Kyrgyzstan News

…but better late than never. This one hails from Tajikistan. The main reason it caught my eye is rather academic. There is a paper that I am finishing for a class last semester, and that paper is on language and alphabet changes in Central Asia. It’s more exact than that, but I don’t want to get into it right now. Suffice to say that this story caught my eye.

No More Russian in official use in Tajikistan?  Its amazing that lawmakers can even suggest this, and it sounds like something you’d expect from Turkmenistan first.

The director of Russian language testing at the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, Svetlana Melnikova, told VOA she agrees with President Rakhmon about the need to protect all national languages. But she says many of them are being affected by globalization, particularly in the areas of business and science.

Melnikova says technical terminology in CIS countries exists basically in Russian and English, and Tajiks will need to choose one of them. She predicts it will take more than a decade before Tajikistan develops its own scientific vocabulary.

It is interesting to see a date mentioned for the readiness of ’scientific vocabulary.’  This is a problem shared by many of the other non-Russian languages of the former Soviet Union, though not all of them.  However, Russian itself borrows much of its academic, medical, and law vocabulary from other European languages, including German, Polish, and French.  They in turn received many of the words from Latin and Greek.  My point is that it is quite arbitrary, in my opinion, to create a whole new set of vocabulary, especially in Tajik, which could easily use textbooks from Iran as models.  For the Turkic languages, I would suggest keeping the ‘Russian’ vocabulary, and adopting it inside the grammatical forms of the native language.

Perhaps this is a naive suggestion, but it is how I see the problem now.

Stringent Border Measures Fueling Tensions in Enclaves
Transitions Online
A recent clash on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border is highlighting a simmering social problem found in and around the Ferghana Valley's many isolated enclaves. ...

and more »

International standards on protection of human rights, as well as the safety standards relating to prisoners detention were the main theme of the training course for security units in the Kyrgyz prison system staff of the correctional system in ...

International standards on protection of human rights, as well as the safety standards relating to prisoners detention were the main theme of the training course for security units in the Kyrgyz prison system staff of the correctional system in ...

International standards on protection of human rights, as well as the safety standards relating to prisoners detention were the main theme of the training course for security units in the Kyrgyz prison system staff of the correctional system in ...

International standards on protection of human rights, as well as the safety standards relating to prisoners detention were the main theme of the training course for security units in the Kyrgyz prison system staff of the correctional system in ...

International standards on protection of human rights, as well as the safety standards relating to prisoners detention were the main theme of the training course for security units in the Kyrgyz prison system staff of the correctional system in ...

International standards on protection of human rights, as well as the safety standards relating to prisoners detention were the main theme of the training course for security units in the Kyrgyz prison system staff of the correctional system in ...

Kyrgyzstan: The journalist Syrgak Abdyldaev had to escape from the ...
Ferghana.ru
Syrgak Abdyldaev, ex-political observer of Reporter-Bishkek newspaper, had to escape from Kyrgyzstan due to security reasons. The decision to leave the ...

NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Bishkek, Kazakhstan, 08/14/2009 - Upon recommendation of OJSC MGN Asset Management a decision was made to establish Corporate Governance and Strategic Planning Committees under the Board of Directors of OJSC Kyrgyzgas ...

NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Bishkek, Kazakhstan, 08/14/2009 - Upon recommendation of OJSC MGN Asset Management a decision was made to establish Corporate Governance and Strategic Planning Committees under the Board of Directors of OJSC Kyrgyzgas ...

NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Bishkek, Kazakhstan, 08/14/2009 - Upon recommendation of OJSC MGN Asset Management a decision was made to establish Corporate Governance and Strategic Planning Committees under the Board of Directors of OJSC Kyrgyzgas ...

Gretchen Peters and I obviously disagree quite strongly on the strength of the relationship between opium cultivation and insurgency funding. That doesn’t mean this study she produced for the U.S. Institute of Peace isn’t worth reading, however:

In Afghanistan’s poppy-rich south and southwest, known links exist between Taliban insurgents and the drug traffickers who operate along the Pakistan border. The fact that the Taliban profit from opium is routinely mentioned in media reports, academic studies, and comments by U.S. government officials, yet there is little concrete detail available to the public and policymakers on how the insurgents interact with drug traders and profit from opium. To the extent that NATO forces, civilian officials, and aid organizations operating in the south and southwest lack data on the issue or have failed to analyze it, they function in a relative vacuum. With thousands more U.S. troops deploying to Afghanistan, joined by hundreds of civilian partners as part of Washington’s reshaped strategy toward the region, understanding how the Taliban profit from the opium trade could help build strategies to weaken the insurgents and to extend governance.

So far so good. The report is a lot of rehashing the material in her book, primarily the “survey” she kept mentioning. They interviewed three hundred people, though given the severe constraints on collection, I’d question whether it could be called a survey (i.e. it’s clearly not randomized, and given the literacy, or illiteracy, of the respondents, it’s unclear if they could answer the questions appropriately), but it still has some important things to say… and not say.

The problem is with the corner Ms. Peters has painted herself into. In the exchange we had after I panned her book, she admitted that other factors, such as government corruption, could play a potentially larger role in cultivating opium and in fueling the insurgency than mere drug smuggling, but her book was about the Taliban and al Qaeda, so that’s what she restricted her research to. That’s fine as far as it goes, but it’s a tacit admission that she’s deliberately covering only the convenient good-versus-evil side of the phenomenon, and not the morally complex political economy of the entire Afghan drug trade.

