Kiss and Make up
Of all the strange designated days or unofficial “holidays”, today is particularly special; it’s “Kiss and Make up Day“.
As is so often the case, I have no idea who thought of this particular designation, but it seems to have been around for some years already … I have found a reference to it from back in 2008. I am not sure if the greetings card industry do a roaring trade out of the day, but I have seen a number of suggestions or “commercial offers” ranging from sending a “Let’s Kiss and Make up” card or gifts such as flowers or a box of chocolates to a special romantic weekend away.
Everyone has arguments, fights, frosty silences, mood swings, a spat or tiff once in a while … . Family, friends, lovers … everyone, no-one escapes. Well, today is supposed to be a day to end the fight, whether it was a short spat, or a long standing feud. They say that ”kissing and making up” can be “oh, so sweet”. Indeed, for lovers, it is supposed to be the best part of the fight and some people even seem to think that it is what makes the fight worthwhile in the first place.
Actually I am not sure that having a special day for this is a such a good idea. Why wait for a particular day to come round once a year? It seems to me that it is much better to grasp the nettle at the appropriate time rather than waiting. On the other hand, it could be like the Day of Atonement, a catch all moment that can give the opportunity to “close accounts” and make a fresh start.
Well, there have been some disputes here and it seems that it might be a good time to try and reconcile different parties. Of course, reconciliation needs two parties … one side can apologise, but if the other side is not willing to accept it then there is not much that can be done about it. However, with a certain amount of goodwill, and surely it is worth the effort. After all, as the Beatles put it, in the words of the Lennon and McCartney song: ”Life is very short, and there’s no time for fussing and fighting … ”
The big dispute of the week, of course, has been the break up of the government coalition … with two parties, (Ar Namys and Ata Meken) writing to the President announcing their decision to leave. The didn’t chose their moment very well, (or did they), because it was right in the middle of the State visit of President Nazarbaev of Kazakhstan, (the first such visit in the twenty years since independence), and the Summit of Turkic speaking nations, of which Kyrgyzstan has just assumed the chairmanship. I suppose they managed to cause a certain amount of embarrassment to the President and incumbent Prime Minister, (if that was their aim), but the current ministers continue in office in an acting capacity until a new coalition is formed and a new government appointed.
Another dispute that is rumbling on is that of who did what back in April 2010 – in particular, who was responsible for or took part in the looting following the storming of the White House. There have been all sorts of rumours and the Prime Minister, (he was still officially Prime Minister in his own right at that point), asked the security services to look into it. A cynic might wonder if this may not be connected with the fact that some of the rumours seem to implicate politicians who have been critical of him and instrumental in proposing the vote of no confidence in the government … but who were, incidentally, his colleagues in the government until this week. Anyway, some deputies from Ata Meken have been taken for questioning arising from the investigation.
No kissing and Making up there, or so it seems.
April 2010 has been in the news for other reasons this week. Sightings of Janysh Bakiev, the brother of former President Kurmanbek Bakiev, have been reported in Turkey and Belarus. Photographs of him in Minsk were posted on Facebook and have led to an extradition request being handed in to the Belarus authorities and a protest meeting outside the Bishkek embassy and the Kyrgyz Ambassador has been recalled for consultations. I don’t expect, however, the name of Julian Assange to face much competition from Janysh for the headlines on this front, at least not for the foreseeable future.
One fight that blew up, with fatal consequences, happened at a border post in the Issyk Kul oblast. One of the border guards went berserk killing five people before running off, stealing a car taking his weapons with him. Three other guards managed to escape and a search operation was initiated – eventually tracking down the deserter and he was killed in the ensuing firefight. At first one was tempted to think in terms of a “copycat” situation as this summer has seen two similar incidents taking place in Kazakhstan, but initial reports of the investigation suggest that it all boils down to bad relationships between the NCOs and the individual private. There’s not been anything concrete in the reports but there is a suggestion of hazing or bullying.
The post was in a remote mountain area about 20 km from the actual border with Kazakhstan and the serve there for a 15 day tour of duty. Perhaps the most poignant of the deaths was that of the wife of one of the servicemen, who had gone to the remote post as a cook.
It’s a pity that they couldn’t “work it out”.
On the other hand, Kazkahstan is definitely showing a conciliatory face towards their southern neighbours. As far as Nazarbaev was concerned, nothing was to be allowed to mar the historic occasion of his visit. It seems that any lingering disputes that may have existed between them have clearly been put to one side, at least for the time being, in an impressive display of harmony. Several agreements were signed, Kazakhstan praised Kyrgyzstan for wanting to join the Customs Union and a new school in Osh costing the Kazakhs some eight million dollars is to be joined by another, not to mention places being given in Kazakh universities for Kyrgyz students.
One very interesting initiative, at least to us working in tourism, is that the two countries have agreed to consider several iuniatives designed to foster the development of the industry, including: exchanges of information and statistical data, (OK, that is hardly earth shattering in itself); sharing a common brand for promoting the region internationally and work on innovation in terms of new tour products, i.e. itineraries, (which is a bit more exciting given that they have far more capacity – and funding – than we do, but we have a nice compact parcel of locations); and the possibility of introducing a Silk Road tourist visa to facilitate easy access for visitors from third countries to visit both Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, (which could be good news for citizens of places like Brazil and South Africa or for the possibility of extending it to other countries along the Siolk Road – IF it is not simply a ploy by opponents of the visa free regime here in Kyrgyzstan to argue that the new Silk Road visa can only be implemented if we renege on the visa free arrangement … or is that just the cynic in me emerging?)
