One of the peak of the Sulaiman-Too. Photo by Elena Skochilo.

Sulamain-Too Sacred Mountain of Kyrgyzstan has become [en] the country’s first site to be inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

On 26 June, during the 33-rd session of UNESCO in Spain the members of the Committee passed by a solid vote to include the Sulamain-Too Sacred Mountain of Kyrgyzstan in UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

100 countries and 1400 culture-historical objects were also participated in the “Sacred Mountain” nomination.

Culture minister of Kyrgyzstan Sultan Raev told that it wasn’t easy to receive the approval of all members of the Committee from different countries. Kyrgyzstan tried to nominate Sulamain-Too Sacred Mountain 10 years ago, but only this year became successful.

So, what next?

Osh city mayor Melisbek Myrzakmatov considers that the Sulaiman-Too will become “worldwide famous”.

Tourists from all the world will come to see Sulaiman-Too and the investigation will increase. Moreover, UNESCO will assign means to support and save the cultural and historical treasures of Sulaiman-Too, Melisbek Myrzakmatov told [ru].

Culture specialist of the National Commission Sabira Soltongeldieva said [ru] BPC, that Kyrgyzstan is going to nominate the Issyk-Kul Lake and Shakh Vasil mausoleum in Jalal-Abad region to be inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in future.

The Internet-society of Kyrgyzstan were also shared the gladness of the bureaucracy. But a lot of users of Diesel Forum asked [ru] the same question while discussing this news:

Are you sure that the UNESCO means will be received and will be spent only to save the treasures of the Sulaiman-Too?

Building mosque near the Sulaiman-Too. Photo by Elena Skochilo.

I have another question. Aссording UNESCO criteria for selection [en], authenticity and integrity of properties are also important considerations. So, what about the big mosque that has been building near Sulaiman-Too more one year? Last year I saw the start of the construction work. I think this year the building of the mosque will be finished. Where is the authenticity?

By the way, The World Heritage Committee decided [en] to remove Germany’s Dresden Elbe Valley from UNESCO’s World Heritage List due to the building of a four-lane bridge in the heart of the cultural landscape which meant that the property failed to keep its “outstanding universal value as inscribed.”

Dresden was inscribed as a cultural landscape in 2004. The Committee said that Germany could present a new nomination relating to Dresden in the future. In doing so, the Committee recognized that parts of the site might be considered to be of outstanding universal value, but that it would have to be presented under different criteria and boundaries.

Our government should understand the importance of saving our Sulamain-Too Sacred Mountain in it’s primeval status.

Also, I found small video from the Sulaiman-Too. There is one sacred stone. People believe if you make a secret wish and roll down from the stome several times, you wish will come true :)

Small video

The World Heritage List includes 890 properties forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value.

These include 689 cultural, 176 natural and 25 mixed properties in 148 States Parties. As of April 2009, 186 States Parties have ratified the World Heritage Convention.

Training attack to neutralize the conditional terrorists. Kyrgyzstan, Chon-Tash village, photo by Elena Skochilo.

Last week of June was stressed for the law machinery of Kyrgyzstan. Our special force neutralized two armed criminal group and lost one force officer.

On 23rd , June the armed group of militants was destroyed in southern Jalal-Abad town.

On 27th, June 3 militants were killed in Kosh-Korgon village, Uzgen region. According to the preliminary information, they belonged to the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan. Within 2 days, the Kyrgyz Special Forces killed one more militant when he started shooting and tossed a grenade.

On 30, June three supposed members of the armed group, which was destroyed in Kosh-Korgon village were arrested in Bishkek.

As the press-center of the State Committee of the national security of Kyrgyzstan said [ru], one of the arrested was learnt in the Pakistan’s terrorist’s centers. He arrived in Kyrgyzstan to prepare the conditions for the living and legalization of the other members of the international terrorist organizations.

Other two arrested persons are Kyrgyzstanis. One of them was responsible for the convey of the terrorists, other made forged Kyrgyz passports for the members of the international terrorist and extremist organizations.

