The number of mobile phone users was about 1,68 million announced the deputy minister of transport and telecommunications Suyumbaeva Chinara during annual ICT conference. There are 4 mobile operators in Kyrgyzstan and their earnings exceeded $70 million and it is significantly growing each year. Also, there are 7 operators of fixed line communications, and the biggest and fast growing is Kyrgyz Telecom, which installed about half million lines.

The real number of mobile phone users can differ since the above mentioned number perhaps indicates the number of SIM-cards sold, but not active users. The telecom industry is growing in Kyrgyzstan with a good rate, though it could grow faster if it were not volatile due to the political nature of this industry. Some people say that it is almost impossible to obtain a license for a new mobile player in Kyrgyz market without support from authorities. As we know, during Akaev’s period there was only one GSM mobile operator, Bitel LLC, which was a real monopolist and enjoyed all benefits of monopoly.

Kyrgyzstan could have used the South Korean experience of developing ICT sector. In South Korea number of mobile phone and Internet users is very high, and for example, they use mobile phones for paying utility bills.

The 10 and 11 December news from Turkmenistan were dominated by the information about the UN centre for preventive diplomacy being opened in Ashgabat. However, this will not be the main topic of my post, because it would be difficult to make a longer comment on the fact that new positions were created for UN officials.

The opening ceremony was attended by many guests from abroad who – as it usually is the case – made use of the occasion to meet the host and discuss current issues in mutual relations. In a democratic or even a bit authoritarian country, such meetings would be held at various levels with counterparts corresponding the guest’s rank. But this is not the case in Turkmenistan. As the turkmenistan.ru website informed on 11 December:

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received first deputy foreign minister of the Russian Federation Andrei Denisov; minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Vladimir Norov; minister of foreign affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Rangin Dadfar-Spanta, minister of foreign affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran Manuchehr Mottaki; minister of foreign affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Nizar bin Obaid Madani; deputy minister of foreign affairs of Italy, senator Janni Vernetti; minister of foreign affairs of the Kingdom of Belgium Karl De Gucht; minister of state for foreign affairs of the UAE Mohammed bin Hussein Al Sha’ali.

The gundogar.org website adds to this list: the NATO Special Representative to Caucasus and Central Asia Robert Simons and the OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut. It is worth noticing that these were not one-man delegations. They were mostly made up of businessmen, corporation representatives and other less important officials.

It is possible that they also met with other Turkmen officials (although there is no mention of that in official sources), but the fact is that in just one day Berdymukhammedov had 10 important international meetings. Let me note that the Turkmen leader apart from representing the country in external relations also heads the government, presides over the Halk Maslahaty (National Assembly) and is the leader of the only political party.

This makes an impression that the president controls and manages everything and is the only person ruling the country. But would one man be physically capable of doing all that? I doubt it. The existing situation substantially increases the role of the president’s advisors and other people in his entourage. It is them who prepare documents for his signature, plan his daily schedule, decide about audiences, make suggestions, etc. The fact that all final decisions in Turkmenistan are taken personally by the president gives those people more power than any minister or other high-ranking official may ever have. It is a pity that we do not know and probably never will get to know their last names or functions. This would make analysing the situation in Turkmenistan much easier.

But one thing is certain. The answer to the question who rules Turkmenistan is not at all a simple one.

Following on from CXW’s article on Santa-tracking competition in Kyrgyzstan, I am now referring to AKIpress news agency that informs readers about the next crazy plans of the state tourism agency on further developing the “Santa mania” thing in Kyrgyzstan. The state tourism agency under the Presidency of Kyrgyz Republic and the Ministry of Culture and Information are jointly initiating the series of festivals under the name “Kyrgyzstan is the true home of Santa Claus” for the world recognition of Kyrgyzstan as Santa’s motherland.

In the framework of the festivals, the state agency on tourism is planning to implement a whole bunch of activities such as the World Congress of Santa Claus in 2008 year with participation of BBC news, Euronews, CNN and other leading mass media and the Christmas travel of Santa for Christmas gifts distribution to children around the world with participation of famous political figures, “stars” of world art and culture.

According to the head of department of international organizations, the final results of the scientific research of the Swedish logistics company Sweco show the true home of Santa is Kyrgyzstan. That is why we are addressing the people of the country to support our idea of Santa festivals. The year of 2008 will be announced as a year of Santa Claus and we will prove to the rest of the world that Santa is our fellow countryman and deserves the same recognition as Kydyr-ata, Ayaz-ata, Cholpon-ata, the famous Kyrgyz fairy characters. Santa will become a part of Kyrgyz cultural and spiritual heritage. I wonder what will be next step of Santa mania in Kyrgyzstan…

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At the end of 1880, army troops led by the Russian general Mikhail Skobelev landed on the Caspian Sea coast and almost reached Ashgabat. The expedition was aimed at conquering the territory that stretched from the Caspian and the Aral Seas to the Amu-Daria River and Kopet Dag mountains inhabited by warlike Turkmen tribes. It was part of the first Great Game, in which the Russian Empire and Great Britain struggled for influence in Asia. By invading the Turkmen lands, the Russians wanted to outstrip the British and get closer to India.