The summit of Turkic speaking countries, on the other hand, didn’t turn out to be quite so successful. President Gul of Turkey turned up and took part in a number of meetings, but cut short his visit for health reasons. The President of Azerbaijan didn’t bother turning up, the official explanation being that he had family matters to attend to, but there were also stories about a not being ready to initial investment agreements.
The spats over Kumtor are developing. The “audits” seem to have started already, but the big surprise came at the end of the week with the news that the Social Fund have informed the management of the mine that they are demanding social fund payments for foreign workers, “since the start of the company’s activities”, (that is, since 1993). It seems that the general agreement under which Kumtor came to Kyrgyzstan there were some concessions, for example about taxes … and social security payments … but it seems that there are different interpretations and I don’t know the details beyond what’s reported in the press (and that’s quite complicated because, this is just the latests of a long running series of arguments to have erupted over the years), but one thing does appear to clear … that there’s going to be quite a “ding-dong” of a row up ahead.
To be honest, I am somewhat taken aback by the attempt to take the claim all the way back to 1993. Under the Civil Code there is a “statute of limitations” of three years on such obligations and even under the Tax Code there is a limit of seven years … regardless of the merits of the case, to take the question back nineteen years to 1993 seems a little like overkill.
It will be interesting to see if the news that PepsiCo are going to invest one and a half million into a plant here in Bishkek, aiming to develop its juice and milk products. Their great rivals, (Coca Cola – I am sure you knew, but just in case), already have a considerable presence in the country, but the relationship between the two of them is likely to be just as competitive as elsewhere in the world.
To try and avoid disputes in the near future over wheat shortages and avoid damaging price hikes, Kyrgyzstan has imposed a six month ban on the export of flour.
An interesting little spat has broken out over the Paralympics. As it happens, we only have one athlete who has qualified to participate – although strictly speaking that is not quite accurate, a second athlete qualified but the officials were too slow off the mark to confirm their participation and missed a vital deadline. One might be forgiven for thinking that this was the subject of a the controversy, but no! Maybe the local temperament is just too used to the way that things are always left to the last moment that no-one is that surprised to get het-up over the issue. What has upset people is that Esen Kaliev, the disabled Powerlifter, will be accompanied by the President of the Paralympic Federation and an interpreter … but not by his trainer. Apparently there wasn’t enough funds to send a fourth person and this is what got people hot under the collar. Surely, they say, it will easier to find an interpreter in London than to find a trainer!
To0 make matters worse, it seems that this isn’t the first such case. It seems that some officials travelled to London for the main Games in place of trainers and people are asking if that could [possibly be a reason why Kyrgyz athletes performed so poorly compared to the high hopes of the country that they carried on their shoulders.
I am not sure if the promised bounty, or bonuses, offered to able bodied athletes will be on the table for Esen Kaliev should he place in the top eight, or better still actually win a medal, but I would like to think that they will be. Of course, there would still be the knotty problem of tax … competitors usually are liable for taxes on any winnings, and although the host country, (in this case the UK), usually waives the tax bill, but the home country usually doesn’t … and it can be quite substantial.
I presume that the competitors don’t actually need to get permission to participate, although performers usually do need to get a work permit. Apart, that is, from actually qualifying – and that’s a question for the IOC (International Olympic Committee) rather than the home office.
The reason this question cropped up in my mind is that the government is looking to strengthen the law on the question of work permits and are threatening to deport foreigners who undertake work without the necessary permits. Strictly speaking they have always had this power, and I have even had officials threaten me with this until I have pointed out that I have a residence permit and so don’t need either a visa or a work permit. What worries me about this particular measure is that it is a fairly complex subject and even after the new draft law is approved and implemented, there could still be plenty of “grey areas” for people to fall foul of.
Another piece of important news during the week, but one that probably does not offer a Kiss and Make Up opportunity, is that Russia has now become the 156th member of the WTO – World Trade Organization, (after 18 years of negotiations). Apparently not everyone in Russia is delighted with the move, but for us it will be interesting to see if and how the fact that they have joined Kyrgyzstan in this trading club might affect us in the future – especially when it comes to joining the Customs Union.
Finally, it’s a toss up as to what constitutes the bad news of the week: the fact that GDP has fallen by over 5% on last year’s level; the fact that the temperature has remained resolutely in the high thirties all week, (one night actually registering a higher temperature than during the day), or the fact that we have yet another kitten.
“What’s that?”, do I hear you ask, “How can having another kitten be bad news?” … Well, it’s number 6 and being a jenny it will be harder to find a home for her. The kids, (and some of the staff), are already infatuated with her and I am being told not to even bother looking for a potential new home for her. Despite the fact that she has a tendency to bite, she is actually very affectionate and for the time we’ve christened her Charma … because she’s a little “charmer”. Mind you the other cats are not so keen on having her around and the hissing suggests that there will be plenty to kiss and make up for later on, once they get used to her.
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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 has been the following postcards:
- World Photography Day - some thoughts about photographs and photography ion Kyrgyzstan on this commemorative day;
- Garfield takes a walk on the wild side - Garfield is one of my cats … who decided to take a walk on Sunday;
- Traditional amulets – Tumar - Amulets are a feature of traditional Kyrgyz culture;
- The Kazakhs -As President Nazarbaev is in town, I decided to cast a brief glance at our neighbours;
- Container Creations - It’s amazing the number of different uses that shipping containers can be put to;
- Dress Code - A question that is usually thought to be a woman’s perogative has been vexing me as I have been trying to cope with the extreme heat: What to wear?
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 ).
Bishkek