Global Voices » Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan: World Bank Country Director Storms Out of Round Table

Chris Rickleton — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:46:42 +0000

For Kyrgyzstan-based netizens the story of last week was undoubtedly the sudden and violent meltdown of Alexander Kramer, head of the World Bank's Bishkek office, at a high level government-donor round table on February 3, 2012.

Kramer appeared to boil over during a speech by his IMF counterpart, Koba Gvenetadze, during which he rose from his chair, lobbed a drinking glass in the direction of Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister Jomart Otorbayev, and stormed out of the meeting.

David Trilling, Eurasianet's Central Asia editor, was one of the first to blog the news:

The incident occurred during a donor meeting at government headquarters, known as the White House, in Bishkek. According to one eyewitness, Kramer had just spoken for a few minutes, praising recent government initiatives and encouraging Bishkek to ensure officials are chosen for their merits. He defended the World Bank’s sometimes slow motions in the country, noting that development is “a marathon rather than a sprint,” according to EurasiaNet's source. During the next set of remarks, by the International Monetary Fund’s country director, Kramer suddenly stood up, yelled, “This is all crap!” and threw the glass, which shattered on the floor in front of Otorbayev.

Although the Kyrgyz government and the World Bank offered slightly different versions of the condition that caused Alexander Kramer to “totally freak out“, as one online news agency put it, both agreed that it was something to do with blood.

According [ru] to citizen media portal Kloop.kg:

The World Bank argues that the office head performed the act solely because of his sharply deteriorating health. The glass, they say, was thrown by accident, and now Kramer is in hospital.

“The act of A. Kramer was caused solely by the state of his health: there was a sudden onset of circulatory disorders of the brain, which led to the extraordinary and unusual behavior of A. Kramer,” said the World Bank in a press release.

The government press service similarly reported that the behavior of Kramer was the result of a “heart attack”.

Tellingly, Kloop's reportage continued:

The World Bank has apologized for the behavior of the head of its office and said that the incident had nothing to do with the person speaking at the time – the head of the International Monetary Fund in Kyrgyzstan, Koba Gvenetadze.

It is no secret that officials from the fund and the bank often regard each other with suspicion and occasionally even hostility. In fact, the dysfunctional relationship between the global economic order's bad and good cops was the subject of a fascinating chapter in ex-World Bank Chief Economist Joseph Stieglitz's 2002 whistleblowing best-seller “Globalization and its Discontents”. But if the IMF's abrasive, take no prisoners approach to fiscal policy in the developing world was the source of Kramer's red mist, why did the tumbler land closest to Deputy PM Otorbayev?

Twitter user @Ahmadon had [ru] another theory:

Hahaha, Alexander Kramer – hero, man, baike [elder brother in Kyrgyz], you see, he couldn’t be f***ed to listen to the empty chatter of our state officials

A second Twitter user, @azzzik, compared [ru] Kramer to ex-presidential candidate turned nutty clairvoyant Arstanbek Abdylaev, the subject of this recent Global Voices Post. However, post-tumblergate, Abdylaev's premonitions of ruptures in the international political order seem suddenly prescient, and a third user of the service suggested Sabri bey, a Turkish man who thinks he can fly, was a more worthy parallel.

A few days on from the scandle, the focus of Bishkek Twiterazzi is on Kramer's future:

@ajoroev: Is it true that Alexander Kramer is already the ex-head of the World Bank in Kyrgyzstan and moreover, [already] overseas?

While the former has yet to be confirmed, various agencies have since reported that he is now recuperating in London.

Whatever happens to Alexander Kramer in the long run, it is clear that one projectile-throwing monkey won't stop the show. Yesterday, the World Bank announced that it would be providing nearly $20 million in infrastructural funding for Kyrgyzstan's two main cities, Bishkek and Osh, in 2012. Whether that package will include compensation for a certain smashed glass will doubtless be the subject of a future round table.

N.B: Last time Global Voices relayed the status of imprisoned ethnic Uzbek rights activist, Azimzhan Askarov, he had just had his life sentence - handed down initially by a regional judge - reinforced by Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court. While Askarov remains in captivity, a recent interview with Eurasianet journalist Nate Schenkkan found the activist “psychologically resilient” and still interested in the rights of others. According to Kloop.kg, on February 6, Shirin Aitmatova became the first Kyrgyz MP to visit Askarov since he was interred over one-and-a-half years ago. On Twitter, not all the tweets using Aitmatova's @thelostroom tag were positive about the visit.

Kyrgyzstan: “Putin Is a Complex Bio-Robot”

Chris Rickleton — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:44:30 +0000

Arstanbek Abdylaev, scourge of the Kyrgnet, has struck again. Noted on Global Voices before for predicting a planet shorn of seasonal transition, this ex-presidential candidate and current head of the “People’s Academy” is back to tell the universe what he really meant, having been mocked and misunderstood by netizens back in November 2011.

Now, with the help of a new sidekick, a kalpak-sporting, silver-tongued ethnic Korean called Alexander Pak, he is even dabbling in political philosophy. The world, the pair told an expectant press conference on January 27, 2012, is run by figures who are standing behind the figures we think run the world. If that sounds a bit Zeitgeisty, then Abdylaev has added an original twist: Russia’s under-fire prime minister, Vladimir Putin, is a “complex bio-robot.”

Not much of this will make sense until you tune into Abdylaev’s first press conference where his utterance “Зима не будет”, or “there will be no winter” made him an overnight online sensation. Along with that pearl of wisdom, his helper, Mirlan Asakeev, suggested that life had “begun with the Kyrgyz”, and would begin again with the Kyrgyz, at the end of the year 2012. Adam and Eve, he argued, to the astonishment of the assembled hack-pack, were “63.5% Kyrgyz.”

This time round, Asakeev was limited to a bit-part performance, his coveted position as Abdylaev’s number two apparently usurped by Pak. Pak, whose mastery of Russian exceeds that of both his colleagues, proceeded to explain that the original phrase “there will be no winter”, had been taken too literally, and that actually it had a “big energetic and informational bloc” capable of creating a “moment of total quantum leap” for humanity.

A New World Order

Besides the assertion that Kyrgyzstan would be the “informational centre of the 21^st century”, Abdylaev revealed that he had forewarned the Kazakh and Russian governments of the political perils rippling accross the globe:

“Four months ago we wrote to the Kazakh ambassador – we said, you are going to [suffer] terrorist attacks – mass upheavals – they laughed at us. We wrote to the leader of the Russian Federation – Putin. We said that there would be war in Arabia, and they laughed at us, but there was [war]. Now my words are being proven, not by a historian, or an academic, or paper, but time,” Abdylaev said.

