Postcard from Bishkek

In September of the year 3001, there was a lot of excited expectation amongst the people of Hobbiton, in the Shire.  Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End had announced that he would be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence. As it happens, it was a bit of a double celebration because his nephew, (Frodo, a mere strappling of a lad at just thirty three), shared the birthday with him: 22nd September.

Now, I have a confession to make … I have not seen the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I know that it is hard to believe but I think that I am the only person in my immediate circle of acquaintances who hasn’t. It’s not that I have anything against JRR Tolkien’s classic fantasy … on the contrary, in fact.

 I was converted by a ex-girlfriend whilst I was at college. An English major, she was horrified that I rarely ever read anything for pleasure; my exposure to the printed word seemingly being limited to studying from textbooks.  So, when one day we were sitting in a cafe-cum-bookshop and she borrowed some money from me in order to buy a copy of the prequel: “The Hobbit” – which she duly inscribed and presented it to me. I am not sure if she thought I was more likely to read it because it had been bought with my money, but at least I was more likely to look after it. (If that was indeed the case, then she was right … I still have the book, it is one of the few that I brought with me.)

 Like most other novels and “story books”, however, it lay on the shelf for a long while, but then one day I had to go on a journey and I knew that I would have a lot of spare time on my hands to kill, so I grabbed a book to take with me. When I saw what it was I had picked up I almost groaned to myself … but, as it was all I had, I opened the covers and started reading. It didn’t take me long to consume the 278 pages – I became engrossed and immediately went out and bought the Lord of the Rings – and devoured that as well.

 Having been converted from a book-o-phobe into a book-a-holic I did sit through the 1978 film based on the first two books, (which I am sorry to say I found somewhat disappointing), and I listened to the 26 part adaptation on BBC radio, (which was much better … but still lacked that certain something which only the reader’s imagination can bring to bear). One year, Tony brought me copies of the DVDs from New Zealand, but I have never felt the urge to sit down and watch them.

Anyway, taking advantage of the double celebration, today is a day which fans of Middle Earth commemorate as Hobbit Day, a commemoration which is particularly significant as we approach the seventy fifth anniversary of the publication  of the novel.

 

There has been a bit of a party atmosphere here in Bishkek.  It kicked off with last week’s Street Festival which was a bright and colourful event with lots of things going on.  As far as I am aware, nobody caused consternation by donning a magical ring and disappearing …  on the contrary, in fact, far from it, somebody dropped in … and this was not just any old “somebody” – it was Vladimir Vladimirovich … Putin, that is – President of the Russian Federation.

It was a much anticipated visit with all sorts of announcements made in advance – even though there was confusion over the status of the visit.  Although  it was obviously not going to be a Private Visit, it was not clear if it was to be a State Visit, an Official Visit or just a Working Visit.  To confuse matters even further the Russian Embassy seemed to issue statements saying that it was not an Official Visit … (so maybe it was supposed to be an “unofficial visit”???? … at least their was no way it could be considered a secret or clandestine visit!).   As the Kyrgyz are usually very sensitive about “status” and sufficiently Asian to worry about “Face” I worried if this might be a precursor to potential difficulties.  Apparently there is a different protocol for each type of visit … rules and procedures – for example whether or not the visiting dignitary has to lay a wreath at the Ata Beyit Cemetery where the victims of the Stalinist Chon Tash massacre are buried.

Well, they seemed to have sorted it all out – as the airplane carrying the Russian President arrived, (only one of a fleet of five which brought the entire delegation), various meetings were held, six bilateral agreements were signed … and the planes took off again taking their delegates back, presumably, to where they came from.

Much to everyone’s amazement here in Bishkek, the streets weren’t closed for the motorcades carrying the visiting dignitary … with police lining the route and an officer standing at every intersection or driveway that opened out onto the carriageway.  Although this meant that it was easier to get around town than it usually is during a visit by a foreign dignitary, although there was still considerable traffic congestion … sufficient for people to use it as an excuse for being late to meetings even if everyone else knew that they would have been late anyway.