The experts are sure that the appearance of the militants in Kyrgyzstan isn’t an accidental circumstance.

The analyst and expert of the Independent research center of the religion, law and politic Kadyr Malikov suggested that the militants of the IMU would appear in Kyrgyzstan gradually and there would be more such armed conflicts in future.

Such armed conflict must happen sooner or later. We had the information from the Tajic and Afgan experts that the IMU would move to other country gradually because of the anti-terrorist operations. We suggested that IMU would appear in the Central Asia. I can assume that Kyrgyz security force tracked down this group and neutralized it in Jalalabad, Kadyr Malikov told [ru] in BPC interview.

Expert about national security questions Leonid Bondares approved the work of the Special Forces but told that the appearance of the militants in the south of Kyrgyzstan wasn’t accidental.

Our special forces worked well. They detected and destroyed this armed group in proper time. But the gunbattle in Jalal-Abad makes me think that the militants appeared not randomly. Why the IMU members are fighting in Kyrgyzstan, while their main goal is the overthrow the government in Uzbekistan? Leonid Bondarec said [ru] in BPC interview.

The question of the terrorism also disturb the Internet users.

Terrorism is a double problem. One problem is to prevent. Other is to neutralize. While the government doesn’t make any preventive measures, our special forces have to shed blood. At the same time we can’t confront the aliens ideas of the terrorist because the ideas are spreading not by only who has nothing to lose, but the usual people, Diesel Forum user Atai told [ru].

“It is amazing that this group of young professionals has launched such a serious organization with ambitious goals, which are, of course, achievable and necessary,” said Aida Alymbaeva, the chairman of the Social Research Center at the opening.

The leaders of the group set out their goals and strategies, introduced strategic research areas, and announced several key events and campaigns of the Institute.

CAFMI's Opening Party in Bishkek

“We intend to become the leading think-tank for the whole region, by providing constructive options for economic reforms,” said Mirsulzhan Namazaliev, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Institute.

Special guests were Sascha Tamm, the head of Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Moscow, and Emil Umetaliev, CEO of the Kyrgyz Concept company and a board member of CAFMI.

CAFMI will promote free-market reforms by producing relevant, scientifically rigorous, and constructive research and policy proposals.

CAFMI leaders also announced their plans to share with the world the free-market successes of each of the countries in the region to encourage further reforms and to create a spirit of friendly competition in enacting better reforms.

In 2009 Institute plans to hold two “Liberty Camps” for students in the fields of economic and personal freedom. One will be in English, the other in Russian. A “Researchers’ Camp” will be organized to enable Central Asian researchers and experts to present, discuss, and improve their research work, and Bishkek will be host to a regular series of “IdeaNights,” during which young activists, researchers, and reforms will share, discuss, and improve their projects and reform proposals.

CAFMI will launch within days a new website (www.freemarket.kg) and an ambitious campaign (www.freetrade.kg) to create a free-trade region in Central Asia, to facilitate exchange and wealth-creation throughout the countries of Central Asia.

The Institute’s Board of Directors include Emil Umetaliev (CEO of Kyrgyz Concept), Krassen Stanchev (Chairman of the Institute of Market Economics, Bulgaria), Tom G. Palmer (Atlas Economic Research Foundation’s Vice-President), Timur Shaikhutdinov (Free Generation Liberal Youth Alliance’s Co-Chairman), and Seyitbek Usmanov (Institute’s a Co-Founder).

The Central Asian Free Market Institute is headquartered in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. CAFMI directors hope to see establishment of branches in Osh (Kyrgyzstan), Almaty (Kazakhstan), and Dushanbe (Tajikistan) within the next two years.

On Friday June 19, 2009, at the «old square» in Bishkek was held on action to protect the copyright and against piracy. The main spectacle was the destruction of counterfeit products.

State Patient Service’s website says:

The purpose of this action is to promote enforcement of national legislation in the field of copyright and related rights protection, as well as protection of licensed products.

The head of Kyrgyzpatent Ulan Melisbek.