So we’re stuck with what could only be called an incomplete picture. And it is here where Ms. Peters needs to construct an air-tight case for why we should be concerned with opium as the primary driver of militancy in the country—something she just doesn’t do. For example, in this report, Ms. Peters repeats the UNODC’s estimate that the Taliban receive around half a billion each year from the opium trade—about seven times more money than the Defense Intelligence Agency and CIA just estimated they actually receive.

That being said, the DIA and CIA agree than the relatively paltry $70 million the insurgency does receive is sufficient to fund a lot of militancy. But here is where the other side of the “financial intelligence” coin comes into play: that’s probably less than half their operating budget if you factor in Gulf Region donations and grafting the reconstruction effort.

Which brings us back to the original disagreement I have with Ms. Peters: focusing on opium as the root of all evil only gets you, at the very most, a tiny sliver of the problem. And it certainly doesn’t assist with a solution, considering the role opium plays in driving the rural economy. So while we can hem and haw about how opium profits go right into the hands of Mullah Omar, if we ignore that those profits also go into the hands of Akhundzada, the Karzai family, Sherzai, and many others, then we’re deliberately blinding ourselves to the real magnitude of the problem.

Photo comes from this atrocity, of course.

Project takes 'God's love' to Kyrgyz Mountain
Troy Messenger
Blair has spent the summer in the Tien Shen, Kyrgyz Mountains of Naryn working with a group of Kyrgyz ecologist who are “intent on preserving their ...

Central Asia is convenient term, but what does it mean?  For Registan.net, it often stretches south to include Afghanistan, east to include Xinjiang, and north to include Kazakhstan.  Kazakhstan might seem a natural inclusion, but in the Soviet Union it was considered apart, and maps that included it were generally labeled “Kazakhstan and Central Asia.”  [Казахстан и Средная Aзия]

Still, the five former Union Republics of the Soviet Union that make up most of Turkistan [Түркiстан in Kazakh] have a lot in common.  And yet, like siblings close in age they are perennially at odds, and only united by powers from without.

There is an excellent article on this meme as it manifested most recently within the SCO over at RFE/RL.  The SCO and the accompanying CSTO have been on rocky ground for the past several years, though neither was originally a strong organization.

The states of Central Asia have been known to frequently tout their close relations though pledges of eternal friendship. And, aside from Turkmenistan, they take part in regional groupings such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and Collection Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

They are both attempts to form unity in a region torn apart by individualistic and opportunistic exploitations run by governments wholly entwined in national business interests.  There is a similar story focusing on the Uzbekistan/USA/CSTO relationship over at the Asia Times.  Here’s an excerpt, but read the whole thing:

Unsurprisingly, Moscow has prioritized its ties with Bishkek and Dushanbe. Although Uzbekistan is a much bigger country, from the perspective of the Afghan problem (and regional security), Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are vital assets. A base in southern Kyrgyzstan enables Moscow to hold the region’s jugular veins, apart from insulating Bishkek and Dushanbe from their Uzbek Big Brother. Kazakhstan has acquiesced with the Russian move.

Reuters via the New York Times chimes in as well, pointing out that the thaw between the USA and Uzbekistan has forced Uzbekistan to drift out of Moscow’s sphere of influence.  This offers the beginning of an explanation for Uzbekistan’s harsh criticism of Russia’s planned military build-up of southern Kyrgyzstan.  Naturally, Kyrgyzstan is hoping to have some protection from their Uzbek Big Brother, and has responded in kind to Uzbekistan’s protests.

Proof that the issue is more complex than it at first appears, Russia has actually stepped in to placate Uzbekistan.  Kyrgyzstan’s President Bakiev even stressed that the new military installation would not be a ‘base,’ but a training center for anti-terrorism, something useful for the region as a whole.  I don’t expect this to convince anyone, and the recent events at Khanabad at the Uzbek/Kyrgyz border are definitely the elephants in the room.

Uyghur Diaspora Faces Government Pressure in Kyrgyzstan
Jamestown Foundation
On August 10, Kyrgyz authorities detained Dilmurat Akbarov, the leader of the Ittipak Uyghur society, and his deputy Jamaldin Nasyrov. ...
KYRGYZSTAN: US AIR HUB AT MANAS BUSIER NOW THAN BEFOREEurasiaNet
Kyrgyzstan Establishes Agency To Assist Kyrgyz MigrantsRadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
Kyrgyz Authorities Deport Dozens Of Chinese NationalsTimes of Central Asia (subscription) (subscription)
Times of Central Asia (subscription) -Trend News Agency -Times of Central Asia (subscription) (subscription)
all 10 news articles »

FERGANA VALLEY: STRINGENT BORDER MEASURES FUELLING TENSION IN ENCLAVES
EurasiaNet
A recent clash on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border is highlighting a simmering social problem found in and around the Fergana Valley's many isolated enclaves. ...

A recent clash on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border is highlighting a simmering social problem found in and around the Fergana Valley’s many isolated enclaves. Public frustration is mounting over the inability of officials in the region to grapple with ...

A recent clash on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border is highlighting a simmering social problem found in and around the Fergana Valley’s many isolated enclaves. Public frustration is mounting over the inability of officials in the region to grapple with ...

A recent clash on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border is highlighting a simmering social problem found in and around the Fergana Valley’s many isolated enclaves. Public frustration is mounting over the inability of officials in the region to grapple with ...