Tag Archives: society

Woman to lead Muslim community in Georgia

SEPT. 29 2015, TBILISI (The Conway Bulletin) — A village in Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge, a Muslim area that retains strong links to the North Caucasus, has elected a woman as its leader, media reported.

The election of school teacher Tamar Margoshvili, 55, as head of Duisi village is notable because traditionally only men could lead the village.

“I am not any less skilled compared to the men of the village,” media quoted Ms Margoshvili as saying.

Ms Margoshvili’s promotion is a victory for modernisers who will be heartened that a woman has been able to break through one of the most traditional societies in Georgia.

Renata Skardžiūtė, political scientist at the Georgian Institute of Politics said: “Women started gathering in clubs in different villages, then managed to create women’s council of elders, something quite unprecedented in Muslim communities.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

Frustrations build ahead of Kyrgyzstan’s election

OCT. 2 2015, BISHKEK (The Conway Bulletin) — By the standards of Kyrgyzstan’s febrile politics, the build up to its Oct. 4 parliamentary election has been calm but an often disinterested public and frustration over biometric data requirements have tarnished the vote.

Five years ago, in the aftermath of a revolution that ousted the unpopular Kurmanbek Bakiyev and the switch to a parliamentary democracy, it was a very different story. The mood was positive.

Now, ordinary Kyrgyz say that the political elite have gripped the political process making it less transparent and more self-serving.

“I am disappointed in representativeness of political parties, there are no parties for which I can vote,” said 23-year old Atabek, a student.

His friend, Temirlan, agreed.

“I wont go as there is no party in which I could be confident,” he said. As well as the usual complaints over the quality of the candidates, controversy has focused on requirements set out by the Kyrgyz Central Election Committee which insisted that people had to submit various personal data to the authorities before they could vote. Roughly a third of the population failed to register for the vote.

Still, some voters are upbeat.

Jenish, a 45-year-old taxi driver waiting for clients in a main Bishkek street said: “I will go to elections to fulfil my civic duty.”

Another Bishkek resident, 32-year old Mira, was excited about voting.

“I will vote for a party where a leader is a young and successful businessman,” she said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

Uzbekistan boosts cotton appeal

OCT. 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Looking to boost the popular appeal of picking cotton, the authorities in Uzbekistan pulled in an actor and a singer for a photo op of them working in fields, the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. Uzbekistan’s cotton picking programme has drawn criticism from human rights groups.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

Falling Kazakh tenge hits charities

OCT. 1 2015, ALMATY (The Conway Bulletin) — The collapse in the value of the Kazakh tenge over the past 18 months has not only hurt businesses and consumers in Kazakhstan. Charities that collect cash in tenge but accrue costs in US dollars and other foreign currencies are also having to cut services — often life-saving ones.

In an interview with The Conway Bulletin, Ilyas Kubriyanov, head of the UnityKZ charity, said that the cost of sending ill children abroad for treatment had spiralled.

“We are having problems, of course, as foreign hospitals invoice in dollars but we collect 90% of our donations in tenge,” he said. “Consequently, the cost of treatments is increasing.”

UnityKZ helps pay for children who have cancer or other serious illnesses to travel abroad for treatment. Mr Kubriyanov, who set up the charity in 2009, said that there are currently 10 children waiting for treatment.

“Because of the currency situation, the money we collect loses its impact,” he said. “Everything has become much more expensive.”

The Kazakh Central Bank released the tenge from its US dollar peg in August, triggering a sharp devaluation. It is trading at around 272/$1 compared to 188/$1 on Aug. 19.

It also devalued its currency in February 2014. The tenge is now worth nearly half its Feb. 2014 value.

A sharp drop in oil prices and a recession in Russia has battered economies in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Statistics show unemployment and inflation rising but the impact is felt across Kazakh society.

“Recently, we asked parents of sick children to think about another type of treatment to have or another country to aim for,” Mr Kubriyanov said. “One child was transferred to China recently, but they also have some difficulties with their currency there.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

Veolia wants Armenian water

SEPT. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Veolia, the French utilities company, is looking to extend its control of Armenia’s water and sewage systems, Gor Grigoryan, CEO of Yerevan Jur which is already managed by a Veolia subsidiary, said. Armenia is re-organising its water and sewage companies. Next year, Yerevan Jur will merge with the Armenian Water and Sewage Company. There are three other similar companies in Armenia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

Kazakh President’s son-in-law takes Olympic role

SEPT. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s Olympic Committee reportedly appointed Timur Kulibayev, son-in-law of President Nursultan Nazarbayev and a potential successor, as its head. Earlier this year Almaty lost to Beijing in its bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. The bid boosted both the profile of Kazakhstan and also of its Olympic Committee.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

Turkmenistan introduces labelling rules

SEPT. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan introduced new labelling rules for alcoholic drinks and cigarettes, media reported. The labels are described by media as part of a drive by the authorities in Turkmenistan to protect its citizens from alcohol abuse and cigarette smoke but, in reality, it is probably more closely linked to a new tax to be imposed from next April.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

McDonalds location starts row in Kazakhstan

SEPT. 19 2015, ALMATY (The Conway Bulletin) — City planners in Almaty confirmed that McDonald’s would open its first restaurant in the former Alatau cinema in the centre of the city next year, sparking debate over the US fast food chain’s entry into Kazakhstan.

The old Alatau cinema has been derelict for years but is loved by many people living in Almaty as an iconic part of the city’s architecture.

Karim Toktabayev, a businessman, is part of the campaign team trying to stop McDonald’s from moving into the cinema building.

“I am neutral towards opening of McDonald’s. I cannot say I am against it but I am very much against the demolition of the (former cinema) building,” he said. “Why do we need to demolish this building? Why can’t we save it? If we demolish all the old buildings we will not have any history left.”

Others, though, are more excited about McDonald’s opening. For many Kazakhs it has been a source of irritation that McDonalds, one of the most famous brands in the world never operated a restaurant in the country. Now that wrong can be put right.

“No matter where it opens, I am happy that it will open. We have plenty of cinemas in the city, why should it matter if we open it in one of these cinemas?” said Sholpan Alibekova, a student.

McDonalds has said it will probably open in the first quarter of 2016.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 249, published on Sept. 25 2015)

Georgian rugby team wins

SEPT. 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Causing something of an upset, the Georgian rugby team beat Tonga 17-10 in their opening match of the Rugby World Cup in England. Georgia has the best national rugby team in the former Soviet Union and is ranked 13th in the world.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 249, published on Sept. 25 2015)

Azerbaijani sets fire to himself as protest

SEPT. 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A taxi driver from Sumqayit, in western Azerbaijan, has died after setting himself on fire, media reported, an apparent final desperate protest against bully by officials and corruption.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said this was the seventh immolation in Azerbaijan since 2014.

Immolations in the region are a particularly sensitive issue because of the political connotations. The so-called Arab Spring erupted after an immolation by a frustrated and brow- beaten market seller set himself alight in front of a local government building in a provincial town in Tunisia in 2010.

The Arab Spring spread across North Africa, fuelling popular protests which eventually toppled governments in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.

It also worried Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and some analysts have said that he started cracking down on opposition figures and media outlets after the Arab Spring undermined some of his allies.

The dead taxi driver was named as 27-year-old Maqsad Suleymanov. The authorities in Sumqayit did not specify how he died but a mass of social media comments and eyewitness reports said he had set himself on fire.