Politics and Society
For those of you who may have been caught unawares, this past Monday, March the 8th celebrated International Women’s Day. This holiday, once a domestic affair in the Soviet Union, has, since it’s fall, burst with excitement onto the international stage. (That last line was a blatantly sensationalized way of reporting that this holiday is still celebrated in the former USSR countries…)
That being said, it really is a wonderful affair. Where some women complain that it serves as just another excuse for their husbands to take them out to eat, and then get drunk themselves, all the while patting themselves on the back, this was not my experience (not exactly, any way.)
On Women’s Day Eve, my dad made dinner, all by himself, and the family girls all received it to high acclaim. The dish, a winter time variant of dimdama: beef, onions and potatoes cooked together in oil, was tasty. Unfortunately, by no fault of my father’s, we had to eat carefully, as we’re getting down to some of the rougher cuts of the winter cow, and little bone fragments are becoming more frequent.
The next day, Women’s Day proper, was a bona fide feast. After being called to dress a slim 30 minutes before the guests would arrive, I found myself in the dining room with 5, only one of whom I’d met. Four were women, and the fifth was a short, happy little Kyrgyz guy with a round face. When I introduced myself, as I do, as Kanibek, he laughed aloud and told me his was Michael. Read the full story »
Image by neweurasia's Schwartz (CC-usage).
The parliamentary elections in Tajikistan, with all its ups and downs, and despite some fears of larger troubles, seem to be quickly receding into the past. Let’s face it: it seems like our nation still believes that elections will neither be free nor transparent and no deputies in Majlis (parliament) will be courageous or capable enough to bring about changes to structure and quality of governing bodies in society.
It is hard to blame them since everyone understands that no democracy can allow one person to stay in power almost 20 years and control both the legislative and judicial branches. For many it is like living in a shah state (kingdom) where the king and his family can do anything their heart desires. Obviously, democracy is the rule of people, not ruling and mulling the people.
Image created by Flickr user exper (CC-usage).
So, in my last post I explored why Marxism was actually religious and mystical. I think on that basis alone there’s a pretty good case to make for breaking down the faulty distinction between religion and ideology on the one hand, and whether countries like Turkmenistan and the United States are so diametrically opposed on the other. But, come on, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t give the West a good thrashing.
Image by neweurasia's Ben, CC-usage.
Editor’s note: Religion and totalitarianism exist uncomfortably together in Turkmenistan. “Perhaps divine law will be able to buck against the narcissism of the ruling regime? ” asks neweurasia’s Annasoltan in this open-ended series on the dangerous dance between the official Turkmen personality cult, which aspires to divinity, and the conscience of the individual believer. Also check out Professor H.B. Paksoy’s series, especially, “The Prayer Carpets of Marx” and “The Conversation of the Gods”.
They set aside for God a share of their produce and of their cattle, saying, ‘This is for God’ — so they pretend — ‘and this is for our idols’.
– Qur’an, 6:136
In my last post I reviewed the general scene for religion in Turkmenistan. Much of what I said there probably came as little surprise to you. “Yeah, it’s a totalitarian regime,” you probably said, “they want to control people’s minds.” But have you ever stopped to think of what that means?
Brainwashing can be literal, such as when the authorities use psychiatric torture to bend the wills of dissidents. But the brainwashing is more profound than just neurochemical manipulation.
Image created by Flickr user exper (CC-usage).
My colleague Annasoltan’s writing a new series on the freedom of religion and conscience in Turkmenistan, and I know that this is a topic of perennial interest to my boss, Schwartz, who always enjoys giving a metaphysical spin to his topics. And it’s true, because in a Stalinist country like Turkmenistan, you’ve got to get down, dirty, and metaphysical in order to really grapple with issues there. Besides, I love “ontological journalism” too. ;-)
Now, Annasoltan quotes a fellow from Forum 18 who says that Turkmenistan isn’t half bad compared to Uzbekistan, much less to avowedly Islamist governments like Saudi Arabia or Iran. I’m not too sure what criterion can be used for such a judgment. Is it because Turkmenistan’s official ideology has a nice veneer of pluralism, sort of like Indonesia’s official religion “Pancasila” but tripping on too much hashish?
In fact, I’m certain that there is no way to determine whether a society is or isn’t truly religiously free, and to prove my point, I’m going to start by showing how when we say “ideology” we should really be saying “religion”, and then how the West, that supposed bastion of liberty, is anything but free.