Where could the press conference possibly go from there? Well, despite apparently being ridiculed by the Russian leadership, journalists heard, Moscow still has a place in Abdylaev’s New World Order – chiefly as the brawn behind Kyrgyzstan’s brain. Since Europe will soon be starved, disease-ridden and submerged under water, he reasoned, Russia would have no choice but to turn East.

“Why are we writing to Russia? Russia and Kyrgyzstan will conserve humanity. That’s why I call Putin “a complex bio-robot”… We will give a program to the Russian leader, Putin, and he will do it, because he has the power,” Abdylaev said.

And for the dull reporter lost on the difference between an ordinary bio-robot and a complex bio-robot, Abdylaev elucidated:

With a bio robot, you give him a program and he does it, correct? But Putin is a complex bio robot – he himself does it.

Perhaps this difficult, semi-mechanic nature is the source of Putin’s reputed marital troubles….

As the press conference wound down, Alexander Pak summed the group's message up as follows:

This phrase [there will be no winter]… is also a code. Anyone who has heard the phrase “there will be no winter” has already received the code and they are using it, even if they are not fully conscious of this. That code contained here among the Kyrgyz should arrive in every person, and through it every person should come to a condition of over-standing; they will become more than human and they will be aware of their true capabilities and their real meanings as human beings… This is why Arstanbek [Abdylaev] called Putin a bio-robot. Barack Obama is also a bio-robot. Other bio-robots stand behind these people and behind these people are other people and today these people are all bio-robots. This code [there will be no winter] allows these bio-robots to become human and write constitutions for the future era, the era we have called the golden era.

So, what is this strange “People's Academy?” Aside from obtuse letters to world leaders, do they have any publications or academic accreditation? Increasingly they are beginning to sound like a cult, a fact that could get Abdylaev into trouble in a country where the state is often hostile towards obscure religious movements.

Inter-internet conflict?

On YouTube, Abdylaev’s second coming earned a mixed reception, both from local Kyrgyz Internet users and from the broader RuNet:

“In my brain after watching that clip I had a total quantum leap,” said [ru] underaszZz

“Who are they kidding, it has been -20 here for two weeks,” quipped [ru] alexxx8999 .

In among the good-natured banter, there were some seemingly derogatory comments from Russian Internet users towards Kyrgyzstan, repositories of the Russian Federation's rising tide of nationalism:

“Is there a doctor in the studio! Or aren’t there any doctors in Kyrgyzstan? How can they allow abnormal people airtime?” asked [ru] breeedfrtf .

“Who let them off the building site?” asked [ru] TheMacsander, a probable reference to the fact that many Kyrgyz work abroad in Russia as labour migrants.

“Judging by the commentaries, Russians differ from fascists only in their stupidity,” raged BeksKazama in response.

But other RuNet types saw reasons to envy their small, mountainous Central Asian neighbour, and took Abdylaev's public appearance as a cue to bash United Russia, the political machine that took victory in Russia's recent elections to the state Duma - a vote tainted by allegations of massive fraud.

“Kyrgyz wake up, don’t call the Russians to your aid! Otherwise you will soon have United Russia and corruption, in other words the whole bouquet ‘from Russia with love!'” said [ru] marysimon79 .

“You know, I think it might be worth going [to Kyrgyzstan], given that they don't have United Russia there,” said [ru] TheSarajPictures

Another less politicized strand of commentators made the connection between Abdylaev's metaphorical/metaphysical musings and Kyrgyzstan's Chui Valley, something of a weed-basket for Eurasian marijuana smokers during Soviet times:

“What are they smoking?” asked [ru] SuperSascha2012

“O Great Valley of Chuika [Chui-grown marijuana] Ototo – there will be no winter,” said [ru] Mariyajuri.

“Great Chuika this year, I smoked and [got a] quantum leap straight away,” teased [ru] Mikkado31

But whether stoned or sober, the “energetic code” of Abdylaev's “Peoples Academy” is drawing a few genuine followers:

“They are trying for us. We just need to become different, change our souls, become purer! It is great that they want to bring this to the people. There is no point picking holes in their grammar. Come, let us be people, brothers and sisters. It will be easier for us to live this way,” said [ru] psipolza

And truly, who would lack the humanity to disagree with such sentiments? Perhaps only the evil bio-robots among us:

N.B According to Bishkek-based citizen media portal Kloop, Abdylaev's second press conference has already surpassed his first in terms of online popularity. Once again, the catalyst for a spike in viewing figures was a prime-time slot on Russian satirist Stas Davydov's internet show “ThisisHorosho“.

Kyrgyzstan: Tengrism on Trial

Adil Nurmakov — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:13:56 +0000

Nathan Hamm reports on a bizzare story of prosecution of Mr. Tezekbaev, an advocate of Tengrism (pagan belief of Central Asian nomads), who is on trial for inciting religious and ethnic hatred for obnoxious sayings about mullahs in Kyrgyzstan. Tezekbaev, who could be sentenced to five years in prison if found guilty, says he is being punished for his beliefs.

Mongolia: The Mining Projects Leaving Herders Without Livelihoods

Juliana Rincón Parra — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:01:13 +0000

Mining projects in Mongolia promise development of social and economic infrastructure and a way to alleviate poverty, but on the wayside, local communities near the mines are feeling the negative impact as their environment and traditional livelihoods are affected.

The environmental NGO CEE Bankwatch Network has been reporting on mining projects both in Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia, projects which have been encouraged by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Bankwatch's concerns, voiced in ‘Rushing into gold can leave people behind, EBRD‘, are around resource depletion, particularly water, and changes in commodity prices:

Whether the promised revenues will help Mongolia to develop badly needed welfare services and build an economy that can sustain the depletion of its resources or sudden changes in commodity prices is an open question however. The dominance of the mining sector has already raised fears of a “dutch disease” or “resource curse”.

Open pit mining in Mongolia. Image by Flickr user pjriccio2006 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

This short video was made by CEE Bankwatch Network in eastern Europe, Urgewald from Germany, the Bank Information Center in the United States and Oyu Tolgoi Watch from Mongolia, who traveled to Mongolia to study the environmental and social impact the Ukhaa Khudag coal mine in Mongolia's south Gobi desert is already having:

If the previous video showed how things are starting to go with mining in Mongolia, in Kyrgyzstan they already have a long history of negative effects mining has had on the environment, health and local communities.

The next video goes into the glaciar region of Kyrgyzstan and visits the areas surrounding the Kumtor open air gold mine, which has been operating for over 15 years. Cyanide poisoning and water contamination is what the communities have; none of the promised development and benefits have reached them.

Both the Mongolian and the Kyrgyzstan mining videos and background were written about in ‘Earth's riches, people's troubles. Mining in Central Asia‘:

The cases in question – the Oyu Tolgoi and Tavan Tolgoi mines in Mongolia and the Kumtor gold mine in Kyrgyzstan – are both important contributors to their country's national income and both receive (or in case of Oyu Tolgoi may soon receive) support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development(EBRD). Both, however, pose risks to the local communities that can't be compensated in monetary terms.

