Tag Archives: Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyz power broker steps down

JUNE 3 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — A political chameleon who has served in government under the last three Kyrgyz presidents, Melis Turganbayev has earned a reputation as one of Kyrgyzstan’s biggest power brokers.

Now though, in a departure from the usual script for Central Asian politics, the 54-year-old Mr Turganbayev has apparently voluntarily stepped down as interior minister, a post he had held since October 2014.

“Everybody has the right to resign,” he told the Kremlin-linked Sputnik news agency in an interview soon after he had quit.

“There are no political motives. I just wanted to relax as I haven’t had a holiday for six years.”

Burn out, then. This could be a first for politics in Central Asia where senior government officials pride themselves on their macho longevity.

And Mr Turganbayev’s explanation hasn’t convinced too many people. Instead, analysts have said that the notoriously ambitious Mr Turganbayev may have jumped ship so that he can distance himself from the government and run in a presidential election set for 2017 as “the saviour of the nation”.

Born in Bishkek, then called Frunze, on Feb. 19 1962, Mr Turganbayev had been a career policeman, rising steadily through the ranks.

In 2008, under President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, he was promoted to be deputy interior minister, a job he kept under President Roza Otunbayeva, who took office after a revolution in April 2010. Current President Almazbek Atambayev shifted him to head the Bishkek police force in November 2012 and then promoted him to be interior minister less than two years later.

Controversy, though, has stalked Mr Turganbayev. In 2008, while deputy minister of interior, he was accused of beating and attempting to rape a 25-year-old woman. The case flickered briefly before dropping out of sight.

In February this year, Turat Akimov, a critic of the government and the editor of the Money and Power weekly newspaper, accused Mr Turganbayev of ordering thugs to beat him up. Mr Turganbayev dismissed the claim as “gibberish”.

For now, though, Mr Turganbayev has elected to drop out of the limelight. Despite his assertions that he has no comeback plans, it’ll surely only be a matter of time before he is back at the centre of Kyrgyz politics.

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(News report from Issue No. 283, published on June 3 2016)

Kyrgyz CBank cuts interest rates

MAY 30 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s Central Bank cut interest rates late by two percentage points to 6% because it said that inflation had significantly slowed, local media reported. Annualised inflation measured 0.2% at the end of April, an indication that economic activity has slowed in Kyrgyzstan. The Central Bank has also kept the som-US dollar exchange rate below 70/1 for two months.

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(News report from Issue No. 283, published on June 3 2016)

Kyrgyzstan to transfer Chinese factories

MAY 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s foreign minister Yerlan Abdyldayev said he is negotiating the transfer of several Chinese factories to the Central Asian country over the next few years. Mr Abyldayev sees this development as a potential boost for Kyrgyzstan’s industrialisation. Kyrgyzstan’s economy is heavily reliant on remittances from abroad, which have shrunk in the past 18 months due to a recession in Russia.

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(News report from Issue No. 282, published on May 27 2016)

Kazakh minister comment triggers diplomatic row

BISHKEK, MAY 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — A comment about Kyrgyz women cleaning lavatories in Moscow by Kazakhstan’s minister of culture, Arystanbek Mukhamediuly, hit a raw nerve with Kyrgyzstan and triggered a diplomatic row.

In comments to media, Mr Mukhamediuly said Kyrgyz women cleaning lavatories in Moscow reflected poorly on Kyrgyzstan.

“Every time I fly to Moscow and other cities I see that young Kyrgyz ladies, our neighbours, are cleaning toilets,” he said. “It hurts me, as I see these young creatures who had to leave Kyrgyzstan because of unemployment and the absence of opportunities.”

Thousands of people leave Kyrgyzstan each year to find work in Russia and send back remittances. It is a system that spans Central Asia.

And both the Kyrgyz government, which sent an official note of protest to the Kazakh embassy, and ordinary Kyrgyz took umbrage at Mr Mukhamediuly’s comments.

In Bishkek Ulukbek, 20, said the comments had been disrespectful. “As a high-rank official, he should not have talked about our migrants,” he said.

Some others, though, felt that the Kazakh minister had made a good point. “I do not think that he was wrong about us, thousands of my fellow citizens have to work in Russia to earn some money,” said Bolot, 42. “We should blame our government and our president as it is their fault.”

