Tag Archives: society

Kazakh politician says DNA samples will uncover gays

SEPT. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The message was clear.

In front of a coarse sign with a line running through it showing two stickmen having gay sex beside the warning “Homosexualism is a threat to the nation”, Kazakh politician Dauren Babamuratov, leader of a small nationalist faction in parliament, called on the government to ban gay men from holding various positions in parliament. He also claimed that blood samples could determine the sexual orientation of a person.

“I think it is very easy to identify a gay person by his or her DNA,” he said according to media.

“A blood test can show the presence of degeneratism in a person.”

His comments will find support in Kazakhstan where anti-homosexual sentiment is running high.

Last month a poster for an Almaty gay club depicting Russian poet Alexander Pushkin and Kazakh composer Kurmangazy Sagyrbayuly sparked an uproar.

There have been moves in Kazakhstan to introduce the type of laws that Russian already has in place that bans the discussion of homosexuality in schools.

Attitudes towards homosexuality in Kazakhstan have improved over the past few years. A handful of gay friendly bars have popped up but the homosexual community is still wary of flaunting itself too publicly.

Earlier this year, The Conway Bulletin carried a report from outside a nightclub in Almaty that described verbal abuse being hurled at people standing in the queue to enter the club.

Relatively, though, Almaty is the most liberal city for gay rights in Central Asia. Homosexuals from across the region tend to migrate to Almaty to work and live as there is a degree of tolerance. In most other cities in the region, homosexuals are often beaten in the street.

ENDS

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

Armenian invests in education

SEPT. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s parliament ratified two loan deals with the International Development Association (IDA) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) worth $30m to modernise the state education system, media reported.

ENDS

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

The World Nomadic Games strike a Kyrgyz chord

CHOLPON-ATA/Kyrgyzstan, SEPT. 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — In front of a packed hippodrome in this provincial town of shores of the mountain-ringed Lake Issyk Kul, Kyrgyzstan A beat Kyrgyzstan B to win gold in the main event of Kok-Boru at this inaugural Nomadic Games.

Amid the enthusiastic roars of local Kyrgyz, foreign diplomats cheered on half-heartedly between snipes about graft and the hippodrome’s overloaded portaloos.

While the World Nomadic Games was designed to unite all countries of the Turkic-speaking world, it retained a very local flavour throughout, with the hosts cruising to victory in the medal table — the majority of the competitors were Kyrgyz — and poor planning abounding. None of the presidents of the competing states — Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — showed up as hoped before the games began.

The Kok-Boru on July 14 was spectacular, however. Exhibition games of Kok-Boru, a polo-like game played with a dried goat carcass, are common at tourist-focussed festivals throughout the country. This one was far more competitive, with the captain of Kyrgyzstan’s A team sporting a battle-inflicted gash across his forehead as he lead his team to victory over the B team.

Russia’s federal Altai Republic and Turkey claimed silver and bronze in the event respectively. Following a reported disagreement over the rules of Kok-Boru — or Kokpar to the Kazakhs — neighbouring Kazakhstan refused to send a team.

Also on Sept. 14, to the chuckles of local spectators, horses belonging to former Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov claimed the bronze and silver medals for the 2.5 km flat race. Babanov’s weakness for stallions is legendary.

He was jettisoned from the government amid rumours he had accepted a racehorse a bribe for securing a foreign investment for a Turkish businessmen in 2013.

ENDS

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

Gas price in North Kyrgyzstan to drop

SEPT. 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The price of gas in north Kyrgyzstan will drop by up to 40% because of extra supplies, the head of Gazprom, now owners of Kyrgyzgaz, Alexei Miller said according to media. Although Mr Millar’s comments will be welcomed in the north, caution should be added. The dangerous north-south divide in Kyrgystan may be increasing.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 199, published on Sept. 10 2014)

Hailing a London taxi in Baku

BAKU/Azerbaijan, SEPT. 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – — People hailing a taxi Baku, Azerbaijan’s increasingly glitzy capital, will be forgiven for not realising the link with Coventry, an industrial city in the middle of England.

Coventry is the headquarters of the London Taxi Company which makes the world famous London black cabs. Azerbaijan ordered 1,000 of the cabs ahead of Eurovision song contest in 2012. Today, the purple, rather than black cabs, can be seen lining Baku’s smarter streets.

In a country where corruption is rife, the London cabs — which run on a reliable meter just like in the UK — are proving popular.

Transparent clear pricing is key in a market where unlicensed cabs charge on a whim. Baku Taxi Company who look after the taxis, is also obtaining advice on driver training.

Outside Baku’s new luxury hotels, these purple — this was apparently Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev’s colour choice — cabs line up for custom, nearly all of them carrying the flame and wing emblem of Baku’s 2015 European Games on their sides.

The inaugural European Games is another ploy by the Azerbaijani authorities to rebrand and attract international attention for the right reasons.

Whereas locals know how to barter with local, unlicensed cabs, visitors and international guests staying in the more upmarket hotels don’t, or at least they prefer not to.

Instead the familiar surroundings of the London cabs suits them better. For locals with the cash, there is prestige in hailing a cab and arriving in these smart novelty taxis.

Others, though, are sceptical. The bellboy at the JW Marriott hotel implied it was simply tokenism that appealed most.

“They are unique here and are just not something that have ever been offered in Baku before,” he said. Perhaps, but they still appear both popular and here to stay.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 199, published on Sept. 10 2014)

Anti-mining protests in Kyrgyzstan

AUG. 28 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – In two separate demonstrations, hundreds of protesters in Kyrgyzstan blocked roads to try and stop production at an iron ore mine and an oil refinery, media reported. In both cases, the protesters claimed the sites were damaging the environment, a well-used tactic by protesters wanting to stop industrial production.

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