These countries are not the only ones facing development with the negative impacts mining brings. In nearby Tibet, villagers managed to halt a mining project being established in one of their sacred mountains.

The topic is controversial; how high a price can a community pay for development of their country? Vladlena Martsynkevych, Bankwatch's Central Asia Officer writes:

The extractive industry can very well contribute to a country’s economic development and bring desired employment and revenues. At the same time mining is a highly disruptive activity with considerable negative impacts on the environment and the livelihoods of local communities. In countries with underdeveloped democratic structures, lack of institutional capacity or simply corruption, the damages can quickly overweigh. Benefits can then bypass the local level and end up enriching the involved companies and – not least - the technological progress and wealth in developed nations.

Kyrgyzstan: MPs Told to Ride the Bus

Chris Rickleton — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:38:39 +0000

Members (MPs) of Kyrgyzstan's Jogorku Kenesh parliament are not generally associated with self-sacrificing behaviour. Nevertheless, a suggestion from within the legislature that MPs should give up their state-funded cars and take a minibus to work has moved Kyrgyz netizens towards a reappraisal of what their elected representatives should and shouldn't be entitled to.

The proposal came from within the ranks of the socialist Ata-Meken party, as part of a continuing discourse on how to shrink an alarmingly bloated and deficit ridden state budget. The reactions of MPs from other factions were then comprehensively canvassed in an excellent article by Kloop.kg's Begimai Bolotbekova.

Ata-Meken's Akunaly Dosaly outlined [ru] the “shuttle scheme” thus:

In each faction, there could be one or two custom vehicles while the majority of MPs could take a shuttle bus. They could arrive in the morning then be brought back in the evening.

This would seem a reasonable initiative, given that MPs of different factions can hardly be expected to ride the same bus. But even with that proviso, some lawmakers weren't happy with the idea.

Jyldyzkan Joldosheva of the Ata-Jurt party said [ru]:

I have a house in Bishkek – I refused a [state-funded] apartment. But the car, I cannot refuse because it is not a luxury, but a necessity

Incidentally, if the allegations of one news portal [ru] are to be believed, Zholdosheva is rather fond of state-funded “necessities”.

Although a couple of MPs supported the parliamentary shuttle plan in principle, others thought it unfeasible. Tatiyana Levina of the Ar-Namys party said she wasn't against travelling by shared transport per se, but feared that it might give off the wrong impression to the electorate:

If you give up company cars, you need to give up everything – payments, subsidies… Well, how would that look? Everyone lives in different parts of the city. I think our voters would find it more annoying [if we got a bus to work], because our pensioners cannot ride buses for free – they must pay a fee

So the knowledge that MPs get a free bus pass would be more of an irritation to the electorate than watching the same representatives cruise into work in a government-allocated Toyota Camri? Hmmm…

Nice wheels, baike

It is worth mentioning that not all of Kyrgyzstan's legislators drive a Camri to work. Some of them eschew the gift for their own flashier set of wheels, while others alternate between privately owned and publically owned automobiles.

Following the interest in Bolotbekova's article, Kloop.kg invited their posse of young journalists (all aged under 24) and readers of the portal to take snaps of deputies on their way to work. The results were displayed as follows (example):

Azamat Arapbaev, MP of the faction Ata-Jurt, goes to work in a ”Lexus LX570″, 2008 model, with the registration number 0028 KG.

According to [current information], this brand of car changes hands for USD 87,000.

To afford this car - without eating anything and living on the street - would take:
- An MP on an official salary: 4.5 to 6.5 years
- The average working resident of Bishkek: from 22 to 33.5 years

The article, featuring fifteen such profiles, generated a stream of comments from netizens, who via Kloop's Facebook plugin either chose to defend specific MPs as “honest” or move in for the kill with complaints about graft and inequality.

Tynchtyk Maldybaev posted ironically:

But why do you [speak] badly of our deputies, they are the demigods, the Kyrgyz representatives of God on earth, they only think of the people

Another reader, Isken, quoted the English historian Lord Acton:

For we know that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely

But while some readers strained to calculate how long it would take them to own a Lexus, others suggested that the piece had attempted to bias the people against the ruling elite. In response to these accusations, Kloop Editor Anna Leilik replied:

We had no goals to show MPs in a positive or negative light. You probably noticed we did not have the same number of deputies from different factions - the cars were randomly selected. We wanted to compare data from different sources with the photos. With regard to the [costs of the cars] and the salaries, they are publically available online, and the same thing we did - calculate - anybody could have done.

From private armies to public transport

Views on the moral character of MPs not withstanding, the very fact that the Kyrgyz parliament is debating such changes marks a massive shift from April of last year, when former house speaker Akhmatbek Keldibekov proposed legislation that would allow lawmakers and their personal bodyguards to carry weapons in and around the parliament.

Back then, a Kloop poll showed a vast majority of portal users as being opposed to the legislation, while several who supported it did so only for the bloodiest of reasons. One user, Nurbek, commented:

I am FOR this law. Let them shoot at each other in the Jogorku Kenesh

Clearly, less than 12 months down the line, the legislature is a changed place. It has a new ruling coalition, a new speaker, and its members are pondering the need to swap the ”parliamentary fleet” for a communal shuttle. Somewhere in all this there is a reality TV show waiting to happen.

N.B.: Coincidentally, Akhmatbek Keldibekov left the speaker's office amidst a scandal surrounding the distribution of the special ‘KG' registration plates. Ranging from the presidential plate (KG 001) to less prestigious registrations in the KG hundreds, these items are something of a status symbol in Kyrgyzstan and usually get you past traffic cops without any bother. What plates the proposed “faction buses” will carry is as yet unknown.

Georgia: Return of the Meskhetian Turks

Onnik Krikorian — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:45:03 +0000

The repatriation of the Meskhetian Turks to Georgia from Azerbaijan, Russia and Central Asia is not just a priority for the Georgian government, but also an obligation it has had to fulfill to the Council of Europe since becoming a member in 1999. Over 100,000 people were deported by Stalin in 1944, from the Meskheti region of Georgia, among them Hemshin (Muslim Armenians), Kurds, and Karapapakhs. By far the largest group relocated, however, were the Meskhetian Turks.

At least 400,000 Meskhetian Turks now live outside of Georgia, although it has been unclear how many would return in a process that should have officially ended last year, but which might be extended. This has been one of the reasons why the process of resettlement has taken so long, especially as ethnic Armenians now make up the majority population in what is now the Samtskhe-Javakheti region. As a result, in order not to strain inter-ethnic relations, the Georgian government is settling Meskhetian Turks throughout the country.