2010 Rights and Democracy John Humphrey Award:
$30,000 Grant Award for Organizations or Individuals working for the Promotion of Human Rights
The International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development is seeking candidates for this year’s John Humphrey Award. The Award consists of a grant of $30,000 and a speaking tour of Canadian cities to help increase awareness of the recipient’s human rights work. It is named in honor of the late John Peters Humphrey, the Canadian human rights law professor who prepared the first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
God the Creator and Angels by Pietro Vannicci Perugino.
Editor’s note: Religion and politics make strange bedfellows even in the West, so imagine the difficulties in the totalitarian regime of Turkmenistan. neweurasia’s Annasoltan explores the dangerous dance between the official Turkmen personality cult, which aspires to divinity, and the conscience of the individual believer in this new series. Also check out Professor H.B. Paksoy’s series, especially, “The Prayer Carpets of Marx” and “The Conversation of the Gods”.
“Almost nothing.”
This is the answer of Felix Corley from Forum 18, the Oslo-based news service, to my question about whether there has been any positive change in Turkmenistan regarding the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.
The same policy of state control over religious activity we saw under Niyazov is continuing under Berdimuhamedov. Harassment of religious and civil society groups continues. Rulers should be judged by what they do. New laws on NGOs and religion were promised back in January 2008 [which was marked for 'priority'] but neither has been adopted.
Forum 18 was told in January 2010 that work on the text of a proposed new religion law has not even begun. This despite the fact that Turkmenistan is home to a huge variety of faith communities, including Muslims, Russian Orthodox, Armenian Apostolics, Protestants, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Catholics, Hare Krishna devotees, and Baha’is.
Editor’s note: neweurasia’s Annasoltan, our chief blogger for Turkmenistan, has been interviewed by France24 for an article on Turkmenbashi’s legacy. She explores the deep-seated metaphysical effects of a regime that is nothing short of Stalinist.
It’s a bit strange to be on the receiving end of an interview since I’m usually the one asking all the questions. It’s also a bit sad that the West can’t seem to get over its fascination with Niyazov. But then, so much of my own work here on neweurasia has been in the shadow of this man, so I suppose it’s understandable.
The quote used in the article is only an excerpt of a larger e-mail that I wrote to them. If you’re interested, click the “Read More”; the questions are by Andres Lievano. To read the article, click here for English, et ici pour le français. I’ve also included some stills from the documentary, Shadow of the Holy Book, which is about the Ruhnama.
Translation of sadenova’s post (RUS).
As it’s often said, we all want to find a person who has been taught before us. And while we actively criticize yesterday’s students for lacking real knowledge and experience, we forget one important point: they have no way of obtaining them.
In my career, I’ve had very few bosses who were ready to teach me, invest something and then wait for the results to materialize. Everyone needs you to come in, snap your fingers and make everything happen like in a fairytale. Mistakes are punished and experiments designed to accumulate experience are not welcome.
Here’s a recent example: Read the full story »
Most Kyrgyzstanis were surprised by the news that on February 23, 2010, a ringleader of the Jundallah terrorist group, Abdolmalek Rigi, was arrested during the flight from Dubai, bound to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan Airlways’ plane.
The airplane of the Kyrgyzstan Airways was reportedly forced by Iranian Navy fighter planes to land in Bandar-Abbas, Iran, where Rigi was arrested, when he stepped on Iranian soil. Kyrgyzstani were asking questions like “what a leader of notorious Iranian terrorist group would do in Bishkek?” Media was going crazy giving different perspectives on the incident.
However, several days later, Abdolmalek Rigi answered himself why he was heading to Bishkek. According to the interview he give to Press TV, an Iranian TV channel, he was going to Bishkek to meet with a high ranking US official, who, as Rigi believes, would help Jundullah in getting assistance from US in “creating difficulties for the Islamic Republic of Iran.” If Rigi is telling the truth, then a high-profile US official he was to meet was Richard Holbrooke, US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, who was in Kyrgyzstan to visit the only US air base in Central Asia.
Below is the interview of Abdolmalek Rigi to Press Tv of Iran:
Journalists at Kloop.kg contacted Kimberly McDonald, Public Affairs Office at the US Embassy in Bishkek, to get US Embassy’s comment on Abdolmalek Rigi’s public statement. McDonald denied any allegations that US supports Iranian terrorist groups saying that it was a mere Iranian propaganda to blame US.
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