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(News report from Issue No. 282, published on May 27 2016)

Concern grows over Kyrgyz power generating capacity

BISHKEK, MAY 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — A senior analyst questioned whether Kyrgyzstan will be able to hit its obligations for the CASA-1000 project that aims to supply Pakistan and Afghanistan with electricity generated by Tajik and Kyrgyz hydropower stations.

Most of the electricity needed for the CASA-1000 project is set to be produced by Tajikistan but Kyrgyzstan still has an important role to play. The problem is that its infrastructure and ability to ramp up output appears increasingly fragile.

Alexander Knyazev, political scientist, member of Russian Geographical Society and expert on Central Asia was downbeat about Kyrgyzstan’s prospects of playing a significant role in CASA-1000.

“Even in the long-term, this project has no prospects to me as it is not based on Kyrgyzstan’s and Tajikistan’s real capacities. The refurbishment and modernisation of Bishkek and Toktogul power plants require funds, which Kyrgyzstan does not have,” he told the Bulletin.

“Moreover, Pakistan is insisting on year-round delivery, whereas exports can only be seasonal.”

Mr Knyazev’s warning will worry international policymakers. The World Bank is funding most of the $1.2b cost of the project which the US has said is a major part of its north- south new Silk Road.

At the end of last year Kyrgyzstan’s biggest hyrdopower station at Toktogul broke down and a few weeks later Russia pulled out of a $2b project to build a new dam and hydropower station because a recession linked to the collapse in oil prices have heavily dented its spending power.

Construction on the CASA-1000 project was officially started this month.

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(News report from Issue No. 282, published on May 27 2016)

Kyrgyz environmental court fines Centerra

BISHKEK, MAY 25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — A Kyrgyz court fined the Kumtor Gold Company, a subsidiary of Canada’s Centerra Gold, 6.7b som ($98m) for environmental damage, in a move that will strain relations between the government and the mining company.

The fine follows an earlier penalty of $10,000 the court levied at Kumtor on May 23. Centerra, has denied any wrongdoing.

“Centerra and Kumtor strongly dispute the claims and will appeal both decisions to the Bishkek City Court and, if necessary, to the Supreme Court. Centerra and Kumtor have expressly reserved their rights to refer such disputes to international arbitration,” John Pearson, VP of investor relations at Centerra, said. Although strictly unrelated to the ongoing spat between Centerra

and the Kyrgyz government, the latest series of fines are a sign that relations are worsening. The Kyrgyz government wants to own a direct share in Kumtor Gold.

Last month, Kyrgyz police raided a Centerra-owned office in Bishkek looking for evidence linked to allegations Centerra had received an illegal dividend in 2013 from Kumtor Gold.

Centerra has denied the allegations.

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(News report from Issue No. 282, published on May 27 2016)

Kyrgyz court sentences for espionage

MAY 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – A Kyrgyz court sentenced Altynbek Muraliyev, son of former PM Amangeldi Muraliyev, to 12 years in prison for treason and espionage. Muraliyev was arrested in November 2014, while attempting to leave Kyrgyzstan. The National Security Service said he had given classified information to foreign governments.

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(News report from Issue No. 281, published on May 20 2016)

Kyrgyzstan introduces media law

MAY 13 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz legislators proposed a new bill to restrict foreign media funding into the country, a law that could further undermine Kyrgyzstan’s shaky freedom of expression record. The new law would ban foreigners from setting up media organisations in the country and restrict foreign funding to 20% of an organisation’s total revenue. Media lobby groups have said that this law will serve only to restrict media and reduce free speech.

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(News report from Issue No. 281, published on May 20 2016)

Turkish officials detain dozens with Kyrgyz passport

MAY 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Border authorities in Turkey detained dozens of ethnic Uyghurs who were trying to fly to Northern Cyprus with forged Kyrgyz passports. Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group predominantly from the west China region of Xinjiang, neighbouring Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. They have said that they are being persecuted by Chinese officials.

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(News report from Issue No. 281, published on May 20 2016)

Telecoms tech boost in Kyrgyzstan

MAY 19 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz telecoms operator Sky Mobile said it has introduced 4G technology across Kyrgyzstan. Sky Mobile, which operates under the Beeline brand, is Kyrgyzstan’s second-largest mobile operator. In September last year, Kyrgyzstan rolled out 4G frequencies. Sky Mobile is a subsidiary of Russia-based and New York-listed Vimpelcom. In its quarterly results this month, it said that Kyrgyz were spending more on their mobiles.

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(News report from Issue No. 281, published on May 20 2016)