East of Center recently touched upon the sensitivities surrounding the issue:

Thanks to Stalin’s paranoia, millions of Muslims and members of various non-Slavic ethnic groups in the Soviet Union were forcibly relocated to Central Asia during the ’30s and ’40s. It’s hard to think of any of these communities that has been victimized more often and so thoroughly ignored by the wider world as the Meskhetian Turks. […]

Clearly, however, Georgia is not capable of resettling that large a population anywhere on its territory, much less the underdeveloped Samtskhe-Javakheti region where the Meskhetians originally lived. And then there is the Armenian question, and a large dose of anti-Muslim feeling. […]

Salim Khamdiv of Abastumani village. Khamdiv was 14 when the deportation happened © Temo Bardzimashvili

However, in a two-year application period ending in July 2010, the Georgian government received only 5,841 eligible applications according to the European Center for Minority Issues (ECMI). This amounted to just 9,350 individuals. Ahıska Türkleri – Ahıskalılar explains what the Meskhetian Turks hope for:

We want to return our lands from which we were expelled unjustly. As of today, we have been settling down in 2000 different settlements at 9 different countries including USA. We have difficulty in getting citizenship, settlement permission and work permission in the countries where we live. Our culture and language is on the edge of vanishing. We want to return our country as Georgian citizens and to live in our lands from now on.

Osman Mekhriev (left) and Islam Niazov, elders of the Abastumani Meskhetian community, take a break from the holiday prayers during the end of Ramazan celebrations © Temo Bardzimashvili

Last year, Zaka Guluyev's Blog detailed the situation of some of those that have returned, mainly from Azerbaijan, to Samtskhe-Javakheti:

Muslim Arifov and his family has come back to Akhiltskhe three years ago from Saatly, settlement of Azerbaijan. Arifov says that now he feels happy coming back and live in his motherland Georgia. “My parents were unfairly deported from this region. Now I’m happy that I managed to come back and live in my home Georgia with my family.”

Two months ago Muslim’s relative Mehemmed Rehimov also decided to come back with his family from Azerbaijan and to live in his motherland Akhlstkhe. Mehemmed Rehimov says that Georgia seems better place to live in. “It’s very good sense to live in my motherland Georgia. two months already past after my coming to Georgia. I’m happy here with my family and I’m feeling myself very well”.

[…]

Ismayil Moidze, the chairman of the [Vatan Georgian Axhiska Turks] society says that, their organization was expecting more people to apply for returning. But he explains that many families refused to apply because […] many documents are required for applying [for] repatriat status in Georgia. […] That’s why many families decided to stay where they live”.

Rana Rajabova, a 24-year-old bride in the Azerbaijani village of Shirinbeili. Rana's grandparents, natives of the Arali village in Georgia's Adigeni region, were deported to Uzbekistan. Before the deportation they were told by the soldiers that they would return in 7 days, so no belongings should be taken. Her grandmother hid her gold jewelry at home with the hope of returning after a week. Rana's family has applied for the repatriation and says that they do not want to be "refugees." © Temo Bardzimashvili

Georgian Youth | Multiculturality | New Challenges looks at how the new arrivals are reintegrating:

In Samstkhe-Javakheti, the regional association “Toleranti” provides families of repatriated Meskhetians with legal counseling, medical assistance and language support. In the frame of its 3-year project “Provision of humanitarian assistance to repatriate Meskhs and prevention of “self-repatriation”, the association noticeably organizes classes for young repatriated Meskhetians twice a week. Youth who attend the classes hope to improve their chances of success at school, where they receive tuition in Georgian, and to support their integration in the community.

Considering how motivated they are to learn Georgian, and as quickly as possible, this integration is usually 100% successful.

[…]

As many others however, one thing prevents them from totally feeling home in Georgia: they are waiting for an answer to their application for the Georgian citizenship, which they sent two years ago. Without citizenship, they are not fully-fledged citizens in Georgia, and therefore struggle to have access to basic services like medical assistance. They have no choice, though: just like the others, they have to wait […] – this means a life of uncertainty in the long-term…

Portraits of Abdullah Gamidov, his wife Khalida, and her father Zia Chumidze lie on the checkerboard in the Gamidov's house in Kant, Kyrgystan. Zia Chumidze was fighting at the frontline when the deportation happened and never made it home. © Temo Bardzimashvili

Where's Keith comments on the work of Georgian journalist and photographer Temo Bardzimashvili who has been documenting the return of the Mskhetian Turks to Georgia as well as their lives in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. Some of Bardzimashvili's work, “The Unpromised Land – the Meskhetians’ Long Journey Home,” was exhibited in Tbilisi, sponsored by the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI), and accompanies this post with kind permission.

Delizia Flaccavento also posts photographs of a Meskhetian refugee community in Buffalo, New York, as does Meskhetian Turk Refugees in Atlanta, Georgia (the US State). Meanwhile ECMI says there is a “serious need […] to enhance public awareness on the right of deported persons to return and on the repatriation process […], in particular through the media and the educational system.”

Kyrgyzstan: Ravshan Jeenbekov and the Facebook Generation

Chris Rickleton — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 11:09:06 +0000

Of all the divides in Kyrgyzstan’s fractious political society, one too often overlooked is the divide between generations. Unlike the famed North/South schism, which manifests itself in elections and street-protests, the generational split is subtle in its complexion; existing within political factions rather than between them, as members of a younger, tech-savvy elite openly challenge their blog-phobic bosses in the national parliament.

The recent effort to install a Prime Minister to head the government is a case in point. The majority of the candidates who put themselves forward for the appointment were under forty-five, something which in itself represents a sea change in domestic political circles.

Following firm backing in the coalition vote, Omurbek Babanov, aged 41 , took the post on December 23. But the leader of the Respublika faction, to a great extent, was the establishment choice. An ally of recently elected President Almas Atambayev, he can be reasonably relied on to do the head of state’s bidding while Atambayev himself enjoys the more glamorous lifestyle of grand interstate summits and security staff reshuffles.

A more independent, reform-minded PM might have been Ravshan Jeenbekov, also 41. But with only 5 coalition votes, his candidacy flopped. Moreover, he failed to win the support of many members of his own party, Ata-Meken, who under the leadership of veteran politicker Omurbek Tekebayev, pragmatically decided to endorse the Atambayev-inspired status quo. After the announcement of the coalition’s vote on December 19, Jeenbekov’s Facebook wall was flooded with condolences.

“Mr MP Jeenbekov, after your party didn’t support you during voting for the post of Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, do you intend to continue working with the traitors?” asked [ru] Aziz Abakirov

“Aziz, hello. Each person chooses their own path. I work according to my convictions and I travel my own path. Many members of my party made their choice. It is their right, although not completely, I think, given [their obligation to] their ideological and political position. I will have to work among them, yes, because I am an MP of this party. I am obligated,” replied [ru] Jeenbekov.

