Tag Archives: politics

Kyrgyz PM sacks two ministers

SEPT. 18 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz PM Djoomart Otorbayev sacked two cabinet ministers, minister of culture Kamila Taliyeva and interior minister Abdyldy Suranchiyev, his first major reshuffle since taking over the job in March.

The sackings are a nod to public dissatisfaction with the government, with reports growing that many ministers are hanging on to their jobs by a thread.

But they may be less about improving the efficiency of government and more about preparations for next year’s parliamentary elections. With a winter energy crisis expected to put pressure on both President Almazbek Atambayev, affiliated to the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan, and Mr Otorbayev, loosely associated with the socialist Ata-Meken party, dropping a few unpopular officials makes political sense.

Kyrgyz media reported that both the sacked ministers where disliked, making them easy scapegoats for failings across government but personnel changes are unlikely to spare the government public frustration if the winters are as cold as expected, especially with Kyrgyzstan’s power production struggling.

Ulugbek Erkeshev, a Kyrgyz political journalist, said he has seen it all before.

“At a time when they need to be working together as a government around the clock they are passing portfolios around,” he said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 201, published on Sept. 24 2014)

Kazakhstan tries to balance all sides over Ukraine

SEPT. 23 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan is having to play a precarious balancing game to keep competing interests in and around Ukraine happy, Kazakh foreign minister Erlan Idrissov said in an interview with Reuters in New York.

Mr Idrissov was in the United States to meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry to reaffirm the two countries’ friendly ties.

The complexity of Kazakhstan’s position is not just down to its geographically position but also because of its membership of the Kremlin-led Customs Union.

“We as a matter of principle support an independent, sovereign, forward-looking, advancing politically and economically Ukraine. That is the core of our policy towards Ukraine,” Mr Idrissov said in the interview.

“We take no sides.”

The United States and the EU have imposed economic sanctions on Russia which has slowed its economy and triggered a knock-on effect on neighbouring Central Asia. Russian economic growth powers Central Asian economies.

Mr Idrissov underlined the impact of sanctions on Kazakhstan. “The crisis prevents the entire area from focusing on economic development and delivering well-being to the population,” he said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 201, published on Sept. 24 2014)

Kazakhstan trademarks the palace

SEPT. 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – It looks like the Kazakh president’s office is becoming more commercially-minded.

Media reported that it has trademarked the Akorda, or the presidential palace, and a handful of other buildings in Astana.

One of the trade-marked images of the blue-domed Akorda show the sun rising behind it, rays of light shining over its roof.

It’s unclear, currently, just what the presidential administration plan to do with the trademark other than boost the image of the building itself.

The Akorda, which means White Horde, was built in 200 and lies at the centre of Astana, the city at the focus of President Nazarbayev’s vision for Kazakhstan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)

Political row bubbled in Georgia

SEPT. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tension between Georgia’s President, Giorgi Margvelashvili, and its PM, Irakli Garibahvili appeared to bubble to the surface. Mr Margvelashvili accused Mr Garibashvili of thwarting his attempt to speak at the UN by planning his own address at the UN General Assembly. Growing tension between the presidency and the PM is important to monitor.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)

Kulov desires to rename Kyrgyzstan

SEPT. 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Perhaps wanting an eye-catching policy to launch his campaign for next year’s parliamentary election, former Kyrgyz PM Feliks Kulov, a nationalist, has called for a referendum on renaming Kyrgyzstan as Kyrgyz El Republic, media reported. Mr Kulov said the suffix stan is an alien Persian word for country.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)

Ex-Georgian PM shows influence

SEPT. 15 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Although he is no longer Georgia’s PM, Bidzina Ivanishvili is still — probably — the most influential person in Georgian politics.

Mr Ivanishvili put together the Georgian Dream coalition that wrestled full control of Georgian politics from former president Mikheil Saakashvili, first in parliament, then in the presidential palace and then in town halls across the country.

In a rare newspaper interview published on Sept. 15, Mr Ivanishvili underlined his importance to the Georgian political scene by revealing that current PM Irakli Garibashvili had asked for his advice before reshuffling his government cabinet earlier this year.

“Before the government reshuffle, Garibashvili asked for my opinion, but I did not show interest and did not tell him to act this or that way,” Mr Ivanishvili said.

But, despite this apparent disinterest, Mr Ivanishivili is still, clearly, planning on playing a major role in Georgian politics through two major new projects.

“I want to participate in analysing the ongoing processes and to engage in discussions about the Georgian society’s development strategy,” he said.

Georgia has been vocal in its support for Ukraine and its condemnation of Russia’s alleged aid to the separatist forces. Mr Ivanishvili underlined this viewpoint. He was also quick to compare what he described as the measured response of the current government to what he has previously described as the hot-headed responses of the Saakashvili administration.

“God saved us that they [Mr Saakashvili and his United National Movement Party] are no longer in power or else we could have seen Georgia involved in this war” he said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)

Uzbek election campaign starts

SEPT. 15 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Campaigning officially began in Uzbekistan for an election to its 150-seat parliament set for Dec. 21, media reported.The election is largely a formality as all the parties are pro- presidential. Uzbekistan has been described as one of the most repressive and least democratic countries in the world.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)

Turkmens protest in Ashgabat

AUG. 27 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Around 50 residents of an Ashgabat suburb blocked workmen from removing air conditioning units from their apartment block, media reported, a rare public protest in Turkmenistan. Turkmen officials have ordered apparently unsightly air conditioning units to be removed from apartment blocks despite the souring summer temperatures.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 198, published on Sept. 3 2014)

Georgia wants Red Notice for Saakashvili

AUG. 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s authorities are piling pressure on former president Mikheil Saakashvili by asking Interpol to issue a so-called Red Notice for his arrest, media reported. A Red Notice doesn’t force countries to arrest Mr Saakashvili but it pushes his profile to the top of the wanted list.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 198, published on Sept. 3 2014)

Kyrgyz nation-building film aims for Oscars

SEPT. 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – On Independence Day, people in Bishkek crammed into cinemas to watch a film geared towards nation-building.

The film’s organisers think the film has a shot at the Best Foreign Film Category at the Oscars. Kurmandjan Datka, Queen of the Mountains received $1.5m from the threadbare republican budget and was part-organised by nationalist MP, Zhyldyz Zholdosheva.

The Kyrgyz-language picture, telling the story of a female clan ruler during the time of the Russian empire, was generally well received, although one viewer, 21-year old Maxat Dukenbayev, said it was some way short of Nomad, a Kazakh state-made epic with 25 times Kurmanjan Datka’s budget and featuring B-List Hollywood actors.

“That didn’t come close to an Oscar,” he said, standing outside Bishkek’s October Cinema.

Not that Nomad did either.

Still, Zholdosheva, who gained a reputation as an outspoken nationalist in the aftermath of ethnic violence between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in 2010 declared herself ready to win an Oscar.

Elsewhere, on a grassy stretch outside Bishkek’s Panfilov Park, scores of Kyrgyz families grilled skewered kebabs and took in national beer.

Kyrgyz films celebrating its independence, seemingly, are not for everyone.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 198, published on Sept. 3 2014)