The traditional japanese folk music concert was yesterday in Bishkek at the Theater of Opera and Ballet.
It was organized by the Japanese embassy in Kyrgyzstan. The group’s name is “Tsuru to Kame” on japanese it means “The Turtle And The Crane”.

As reported at the site gde.kg, the japanese musicians are planning to conduct master-class for students of local music schools in the Kyrgyz National Conservatory.

A polling station in Bishkek during the 2005 election. Kyrgyzstan's gearing up for it's next electoral contest, beginning tomorrow. (Photo by blandm, Creative Commons usage.)

Today the Central Election Commission has finished the registration of the presidential candidates. Nurlan Motuev, the leader of the movement “Joomart” became the last registered presidential candidate. On 18th June the election campaigning will start. Every presidential candidate will have free time to speak at the National TV and Radio Channel. The order of the speeches of the presidential candidates will be chosen by lot.

So, who’s dreaming about becoming president?

We are all waiting for the election campaigning, scandals, gossips, hot press-conferences! Presidential elections are around the corner!

Earlier, in March, the political columnist of «Reporter-Bishkek» newspaper Syrgak Abdyldaev was severely beaten. A few days later the chief operator of TV and radio channel «OshTV» Bakhadir Kenzhebaev was beaten by in Osh. At the end of March the chief editor and correspondent of the newspaper «Moskovsky Komsomolets» Ulugbek Babakulov and Elena Ageyeva were robbed and beaten in Bishkek.

Institute of Media Representative in Kyrgyzstan [ru] expresses its deep concern with the continuing attacks on journalists and calls the law machinery to investigate these crimes and punish the guilty persons as soon as possible.

We consider that violence against the journalists leads to self-censorship and affects on freedom of speech negatively. Freedom of speech is the most actual problem especially on the eve of the presidential election. In this regard, we call the power and the journalists themselves don’t remain indifferent to such facts. The assaults on the Kyrgyz journalists shouldn’t become the usual fact  in our society, Institute said in the press-release.

A KC-135 waits to be de-iced as a storm brews above Manas Airbase. Photo by Raskar Kapak, Creative Commons usage.

The 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs Office hopes that joining to the Twitter social network will help the world to know more about the base’s goings on, reports the United States Airforce’s own press service (ENG).

I believe it is in our best interest to get on board. Twitter, as well as some of the other social engineering sites, is a great way to tell people about our mission and people, Maj. Rickardo Bodden, 376th AEW public affairs officer said.

Our new media means of communication will reach new audiences and keep people informed who we otherwise might not have been able to reach,  he said.

For those readers living under a rock (or parts of Kyrgyzstan :p ), Twitter is one of the many free social network service jet streams, which enables users to disperse quick, 140-word or less, messages that are texted to “followers” or those who choose to receive information from a source variety in the millions.

Of course, one question is which audience are they hoping to reach?  No Kyrgyz Twitters, that much is probably for sure.  But reaching out to family and friends back home in the USA is also problematic.  Who will be allowed to Twitter, regular soldiers on the base or only the official press office?  How does the military plan to regulate what’s twitted?  The idea may be silly, but the ramifications are not

(The official site of Manas Air Base is www.manas.afcent.af.mil.  The 376th AEW’s Twitter can be found at www.twitter.com/manasab.)

This type of service has started in Kyrgyzstan this year. Any draftee can pass it. The recruits should pay in the special account of the Ministry of Defence 120 units of account (it is 12 000 soms or about 280 USD) and choose the convenient time of service. The recruits will pass military trainings during 14 days instead of the whole year. They take the oath and receive a military ID at the 15th day. The draftees are learning military service during this time. They are receiving the base knowledge of engineering and tactical training, marching and how to use the different kinds of weapon. There are the same centre in the Osh city in the south of Kyrgyzstan.

The Ministry of Defence is carefully monitoring the service in the trainings centres. The military department hopes to eradicate the corruption in military registration offices with this kind of military service. There is no secret that many young people give bribes to get the military ID.

We will do analysis after one year. It’s probably that we will continue, the Ministry of Defence told.