“But answer, how can you love a woman after she has cheated on you?” pressed [ru] Abakirov.

“Aziz, love for a woman and politics differ strongly from one another ),” Jeenbekov [ru] answered.

Even during less exciting moments in Kyrgyzstan’s political calendar Jeenbekov’s wall overflows with discussions. While the MP responds unfailingly to praise (he is human, after all) and ducks the odd difficult question (he is a politician, after all), perhaps the most important element of his profile is that it offers his nearly 4,500 followers a single space where they can discuss topical issues and meet edninomyshliniki (like minded people) with whom they share common values. The fact that an elected representative frequently participates in these exchanges brings the whole process a step closer to Rousseauian visions of direct democracy.

“Pity that many MPs do not realize that the consciousness of the young is growing, and that this is no longer the same people who just nod at what their “bosses” say. Or maybe they understand it and are therefore hiding from us, because our thoughts and ideas knock them down. Inevitably there will come an intellectual ‘revolution’. Now, many young leaders realize that they can participate in the government, as is their complete right to do so!” Uluk Kydyrbaev concluded during the December 19 wall discussion, to a score of ‘likes’ from other users.

Indeed, by showing the ambition to nominate himself for the PM spot Jeenbekov didn’t nod at his party bosses, he defied them. And, with growing online followings that undermine more traditional forms of political loyalty in Kyrgyzstan (regional, patronage-based, deference to seniority etc), the day when he and other social-media-friendly deputies seek to challenge the aksakals on their own terms may not be too far away. As Jeenbekov predicted in a reply to one of his contacts, Ilyas:

“Ilyas, I think, that at the next elections the [Ata-Meken] party will be reformatted. I am sure that [at the next elections] a strong party, with a liberal-democratic position will appear.”

Watch this space.

Social Media in Kyrgyz politics: No Magic Wand, Yet

Cynics will make the argument that social media such as Facebook and Twitter are limited in their ability to transform either the agency or the fundamental structure of Kyrgyz political society and currently, the numbers support their case.

While internet penetration in the country, at just under 40%, compares favourably to most Central Asian states, social media statisticians estimate that only 1.17% of the country has a facebook account, the vast majority of whom are based in the capital, Bishkek. Also, a 2009 report cited by Neweurasianet suggested that less than 10% of Kyrgyz internet users are over 40, meaning that many of the most powerful and influential in this post-Soviet society still get their kicks offline.

Nevertheless, as overall usage continues to grow, a Twitter or Facebook account is increasingly being seen by local bigwigs as a valuable source of political capital. A September Global Voices post by Elena Skochilo highlighted a Facebook-based witch hunt which demanded Kyrgyz netizens ‘unfollow' or ‘defriend' politicians on Twitter and Facebook, who do not use their accounts personally, or, who set them up opportunistically, prior to elections. As human rights activist Dmitry Kabak posted [ru] on the group's wall:

“I know 100% that Dastan Bekeshev, Shirin Aitmatova, Ravshan Jeenbekov write themselves. I do not know who writes in the accounts of Nariman Tuleev and Tursunbai Bakir uulu. [Their] Twitter and Facebook [activity] intensified on the eve of the presidential race. Marat Imankulov… is not writing himself- the date of birth and positions don't tally, and there are only links to news stories “about himself.” Please add information about “suspicious activity” on political accounts and then un-follow.”

But whether Kyrgyz power-brokers see social media as an opportunity to communicate with constituents or simply another way of boosting their public profiles, their dalliances with online activity are sufficient evidence that Facebook and Twitter are gradually altering the political landscape of this year-old parliamentary republic. The latter in particular has become ‘The News Before it Happens', with online agencies such as Kloop relaying live Twitter-feeds from deputies musing on laws and coalition-formations as they spar and haggle in the legislature.

Moreover, in a small country where institutions are feeble and personal connections all-conquering, the scattergun effect of a succinct 'tweet' may prove the equal of multiple phone calls in times when a lethargic body politic needs to be shaken into action. That, at any rate, is the conclusion drawn in a brilliant article on the Foreign Policy blog by Natasha Yefimova-Trilling, titled Twitter Vs. the KGB.

The beginning of the piece finds US photographer Nic Tanner in a spot of bother. While covering the aftermath of the November presidential elections in the southern city of Osh, he is accosted by plain-clothes-wearing men who claim to be representatives of the local equivalent of the KGB. After frantically phoning his journalist colleague, Natasha's husband David, an SOS tweet went out from @DTrilling, followers of whom include “young former and current Kyrgyz officials”. Within minutes, a tense situation was diffused and Tanner was free to go, baffled by a complete reversal in the officers' behaviour towards him. But as Yefimova-Trilling explains:

This is not a story of Twitter's ability to galvanize grassroots protests and marshal ordinary citizens to defend just causes. Kyrgyzstan is a place where high-tech social networks meet old-fashioned patronage networks. All those who got in touch were people we knew personally, and people with some clout…Our use of social media didn't tap a network of underground civil-society activists — it simply sped up the well-oiled machinery of string-pulling.

And sadly, Twitter is no magic wand if you are an ethnic Uzbek human rights activist. Arrested following ethnic conflict in southern Kyrgystan, a regional court convicted Azimzhan Askarov to a life sentence on a series of charges that international and domestic human rights organizations feared were ‘trumped up' against a background of seething nationalism. Despite being one of the most tweeted about subjects in the Kyrgyz Twittersphere - #Askarov - the Kyrgyz Supreme Court upheld the regional court's decision on December 21.

Social media then can go far in Kyrgyz politics, but probably only so far, insofar as public life in the country continues to be dominated by familiar faces, a compromised judiciary and what RFER/L's Daisy Sindelar refers to as “cynical season(s) of gray-haired power-jockeying”.

N.B One infrastructural obstacle to the powers of internet-based social technologies in Kyrgyzstan is the nation's currently patchy supply of electricity. Following a cold snap that saw an uptake in energy consumption in the northern half of the country, the Soviet era energy grid is wheezing, leading to sustained shortages for citizens. In a parody of this bold nostradamian statement, Sadybakas Abylov has produced [ru] a lively and very readable blog post titled “There will be no electricity”.

Kyrgyzstan: “There Will Be No Winter”

Chris Rickleton — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 07:45:03 +0000

Governments fall, parliamentary speakers come and go, and as one season fades another always begins. That, at least, was what Kyrgyz Internet users thought prior to former presidential candidate Arstanbek Abdylayev’s startling announcement that “there will be no winter”.