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The Turkmen living in the western and northern part of what is now Turkmenistan surrendered without fight, expecting Russia to defend them from the warlike Teke people. But the latter, being the strongest and most numerous Turkmen tribe, were not going to surrender their independence. And they took up arms. Unfortunately, the Teke leaders made a mistake when they chose not to pursue the well-tried partisan warfare, but barricaded themselves in a fortress. The fortress was called Geokdepe.

The siege did not last long. On 12 January 1881, Skobelev’s soldiers, who had gained experience fighting in the Balkans, breached the fortress walls without much effort. The slaughter that ensued claimed the lives of about 8 thousand people. Some historians argue that the Geokdepe tragedy was not a result of Skobelev’s cruelty, but rather his cool calculation. The general assumed that if he dealt harshly with those Turkmen who dared stand up to Russia, he would ensure obedience of the rest of them. And he was right.

An incident which took place several years later shows how strongly the events of 1881 traumatized the Teke. A crowd of local people gathered on the opening ceremony of the railway line connecting Ashgabat with Krasnovodsk. After the ribbon was cut, the army orchestra started to play when to the astonishment of the Russians, all the Turkmen fell on their knees. This happened because they associated the sound of the orchestra with just one thing – the siege of Geokdepe, and were afraid that this was a sign to start the battle.

In the Soviet times, nobody talked about the Geokdepe events. The official version was that the Turkmen joined the Russian Empire out of free will. But the Teke have harboured the memory of the 1881 events.

The situation has changed completely after Turkmenistan gained independence in 1991. That was when people started talking freely about those events. The Geokdepe battle became an important element of the official ideology created by Saparmurat Niyazov, who was a Teke. He declared the anniversary of the battle a national holiday (Remembrance Day) and between 1993 and 1995 built a huge mosque on the spot where the fortress once stood.

The building visible from the distance of a dozen kilometres can hardly be called a shrine. It is rather a museum. Nobody prays there, the mosque is completely empty, the only people inside are women cleaning the invisible dirt and admonishing occasional visitors not to take photos. But this is just one of the faces of Geokdepe…
To be continued…

[inspic=55,left,,0]Roadsign to the Koshanai Village site of the Koshanai Cuttings, OilyWater Treatment Facility. (c) FOEE

Kashagan, Kashagan, Kashagan – it’s all over the news: Which additional stake will Kazmunaigaz be able to take over from the international consortium? Is Exxon going to continue playing its hardball tactics? Is ENI going to remain the sole operator?

Besides the non-abating speculation surrounding the tense negotiations, it is no surprise that the international NGO community is trying to draw the spotlight on the societal and environmental impacts the development of the huge oil field is going to have.

Friends of the Earth and CEE Bankwatch published “Kashagan Oil Field Development” as part of its ‘Extractive Industries: Blessing or Curse’ series last week. It’s a commendable piece of work, not only for its density of research and interesting facts about this mega project.

It’s well worth reading through the report in its entirety. I found of particular interest the rather detailed field description which demonstrates on which technological frontier ENI has to operate. It is not surprising that the bulk of the report is highly critical of the project, especially of its:

• Regional impact: Although blessed with hydrocarbon resources, the two Western oblasts Mangystau and Atyrau have yet to see the benefits of its subsoil riches. High regional GDP does not translate into high per-capita income for the average population. In fact, poverty and unemployment are high vis-à-vis the nationa average, health and sanitary indicators are also extremely lagging (see neweurasia archive for background).
• Environmental impact: Local NGOs and inhabitants are reporting a growing loss of biodiversity. A large-scale spill/accident could even risk a complete biological death of the Caspian Sea. Of course, disposing of the huge amounts of sulphur (a by-product of the sour Kashagan crude) is a challenge. Unearthing crude of similar quality at Tengiz has already meant stockpiling sulphur deposits so huge they can be seen from space (neweurasia reported).
• Socio-economic impacts: Besides the structural “underdevelopment” in the two oblasts, other factors directly related to the oil field development are: exposure of local oil workers to hazardous pollutants. As many as 10% of all workers in the Atyrau region are employed in the oil sector (mostly in construction). What will happen to these workers once the large-scale development phase is over?
• Health impacts: Diarrhoea, skin diseases, drowsiness, genetic mutations, respiratory diseases – all of them seem exponentially higher in their prevalence the closer people live to oil-processing facilities.