Discussions have apparently been successful – well, they usually are at this sort of meeting, most of the actual negotiation having already been carried out behind closed doors by diplomats – with agreements reached on a wide range of topics.  Some agreements which have been awaiting signatures for several years have finally been signed, sealed (stamped) and delivered.

There has, for example, been news about the arrangements for the Russian military bases here in Kyrgyzstan – not just the air force base out at Kant – and the little niggles about the “rent” which have been threatening to sour relationships.  President Putin made great play out of supporting the vision of the Kyrgyz government of the development of Manas airport as a “Civilian hub” once the American Transit Centre closes in 2014 … Hmmmmm …  there has even been a report that the Americans have begun the logistics required for the pull out.

Despite the warning signals in President Karimov’s speech, that Uzbekistan was concerned about the plans of it’s neighbours upstream to dam rivers and the implications that would have on agriculture and life for the communities downstream and, more disconcertingly, how this might lead to potential “conflict” in the future … (notice all those “hedging” words “… concern … might … potential … future”) … announcements went ahead about projects to build several dams, how they are to be financed, operated and managed, and would bring real and massive benefits to the communities downstream.

I am not sure, however, what the reaction of RusHydro’s management to the news might have been.  They are going to be one of the major players in the project and even if they do have state backing from both President and Prime Minister, straight after the announcement their shares on the Moscow Stock Exchange apparently took a dive.

There was agreement on the treatment of Kyrgyzstan’s debts under earlier credit arrangements … writing off something like 489 million dollars … and my “reading between the lines” suggests that they are being far more cagey about future arrangements – looking for different mechanisms than straight grants or loans and seeking controlling interests in the management of projects.   That in itself worries me a little, as I suspect that it might be a “red rag” to some people …

President Atambaev made the now traditional remarks about how Kyrgyzstan is our strategic partner and we don’t have a future without them … just as he has made similar remarks to Kazakh, Turkish and Chinese leaders.  It’s easy to be cynical but, as it happens, he is probably right in each of those cases … it is hard to see how Kyrgyzstan can blossom without good relationships with each of these countries.

The Russian side, for example, made some interesting observations about there being no “technical obstacles” to Kyrgyzstan accession to the Customs Union.  Which raises a question: if not “technical”, then what other obstacles might exist?   The Customs Union contains both Russia and Kazakhstan … both being “strategic partners” … but also Belarus, and that might still provide a fly in the ointment.  Minsk is harbouring members of the Bakiev clan and either ignoring or turning down extradition requests.  One commentator actually suggested that Kyrgyz Special Forces might attempt an Eichmann type operation to kidnap and extract one or more individuals.  I’m not sure how many people think that Kyrgyz special forces are up to Mossad standards, but the world has moved on a lot since then … even if the Eichmann operation was successful, it was the the first of the modern era and subsequent operations, (from the Israeli raid on Entebbe and the Iranian embassy Siege in London, the attempt to rescue the American Embassy hostages in Tehran and the massacre of the Munich Olympic hostages, the Wako siege and … and not forgetting the dénouement of the Moscow Theatre siege and the Beslan School incident), tell us that things do not always go according to plan and carry the seeds of a disaster.

Even so … I presume that the planners in Minsk and Bishkek, Moscow and Washington, have prepared for such a contingency … oh, yes … and London … after all we have Maxim (!) and, presumably, if and when Kurmanbek and Janysh are no longer in the frame, he will be.

 

Another piece of interesting news emerged from Moscow …  and Washington.  Apparently USAID are going to cease operations in the Russian Federation – at Moscow’s request.   As I understand it, their projects in Russia were fairly modest and centred on supporting “the democratic process” – that is NGO’s working in the Civil Society as pressure groups.  Russia already has quite strict laws on this sort of thing and this seems to be the another step in controlling who receives funding from abroad.   This isn’t the first time that “donor agencies”, particularly American ones, have been asked to leave a country – but it made me wonder what the possible implications might be for Kyrgyzstan – as USAID in particular plays a significant role in the donor community here.