Abdylayev, who collected less than 1% of the vote in the recent presidential elections, was offering sniggering journalists a “vision from the cosmos” of a “new era beginning from the Kyrgyz, starting in 2012” when the phrase popped out of his mouth. Within days, online videos of the press conference had gone viral, and Kyrgyz users of Gmail and Facebook had promptly updated their statuses to “Зима не будет “, or “there will be no winter”.

Arstanbek Abdylayev

If the appearance was a bid to gain greater visibility for Abdylaev and his “For the People” party, it was a stunning success, with news of his Nostradamus-like premonitions rippling accross the Russian-speaking swathes of the internet. According to Meerim Nazarova [ru] at the independent news outlet Kloop.kg:

A clip [of a press conference] originating in Kyrgyzstan has accrued further fame via the [satirical] Russian Internet show “This is harasho”. The show’s host Stanislav Davydov commented on the video sent to him in a comic manner. Davydov’s show has already been viewed by over a million users.

Davydov, a kind of Russian Russell Brand, was vicious in his takeoff [ru, en], referring to Abdylaev as a new “Kyrgyz Hitler” due to his aide Mirlan Asakeev’s questionable claim that “life started with the Kyrgyz”. Davydov then twice repeated the clip of the “For the People” chief predicting apocalyptic floods in the West and the end of seasonal change as the world knows it , before concluding that Abdylayev is a “liar, because, as we all know, winter is close”.

YouTube user Toxic959 has uploaded a surprisingly catchy hip-hop 'remix' of Abdylayev and Asekeev's performance here.

In Bishkek, it is snowing, by the way.

Bad PR

On the Kyrgyz video portal blive.kg, the comments section swelled. In response to Asakeev's estimation that the inhabitants of the Garden of Eden were “63.5%” Kyrgyz, greenrum, a blive user, asked:

“Where did they find Adam’s DNA?”

“Kill these two idiots [Abdylayev and Asakeev]. They are a discrace to the nation,” raged [ru] another user, Scanner.

“Maybe if he had won the election, we wouldn’t have had a winter,” mused [ru] a third, unbliver.

But alongside the wise cracks and the death threats, there was a growing sense of exhaustion at the lengths public figures were prepared to go to gain access to the media spotlight.

“I just want to say how awful living here has become,” said [ru] Blacky. “I would rather drown in Europe than [stay] and get connected to [the Kyrgyz cosmic force] AYAN!!! Good luck to Adam’s children!!!”

And it isn't as if the surreal December 6 press conference is the first time that the erratic behavior of Kyrgyzstan's elite has caught the world's attention.

In April of this year, Jamestown foundation blogger and analyst Erica Marat wrote:

Tired of continuous showdowns that threaten to disintegrate the ruling coalition, Kyrgyz MPs decided to sacrifice seven sheep in front of the parliament building. According to local traditions, offering the blood of a slaughtered sheep expels devils that a human being is not able to oust just by virtue of his or her own effort.

The act was futile, as borne out by the fact that Kyrgyzstan’s ruling coalition is once again the subject of uncertainty, but it did ensure a slew of comic headlines at the nation’s expense, such as the New York Times’ “Kyrgyzstan: A Sacrifice to Save Democracy”.

“The best traditions in the world”

Another of Abdylayev and Asakeev’s boasts was that “Kyrgyzstan has the best traditions in the world.” While most foreigners in these parts attest to the hospitality of the countryside Kyrgyz, who are always on hand to thrust a bowl of kymyz in the direction of stray travellers, it is an altogether different national tradition that is currently the focus of the world media.

According to a November 14 post by Voice of Russia [ru]:

A month campaign to fight bride kidnapping has been announced in Kyrgyzstan, where, according to the ombudsman of the republic, the number of kidnapped girls is now estimated at 15,000-16,000… the Kyrgyz authorities will organize meetings with locals to explain them that marriage by abduction is illegal, and also discuss the situation with the police. Bride kidnapping is a crime, no matter what reasons people use to justify it.

But a recent article by the young journalists at Kloop shows they face an uphill struggle in making their message heard. In a distressingly ironic report, Azat Ruziev, Diana Rahmonova and Bektour Iskender detail how a student from the provincial town of Karakol, Kymbat Barkan kyzy, was stolen by unknown men while en route to a regional campaign against the practice of bride kidnapping.

For those unfamiliar with what the crime entails, a December 9 video by Vice News offers an accessible if somewhat dumbed-down window into the phenomenon, while the second issue of the Bishkek-based English-language magazine the Spektator covers a disturbing kidnap for marriage with documentary-maker and journalist Anthony Butts.

The women's rights organization Equality Now helped spark the campaign into life.

Kyrgyzstan: President Inaugurated Amidst Ruling Coalition's Collapse

Chris Rickleton — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:40:52 +0000

Almasbek Atambayev being sworn in. Image is official publication.

On December 1, 2011, in a ceremony replete with medieval references, Almasbek Atambayev was sworn in as Kyrgyzstan's fourth president, with cannons sounding a peaceful transition between two heads of state for the first time in over 20 years of independence.

That his predecessor and political ally, Rosa Otunbayeva, left office to the noise of ceremonial artillery rather than automatic rifle-fire is in itself a marker of political progress in the country. But as Atambayev kissed the Kyrgyz flag and spoke warmly of Manas, the horse-riding, sword-wielding hero of Kyrgyz folklore, question marks over the country's future loomed large.

Will Atambayev be a knight or a dragon? That was the puzzle posed by MP Tursunbai Bakir uulu, in an obtuse, open letter addressed the new president:

You were talking a lot about knights who defeated dragons, but later they all became dragons. The knights couldn’t resist the gold in the dragons’ dungeons. I sincerely don’t want You to become a new dragon in the history of Kyrgyzstan.

A former ombudsman, Bakir uulu is an eccentric, pious personality famous for swearing his own oath as a lawmaker on the Koran, rather than the Kyrgyz constitution. Moreover, in Kyrgyzstan's fraught political landscape, he is one of a number of prominent southern politicians unhappy with Atambayev's recent electoral victory, a victory tarnished by accusations that the former prime minister used administrative resources both in the build up to, and during, the vote on October 30.

With the ever-present threat offered by Kyrgyzstan's regional divide, Atambayev, a northerner, would do well to befriend Bakir uulu, as well as significant others who have yet to offer any formal recognition of his victory.

Urging unity

Perhaps in lieu of this, the veteran politician urged unity in the face of ethnic schisms and factionalism during an upbeat inaugral speech. But with the gap between good words and good deeds a commanding feature of Kyrgyz politics, EurasiaNet blogger Nate Schenkkan wondered whether or not he could “make good on this half extended olive branch.”

Crucially, some things may prove beyond Atambayev's direct control. This blog has already noted the animal spirits involved in Kyrgyz coalition-building, and that torturous process is set to start over, with the three-party government collapsing [ru] the day after the new president took his oath.