[inspic=56,left,fullscreen,0]KazMunayGaz facility for ToxicWaste Utilization fromOil Processing near Koshanai Village. (c) FOEE

The report then takes a big turn and discusses the Kashagan production sharing agreement and the way it is disadvantageous for the Kazakhstani state. To recap: The PSA was signed in the late 1990s/early 2000s, when oil prices were low, perceived political and economic risk in the region was high, etc. In essence, the consortium was getting too good a deal in a high-price environment. And: Read the full story »

[inspic=40,left,,0] Over the next month, TOL and neweurasia are accepting submissions for the Best Central Asia Blog Awards. There are several prizes to be won, and the overall winner will get to go to the next Global Voices conference in 2008.

Read more…

On Sunday, December 9, 2007, a small boat that carried 7 people, a captain and six Uzbek refugees, sank into the sea on its way to Cyprus in the Mediterranean province of Antalya’s Gazipasa town, Turkey, says Turkish Daily News. The captain of the boat and three Uzbeks had been rescued by local fishermen. The bodies of the rest three Uzbek refugees still cannot be found. News Agency Fergana.ru writes that names of all Uzbekistani citizens on the boat are identified. They are (rescued) Nuriddin Bazarov, Sali Abieva, Shukurullo, and (drowned) Turahan Karimov, Bahadyr Shadiev, and Ramish. The captain of the boat is a citizen of Turkey Ersin Kysadjyk.

[inspic=39,left,,130] The Turkish Daily News says that rescued refugees will be deported to their home countries. Though, according to International Laws, refugees, whose status is confirmed by United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR), cannot be sent back to their home countries, as they may face ill-treatment or torture (that in Uzbekistan often leads to death). Officials of Turkey are, of course, aware of this kind of laws and would not violate them being under close watch of EU, especially in favor of Uzbekistan, since the relationship of Turkey with Uzbekistan is not that well. Therefore, I guess that these Uzbekistani citizens, who were crossing Mediterranean, were not refugees, but migrant workers, who were illegally working in Turkey and wanted to move to Cyprus, as the working season for them in Turkey was over. Almost all migrant workers from Central Asian countries in Turkey, who mostly work illegally as they cannot afford visa expenses, work in tourism facilities, like hotels. Winter is usually a dead season for such facilities and migrant workers either have to go back to their home countries the country paying expensive fees and get persona non grata status period that may last usually from 8 to 24 months, or illegally leave somewhere else. Therefore, I am sure that those Uzbek people were not refugees, but migrant workers. Turkish News agencies, who are labeling these Uzbekistani citizens as refugees, can eventually harm them. Once deported, these migrant workers may face really big problems in Uzbekistan, as the Uzbek officials do not tolerate those who seek asylum abroad.

Similar accident happened during the night of the same day, when, according to the Turkish Daily News, “a boat carrying around 70 illegal immigrants, who were trying to make their way to Greece, sank off Turkey’s Aegean coast resulting in the death of 51 people thus far while six have been rescued.â€? Turkey is known as a buffer zone for those from Asia and Africa, who want to illegally move to EU seeking for jobs and better life.

It is very hard to find information about the Uzbekistani citizens, whose boat drowned in Mediterranean. I think the government of Turkey should clarify its position towards these people as soon as possible and consider them as illegal migrants rather then refugees, as labeling them as refugees and sending them back to Uzbekistan may cause serious problems that may end up with their death.

  The newly rebuilt Ala-Too movie theater on Bishkek’s central square.

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Kazakhstan intends to switch the state language to the Latin script. This transition will take 12-15 years and be based on the experience of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It will be implemented in 6 stages.

This plan stirred many disputes and arguments – in particular, Russia and a part of Kazakhstan’s Russian-speaking population considers switching to Latin as an adverse move against them, as the Latin alphabet supposedly is less understandable than the Cyrillic one. The ones who support it refer to closer integration into the world information space and reform of Kazakh language, which historically has already had three alphabets – Latin, Cyrillic and Arabic.

Adam Kesher in his personal blog writes [ru] that switching Kazakh to Latin can be a benefit since the language will get the chance to become more flexible and functional.

“It may allow for simplification of Kazakh grammar and reduce the number of letters, as well as ease up digitization, which is very important at this IT-driven epoch. Kazakh language can become readable throughout the world and give an educational raise within the country by promoting the level of literacy of the population and its willingness to study languages where Latin alphabet is used – consequently enriching the intellectual potential, providing that Russian language retains its status”, he says.

But still there are two things that he is concerned about: Read the full story »