I remember when I was at school being told to watch the news for information about what the weather was like in America … that struck me as odd – but the teacher went on to explain that, although it wasn’t a foolproof method, it often provided an insight into the sort of weather conditions we might expect in Britain two weeks later after the Gulf Stream winds had blown it across the Atlantic.  Well, it certainly wasn’t a foolproof method of weather forecasting, but it did give me food for thought … and the same sort of thought arises here.  Often what happens in Moscow or Astana, presages what will be proposed here.

As people look for solutions to the various problems encountered in the country, they tend to look to the global community to see what they can learn from international experience.   What has been done elsewhere?, What worked? and Why?  Of course, it is possible to learn from countries like African countries and small Island states like Malawi or the Maldives, but people tend to look closer to home – and both Moscow and Astana are both much closer to home in more ways than just geography … for example: the people, systems, attitudes.

Interestingly, HIPC – the Highly Indebted Poor Countries initiative – which united such African and small Island states has been in the news again as a World Bank official opined that it was a pity Kyrgyzstan had not gained the benefits of joining … and now it was too late as the initiative was being wound up by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Well, I don’t think there is much chance of USAID being asked to close it’s offices … but I suspect that the planners are probably addressing that potential scenario.

 

The other two major items of news this week have been “Innocent Muslims” and Gas, (natural gas that is – not petroleum).

I am sure that everyone is aware of the world wide furore over the “film” “Innocent Muslims”.  As I understand the situation, apparently the film has been around for some time, but somebody took the trouble to translate it into Arabic and drew attention to it.  The earlier controversies over The Satanic Verses and the Jyllands-Posten cartoons proved to be a foretaste of the outrage created and which has resulted in protests around the world – including the death of an American Ambassador.  (As far as I can see, none of the people targeted in these protests seem to have anything to do with the film.)

Bishkek has also been caught up in the furore.  There have been calls for parliament and the government to take a stand.  A complaint was raised with the prosecutors office and access to the film on youtube is likely to be banned … Parliament issued a resolution calling on people not to stage protests, but the American embassy is apparently taking the possibility seriously.  It seems that one planned protest rally came to nothing … no-one turned up.

 

In terns of Gas, half of Bishkek – and that includes my apartment, is without Gas … some incident to the West of the city requires some major repairs to a gas pipe.  The nature of the incident is not clear – at least not to me – although I have been told of “an accident”, “hooliganism” and even “routine repairs”.  Anyway, the result is that we are either eating Salads, (thank goodness the warm weather is still with us), or using electric hotplates, grills and ovens … or people have gone out and bought bottled gas … or they are eating out.  As we have been told that the repairs are scheduled to last about a week, I haven’t yet taken remedial action … we’ll see what happens next week.

It would, however, have put a damper on Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday bash.

So, let me wish you all a Happy Hobbit Day … well, al least it’s a good excuse for a cake … and as we’ll be having another one on Monday, (for my brother’s birthday – Happy Birthday Tony!), it’s definitely going to be a “sweet weekend”.

 

 

 

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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:

• Kubanychbek Imanalievich Malikov - the birthday of the poet who was one of the authors of the Anthem of the Kyrgyz SSR.
• Statesmen - to commemorate the 56th birthday of President Almaz Sharshenovich Atambaev, I take a look at the statesmen who have headed Kyrgyzstan as either President or Prime Minister.
• Water, water everywhere …  – On World Water Monitoring Day, I take a look at water policy, providing H2O for hydro-electric power generation, irrigation, industrial and domestic use.
• google it - A Challenge for International Book Week led to an interesting result.
• Entrepreneurs’ Day - an all too brief look at the “schizophrenic” attitudes towards entrepreneurs that I have encountered in post Soviet Kyrgyzstan.
• Peace Avenue  – to mark the International Day of Peace, I take a look at Propect Mir, (Peace Avenue), here in Bishkek.

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