According to Kyrgyzstan's constitution, a document many analysts argue is destined to be short-lived, three attempts to form a coalition may be made before parliament is dissolved and fresh parliamentary elections are announced. With two of those having ended in failure, the pressure to create a viable alliance is now on, with the Ata-Meken socialist party playing powder-keg politics by issuing a vote of no-confidence in the house speaker, southerner Akhmatbek Keldibekov.

Whether Atambayev will be able to use his limited powers to influence the situation in the fractured legislature remains unclear. What is more certain is that regional support for Kyrgyzstan's parliamentary democracy is limited, as evidenced by the conspicuous absence of high-ranking Kazakh and Russian officials at Atambayev's inauguration.

Bishkek's relationship with Russia, in particular, is the subject of hot debate in domestic society. Currently the country is committed to entry into the Customs Union, a Moscow-led organization that promises to impose formidable tariff barriers on non-members, including China, currently Kyrgyzstan's biggest source of imports.

When the author of this Global Voices post interviewed Osmonakun Ibraimov, Secretary of State under Kyrgyzstan's first president Askar Akayev, for an article on Eurasianet, Ibraimov was unflinching in his assessment of what he called the potentially ”economically suicidal” decision to enter the union, which currently comprises Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

“If Atambayev decides to enter the Customs Union, and the cost of cheap Chinese goods at [major wholesale markets] Dordoi and Kara-Suu rises, there will be a third revolution,” he said ominously.

But Bishkek is damned if it does and damned if it doesn't. As observed in an engaging piece on Eurasia Review by Robert Hernandez, any move to ignore Russia's rogueish charms could have disastrous consequences for a country the size of Kyrgyzstan:

In the first world we usually do not equate gasoline tariffs with revolution…but those in Kyrgyzstan know too well the effects of trade when it is used as a political weapon. While it may sound farfetched, it is widely accepted that the punitive Russian gasoline export tariff, implemented in the spring of 2010, was the main instigator which lead to the ouster of Kyrgyzstan’s then president Kurmanbek Bakiev.

Free Trade or Survival?: A Hobson's choice indeed.

Still, if a tumultuous, powerful parliament, a fragile economy, and an inability to attract foreign investment may eventually combine to drive poor Atambayev to the drink [ru], then he should at least enjoy the here and now of being the top dog. That, at any rate, is the message of Bishkek's English-language tourist magazine the Spektator, who produced a moving poetic tribute to Almasbek in celebration of his inauguration:

Almas, Almas, in power at last!
The vote was rigged, the dye was cast,
The shyrdak came out royal blue,
Your rivals said it wasn’t true,
But who are they, and who are you?

Not for them the robes of state,
And while Tashiev’s brothers eight,
Will whine about you in his ear,
You’ll serve your own kin well (I fear),
But maybe that’s a smear.

And Madumarov is mad you know,
We’re glad you saved us from his throes,
To ballot-stuff – not such a crime,
Compared to murder and rapine,
It’s rather fine – the throne is thine!

But lo, behold the troubled realm!
And now it has you at its helm,
I wish you strength to smite your foes,
They’re not so patient – you should know,
They rally, roar and overthrow

Then perilous, this neighbourhood!
That Karimov is not so good,
And Russia’s touch – too much like glue,
While China wants to swallow you,
Or so says all the news….

Yet these are pains for other days,
When bells will toll and troubles weigh,
When second wives will make demands,
And younger sons will tie your hands,
For now you are the man – the man!

Note: An interesting profile of Kyrgyzstan's new president can be found here, courtesy of RFER/L blogger Bruce Pannier.

Russia: Nationalist slogans get spread

Ekaterina — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 08:48:35 +0000

Fergananews writes [ru] on popularity of Russian nationalist slogans against immigrants from Central Asia amidst the looming parliamentary elections: “25 percent of high school students approve of nationalist actions of their classmates.”

Kyrgyzstan: First-ever peaceful president transition

Adil Nurmakov — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:34:49 +0000

neweurasia offers a photo-reportage from the Kyrgyz presidential elections that took place last Sunday, noting that for the first time in the history of independent Kyrgyzstan, the presidency is shifting from one person to another in a peaceful way.

Kyrgyzstan: President-elect vows to close U.S. military base by 2014

Adil Nurmakov — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:27:45 +0000

Joshua Foust ponders on seriousness of the news that Kyrgyz President-elect Almazbek Atambayev, “a friend of Russia”, made a warning that the U.S. air base must close by 2014.

Kyrgyzstan: The Die is Cast

Elena Skochilo — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:08:27 +0000

The Central Elections Commission confirmed that Kyrgyzstan's presidential election were valid in the late evening on October 30. Over 51% of Kyrgystanis have voted across the country (a little over 3 million voters). The elections were observed by 792 international observers from 56 countries.

Election day has revealed two main problems: visible thumb marking and voters’ lists. The experiments of Kyrgyzstanis quickly proved that the marking on the voters’ thumbnails can be easily washed off. The voters’ lists were incorrect and many voters couldn’t find themselves in the lists despite having registered.

Marking issues

Both online and offline Kyrgyzstan were full of complaints about various violations, poor marking and inconsistent voters’ lists. After first hours of voting and checking visible green marking virtual Kyrgyzstanis immediately set up an experiment how to remove marking and posted their results.

The marking on voters’ thumbnails is almost invisible on polished nails.

Twitter user Esen Jumanov said [ru]:

It seems that marking is just a green marker. Let me try to wash it off!

The Kazakh journalist and election observer Gulim Amirkhanova experimented with marking and said [ru]:

The marking was half washed off with wet paper from the nail but it is still visible on the skin

Diesel Forum user npokuror312 posted [ru]:

Overall, there is no sign of marking in 30 seconds after applying the sandpaper.

Another forum user Neman replied [ru]:

You don’t need sandpaper. The marking can be easily washed off with alcohol-contained liquid.

The author also experimented with the marking. It revealed that the marking is almost invisible on the polished nails (see the photo above).

Twitter user @saida_sydykova complained [ru]:

What a bad marking I got! It was kind of green marker… the marking blackened and ruined my manicure.

Voting lists

The situation with voting itself and voters’ list wasn’t that amusing. Many voting stations were overcrowded and people had to stay in line to vote. Plenty of voters couldn’t find themselves in the voters’ list and left.

An observer at the Kyrgyz National University Nate Schenkkan tweeted [en]

At KG Nat'l Univ'y, too many voters, unable to enter hall, crowd pressed against entrance

Twitter user and the independent observer Aizhan Hodzhaeva said [ru]

Half of the votes hasn’t voted before afternoon time because of absence of their names in the voters’ list

Urmat Nasykulov complained [ru]:

There is a big claim to work of the local city hall's authorities. Many voters were not listed in the voters’ list.

