Tag Archives: Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyz President shows frustration

OCT. 3 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz president since 2011, Almazbek Atambayev appears to finally be losing patience with the sluggish pace of reform in Kyrgyzstan. At a speech during a visit to a school Mr Atambayev said that Kyrgyz needed to finally start working and to stop going to other countries begging for financial help.

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(News report from Issue No. 203, published on Oct. 8 2014)

Kyrgyz MPs prepare anti-gay laws

OCT. 5 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Controversial anti-gay legislation carbon-copied from Russia, is sailing through parliamentary reviews in Kyrgyzstan, triggering concerns about Moscow’s influence over Bishkek.

Parliament’s committee for human rights accepted the bill last week and the education committee was also expected to approve it. Advocates say the law, which will fine or jail citizens promoting “a positive relationship to homosexuality” in the media or around children, is designed to preserve traditional family values.

The law and its justification bear a strong resemblance to one passed in Russia in the summer of last year. Another bill being considered by the parliament, on recognising NGOs as foreign agents, echoes legislation voted through Russia’s State Duma in 2012.

Critics argue that parliamentarians are courting Russia’s favour, important to any politician with serious ambitions in Kyrgyzstan.

Writing in the New York Times, Masha Gessen, a former editor of RFE/RL’s Russian service said pro-Russian publications have infiltrated the Kyrgyz media space over the past few years and that Kyrgyzstan was a perfect lab rat. “It is small and poor and extremely susceptible to Russian pressure,” she wrote.

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(News report from Issue No. 203, published on Oct. 8 2014)

Kyrgyz government wants to control coal

OCT. 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kyrgyz government said it wanted to impose price controls on coal ahead of the winter season. Coal prices jump up during the harsh winter months in Kyrgyzstan. Analysts, though, have cast doubt on the Kyrgyz government’s ability to control prices.

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(News report from Issue No. 203, published on Oct. 8 2014)

Manas closure hits Kyrgyz economy

SEPT. 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The closure of the US airbase at Manas outside Bishkek earlier this year is already having a knock-on effect on the local economy, the eurasianet.org website reported. It its story, eurasianet.org reported that around 2,000 Kyrgyz truck drivers were now out of a job because of the closure.

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(News report from Issue No. 202, published on Oct. 1 2014)

Court rules against Kyrgyz government

SEPT. 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Bishkek ruled against plans by the government to increase fees on electricity and gas, media reported, argued for by reformers who have said that Kyrgyzstan needs to charge more for its utilities.The ruling is a blow for the government which has been working to modernise Soviet-era systems.

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(News report from Issue No. 202, published on Oct. 1 2014)

Kyrgyz plan to arm border area

SEPT. 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan lawmakers want to arm villagers living in disputed areas along its borders with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

A majority of Parliamentarians debating the plan say they want to help people defend themselves but the military has said the strategy will only worsen already tense cross- border relations.

The initiator of the legislation, Bakyt Torobayev of the Progress parliamentary splinter faction claims the initiative will save budget money. Paying a civilian that already lives on the border will cost less than housing, feeding and paying a soldier, he has argued.

Kyrgyzstan’s Defence Council issued a statement as parliament discussed the legislation. “(Arming) ordinary citizens without higher or military education and preparation for border service, can have consequences, including their potential participation in illegal migration, narcotics trafficking and contraband,” it said.

Medet Tiulegenov, a political science professor at the American University of Central Asia was also against the plan.

“This issue has been raised in the context of insufficient formal security on the border,” Mr Tiulegenov told The Conway Bulletin. He also said that security issues are beyond the parliament’s formal mandate.

“But when government itself lacks a clear vision on border issues and security in the country, MPs exploit that lack of clarity and try to make a name for themselves,” he said.

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(News report from Issue No. 202, published on Oct. 1 2014)

Kyrgyz PM sacks two ministers

SEPT. 18 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz PM Djoomart Otorbayev sacked two cabinet ministers, minister of culture Kamila Taliyeva and interior minister Abdyldy Suranchiyev, his first major reshuffle since taking over the job in March.

The sackings are a nod to public dissatisfaction with the government, with reports growing that many ministers are hanging on to their jobs by a thread.

But they may be less about improving the efficiency of government and more about preparations for next year’s parliamentary elections. With a winter energy crisis expected to put pressure on both President Almazbek Atambayev, affiliated to the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan, and Mr Otorbayev, loosely associated with the socialist Ata-Meken party, dropping a few unpopular officials makes political sense.

Kyrgyz media reported that both the sacked ministers where disliked, making them easy scapegoats for failings across government but personnel changes are unlikely to spare the government public frustration if the winters are as cold as expected, especially with Kyrgyzstan’s power production struggling.

Ulugbek Erkeshev, a Kyrgyz political journalist, said he has seen it all before.

“At a time when they need to be working together as a government around the clock they are passing portfolios around,” he said.

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(News report from Issue No. 201, published on Sept. 24 2014)

Remittances falling for Uzbekistan

SEPT. 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Remittances to Central Asia from sanctions-hit Russia have fallen by around 8%, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said. Heaviest hit in Central Asia is Uzbekistan which sends back the most remittances from Russia, although this forms a lower proportion of GDP compared to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 201, published on Sept. 24 2014)

Energy crisis looming in Kyrgyzstan

SEPT. 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Energy experts handed out more predictions of energy shortages this coming winter in Kyrgyzstan. One expert, Nikolai Kratsov, told the KNews website electricity could be turned off for up to 15 hours a day. Hydropower generates Kyrgyzstan’s power. Reports say reservoir levels are low.

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(News report from Issue No. 201, published on Sept. 24 2014)

WB offers Kyrgyzstan $25m

SEPT. 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The World Bank has offered to lend Kyrgyzstan $25m to help improve energy infrastructure ahead of the winter, media reported. Kyrgyzstan is facing a potential energy crisis this winter with water levels in its dams at a low. Energy shortages trigger frustration which bubbles over into public anger.

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(News report from Issue No. 201, published on Sept. 24 2014)