tomorrow, a rather splendid Tatar festival which is always good fun.

For the record: It’s not just Britain that confuses people … I remember, on one occasion, being taken to task by a colleague for referring to “Russia” when, she told me, I should have said “Soviet Union”.   The school was one of a relatively small number that taught Russian as a foreign language, (the third She pointed out that people often used the word Russia when they really meant the political entity of the USSR, which consisted of a total of 15 republics and Russia was only one of them.  That may well have been the case, but it was – and still is – by far the largest of those republics.   In fact, Russia is now called the Russian Federation because it too is not one simple entity but is comprised of eighty three units – twenty one of which are called republics.  Unlike the other units, (krai or territory, and oblast or province), the republics represent areas where the predominant population are not Russian and give the republic its name, (Dagestan being a notable exception as there is an interesting mix of ethnicity in the republic), they have their own constitution and can establish their own official language.  One of the constituent republics in the Federation is Tatarstan.  The Tatars are, in fact, the second largest ethnic group in Russia

One could be forgiven for thinking that the words  ”Street party” have a different meaning here … as President Atambaev put it, “The people of Kyrgyzstan got a bad habit of blocking roads” … they do it “at every trifle”.  In fact the roads up to the main Kumtor gold mine have been blocked by protesters once again, causing disruption to the normal operating of the mine.  The President put it that protests are one thing but people should “strictly obey the law” and “not interfere with the life of ordinary people.”  He pointed out that these sort of protests “frighten off foreign investors” who didn’t “need” Kyrgyzstan but could invest their “billions” (!) in other countries, cited an example where a “foreign company” was hindered by “locals” who seemed to have “developed habits of dependency”.

In what I presume was an unrelated story, I saw a tweet where a businessman commented that they had had a meeting cancelled at short notice.  They were surprised to be told that the clients they were supposed to be meeting, a mining company, “doesn’t exist any more.”  That certainly surprised me somewhat.  After all, although it is fairly easy to open a company here, the bureaucracy is such that it can be very difficult to close one.

One of the other issues which is often cited as one of the things which deters businesses is the perceived level of corruption.  Well, the authorities are pretty adamant about the war on corruption … for some time now everyone from the President down has been making noises about how unacceptable it is and the measures that are going to be implemented to help wipe it out.  In fact President Atambaev seems to be getting a little impatient about the seeming lack of progress in the struggle.

Mention corruption and most people automatically think of officials taking bribes.  Well, the US  ambassador to Russia has put the cat amongst the pigeons when, during a talk to students in Moscow, he suggested that Russia had put a big bribe on the table in order to get Kyrgyzstan to close the air force base at Manas airport, and that America had also offered a bribe, but a much smaller one, in order to retain the base.  This was back in 2008 and is generally thought to be the reason behind the fall of the Bakiev regime – because the Kyrgyz side tried to play off the two opposing sides against each other, taking both “bribes”.  The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been up in arms about it whilst the State Department responded with, “they misinterpreted the ambassador’s remarks”.  Although the initial remarks were reported here … it seems to have gone a bit quiet as the row between the two “superpowers” rumbled away.

One of the anti corruption measures that has been mooted is the idea that “whistleblowers” should be paid a bounty of 20% of any money recovered by the budget for reporting restaurants, shops, etc., that operate in the shadow economy, concealing income and don’t pay taxes.  It may sound like a good idea, certainly a popular one, but I bet it won’t be as simple as all that … they’ll be all sorts of reasons why rewards won’t get paid.

There’s always a problem over definitions – especially when it comes to the distinction between tax evasion and tax avoidance.  One is reducing the amount of tax paid by legal means,whilst the other is using measures which are not.  Even in many Western countries these two are being confused, and where a person or corporation pays little or no tax because they are able to utilize “loopholes” they are treated like pariahs – even though, strictly speaking, they have done nothing wrong.  One might question the “morality” involved and praise the steps taken to “close” the loopholes, but it seems a bit unreasonable to complain when they abide by the rules – even if it is to make sure that it works to their own advantage.

There is an interesting example of “avoidance” which is quite common here.  When vehicles are sold they should be re-registered, and a state fee, (a reasonably sized fee), has to be paid.  There is, however, a system where the seller issues the purchaser with a power of attorney, (which costs a lot less).  Now, as it happens, a power of attorney has another purpose … it is really meant to be a give someone else, (apart from the owner, that is – say, another member of the family), the right to drive the vehicle.  A power of attorney which allows effectively transfers the ownership can last for three years – and in that time the new “owner” can either sell the vehicle again, or re-register the vehicle as their own.  Anyway, there are about four times as many powers of attorney as re-registrations so now the government are looking at cancelling the system.  Even thought they are also proposing to reduce the level of the fees the overall effect should be a more efficient system without any loss in income to fund it.

There has been an interesting twist in the story of the proposed flight Istanbul-Bishkek-Ulan Bator.  Turkish Airlines who were going to operate the flight has apparently withdrawn the proposal, choosing to fly via another city, apparently, it is said, in response to demands for “bribes”, for example “free tickets”.  Obviously, however, Turkish Airlines weren’t so outraged by these apparent demands because they have announced new flights to the southern city of Osh.  All this may be part of a wider controversy over Kyrgyzstan adopting an Open Skies policy.

There has also been some attention paid to another issue which has often being held up as an example of rampant corruption: that of University admissions.  For some time now, there has been a project trying to bring about a standardized system of examinations and  trying to introduce a merit based system …  a creditable aim.

It’s not clear whether this is seen as the result of corruption or simply incompetence, but one of the MPs has been drawing attention to the fact that a number of projects aimed at bringing drinking water supplies to remote villages have “failed”.  He is demanding investigations so that the “guilty” can be held to account.

It’s not exactly an example of “corruption” but on Friday I was in a meeting where the Deputy Prime Minister said that the traffic police will not be hiding behind trees with radar guns to trap unsuspecting motorists on their way up to Issyk Kul.  It will be interesting to see if, as I drive up the same road on my way to Naryn, that really proves to be the case.  If so, then it might well be cause for celebration … but I’m not sure that it will merit street parties.

 

_______________________________________

 

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 were postcards about:

• To know, know, Kyrgyzstan … is to … - Nothing to do with last week’s Eurovision Song Contest, but this was one  song that I couldn’t get out of my mind;
• The Burana Tower - One of Kyrgyzstan’s ancient monuments, not far from Bishkek;
• The Prezhevalsky Horse - Although the horse has a special place in Kyrgyz culture – that’s not necessarily this one;
• Kyrgyzstan’s last Hero - Dair Asanovich Asanov was the last surviving of Kyrgyzstan’s Heroes of the Soviet Union from the Second World War;
• No Tobacco Day - On World No Tobacco Day, I take a brief look at the importance of tobacco to Kyrgyzstan’s economy;
• The Three Orphans - A Kyrgyz fairytale for International Children’s Day.  

It is now possible to follow me on Facebook, (where I have specific pages for Celestial Mountains and ianbek … and also links.kg and Kyrgyz Diary), and on twitter, (@Bishkekpostcard and @celestialMTC ).

Tags: Expat, Life_in_Kyrgyzstan, Weekly_Postcards