Gulim Amirkhanova reported from Talas city [ru]

The voters have received voting notification but there are no their names in the voters’ list and they can’t vote

Twitter user Dilik666 criticized [ru]:

There is a mess at the voting stations. They should have prepared better. Long lines, slow registration.

An observer and Twitter user Mekajona claimed [ru]:

The fights and scandals between voters which haven't found themselves in the voters' lists were observed. Bad work, the Central Elections Commission!

One of the presidential candidates Kubatbek Baibolov asked [ru]:

Do you still think this is a chance after hundreds of complaints about the voters’ lists and poor marking?

This politician was one of the most active politicians in his Twitter account during a day and provided a few photo evidences of the law violation.

By the end of day many users added up their impressions about elections. Michael Andersen posted on his Facebook:

Kyrgyzstan now has a new political SYSTEM – but the main CANDIDATES are the same old same old dodgy ones. And they want the ’good old’ system back. Of course – they and the people around them made fortunes from it, working with Akaev and Bakiev. The Kyrgyzstanzi deserves better, and hopefully they will get there - but it wil only happen if they – the young, the NGOs - manage to HOLD ON to the changes, the new democratic parliamentary system. Moving from ’elections’ to elections….. RESPECT!

Zafar Sulaymanov said:

Today is one of the most important dates in Kyrgyzstan's modern history! I hope,I pray that everything goes well…..we need fair elections, and we need good leader! I'm going to make my own choice in couple hours! so nervous….is it gonna make a difference…???? hope soo

Journalist Denis Berdakov explained [ru] his position:

I haven't voted today. It is my solid citizenship. I can't be responsible for the future of my country if I can't trust these people. There are no worthy candidates. There is no sense to vote against of all because I don't believe that elections are fair. I love my Kyrgyzstan, but I haven't gone to vote for nothing, I value my own voice!

An observer Andy Heil tweeted:

Has #Kyrgyzstan just pulled off the most democratic presidential vote in modern Central Asian history?

According to the latest reports from the CEC's website (10 pm by the local time on October 30) the leading candidates were Almazbek Atambaev (65, 6%), Kamchybek Tashiev (14,75%), and Adakhan Madumarov (13,7%).

The updated reports on the results of the election will follow shortly.

Kyrgyzstan: There Is No Silence Day in Internet

Elena Skochilo — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:57:56 +0000

Yesterday, October 29, was the so-called “Silence Day” in Kyrgyzstan, the last day before the presidential elections. At this day any political agitation is prohibited in the traditional media. But the law has no hold on Internet. The main representative of the Russian newspaper “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” Igor Shestakov said [ru]:

There is no silence day at Facebook today! There is political heat around candidates. Most of my Facebook friends heavily criticize the main candidates. I think that the candidate “No one” will win today!

In August the presidential race in Kyrgyzstan had an impressive start: 83 candidates were registered to participate in the presidential elections. Tomorrow Kyrgyzstanis will vote for one of 16 candidates only.

The social networks were heavily used for the agitation by the candidates during the agitation period from September 25 till October 28. Most candidates have registered their Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and posted their elections agendas for the discussions at the largest Kyrgyz internet forum Diesel. Moreover, the First National Channel of Kyrgyzstan in collaboration with the Internews Network organization used the forum to collect the questions for the presidential debates on air [ru]. They created [ru] a topic at the forum where every user can post his or her question for the candidates.

Even during the “Silence Day”, the Kyrgyz Internet didn’t pay attention to the restriction of the law: it was full of discussions, arguments and predictions.

The censorship law was in action and all foreign TV-channels are aired in the record to avoid an influence of the foreign countries on the presidential race in Kyrgyzstan. So, a few people are just happy to watch their favorites TV channels soon. Azamat Tynaev, the editor of Chalkan.kg agency posted [ru] at his Facebook:

Hooray! A day after tomorrow I will watch again Euronews, K +, RBC, CNN, “Week” with Marianna Maksimovskaya, and other TV-programs. Idiotic censorship law will finally stop running.

Many users were still unsure whether they should vote. Facebook user Urmat Nasykulov posted [ru]:

I have two inner candidates. One is voting for nobody, another is going to vote for one of the candidates. The have equal positions now. What about you?

The human rights activist Ilya Lukash tweeted [ru]:

Probably, I won't vote. I apologize for my indifference. It will be my first elections which I will abstain consciously.

The head of the Central Asian Free Market Institute Mirsuljan Namazaliev tweeted [ru]:

Say no to the administrative source whosoever uses it! The elections should be fair!

Nowadays the Kyrgyz Internet is full of human rights activists, citizen journalists and whistle-blowers, and the virtual Kyrgyzstanis are well-aware of the law violations. Many online agencies will provide twits about the elections day upon the hash tags #freekg, #kg2011, #shailoo and #shailoo2011. Some users will use the crowd-sourced map on elections violations [en]. There is even a site [ru] to follow the elections agendas of all candidates and check later if their promises become true.

The election day is taking place today. Updated reports on it will follow shortly.

Global Voices Russian Partners With Neweurasia.net

Ekaterina — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 09:12:03 +0000

We are pleased to announce partnership of Global Voices in Russian with Neweurasia.net, one of the most prominent citizen media platforms in Central Asia and about Central Asia, which has a large Russian and English speaking audience.

Neweurasia focuses on news and analysis generated by young people from the ground. The site casts light upon under-reported issues and provides a space for young, bright minds to make themselves heard. It was created back in 2005, when several online activists joined forces to develop a platform for blogs with low editing needs and quick, direct publishing.

It is worth mentioning of course, that one of the platform founders was also Global Voices author Ben Paarman. Today, the site has an extensive network of bloggers from five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), who all share amazing stories of lives, achievements and challenges in their countries.

Taking all this into account, the partnership of Global Voices and Neweurasia.net is a logical step, given the activities of the two communities and their similar goals. We are very excited to start our cooperation with one of the most amazing and popular citizen media platforms about Central Asian region.

We started with exchanging our logos. You might have already seen the Neweurasia logo on the Global Voices Russian site and our logo is placed on the Russian version of Neweurasia, which means that Global Voices will be more accessible for a Russian speaking audience. Both sides are open-minded and do not exclude other forms of partnership in the future.

We are grateful to the people who worked hard to make the cooperation possible. So, we owe a big “thank you” to Oliver Dams, project manager and technical manager of Neweurasia.net and one of the founders of the site, and Yelena Jetpyspaeva, social media officer of Neweurasia.net, for being receptive and open to new ideas.

Also, we would like to thank the team of Global Voices in Russian, authors and translators alike, for producing content and making the site interesting for Russian speakers.