Author: Keith Delbert Turner

Lawmakers in Kyrgyzstan mostly seem to agree that the West is bad news. Just to make sure, though, more than two dozen of them are at present applying for long-term visas to the United States. This inconsistency has sparked claims over rampant hypocrisy in a legislative chamber where members frequently condemn perceived Western values, while themselves not-so-secretly enjoying them. The revelation that as many as around 30 Jogorku Kenesh deputies may be pursuing U.S. visas was broken on June 6 by MP Marlen Mamataliyev, who leads the government-aligned Yntymak faction. Mamataliyev said that the nine members of his faction are already in…

The Kyrgyz Republic will host the Central Asian Youth Forum in August, announced the Chairman of the country’s Youth Congress, Askar Shaikiddinov, during the Central Asian regional conference in Tashkent, reported Kyrgyz news agency Kabar on April 15.  Shaikiddinov described it as an essential platform for developing diplomatic and friendly cooperation among young people of Central Asian countries. In his view, descendants and youth from Central Asia that have lived in peace for generations continue to work closely in various fields because of the similar mentalities, customs, traditions, culture, language, and history. “These ties and public diplomacy serve as a bridge to strengthen…

One of the smallest countries in Europe has the highest number of soldiers per capita. This situation is dissected in “Swiss Citizen Soldiers,” one of the six high-end documentaries that will arrive on the circuit in the coming months, and were pitched at the Swiss Films Previews at Visions du Réel, in Nyon, Switzerland. SWISS CITIZEN SOLDIERS “Switzerland has 200,000 soldiers, by far the most per capita in Europe, and most of these soldiers are switching between their job and military service. Almost a third of them have their roots in another country”: this is the starting point of “Swiss…

Near the Issyk-Kul Lake in the eastern mountains of the Kyrgyz Republic lies Jyrgalan, a village of 1,000 inhabitants. The scenic village was once a hidden gem but is quickly gaining traction as a tourist destination, with biking and hiking trails having multiplied. But this is posing challenges such as increased waste generation, including plastics. With the support of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Jyrgalan has inaugurated its first waste collection facility, a crucial step towards achieving sustainable development and tourism. The new facility, established through the pilot project “Sustainable Tourism and Management of Plastic and Food Waste” within…

Minister of Emergency Situations Boobek Ajikeev conducted an inspection of bank protection work along the Chu River, which divides the border between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, the Ministry’s press service reported. Erosion caused by loose soil is leading to changes in the riverbed and the border itself. To address this issue, it’s planned to construct five facilities aimed at strengthening the left bank of the Chu river. 50 million soms have been allocated for the construction of two of these facilities. The bank protection works are scheduled to take place in Kamyshanovka village in Sokuluk district and Verhniy-Chui rural municipality in…

Kaparov’s lawyer, Bakytbek Avtandil, told RFE/RL on April 11 that his client was diagnosed with an inflammation of the gallbladder and that surgery will be performed on him in the coming days.Kaparov is one of 26 rights defenders, journalists, activists, and politicians — members of so-called Kempir-Abad Defense Committee — who were arrested in late October last year after they protested against a Kyrgyz-Uzbek border demarcation deal. Under the accord, Kyrgyzstan in November handed over the territory of the Kempir-Abad water reservoir, which covers 4,485 hectares, to Uzbekistan in exchange for over 19,000 hectares of land elsewhere.Those arrested were charged…

As Umarov handed in his documents at the migration department, a clerk asked him if he would consider joining the Russian military.”She said if I became a contract soldier I’d no longer need a residency permit or a work permit and could get a Russian passport after six months of military service. I would also earn about $3,000 a month,” Umarov claimed.He said the employee who spoke to him at the migration center was an ethnic Tajik.”She spoke Tajik with me. I don’t know if they hired a Tajik employee specifically to speak to Tajik migrants, and Uzbek clerks for…

“The annual volume of import of electricity is planned around 500-550 million kWh. This will depends on throughput capacity of energy grid of Kazakhstan. I can’t publicize the price, but it is normal,” the Deputy Minister of Energy said. “We do not go too much with import, we ration it. We expect good hydrological cycle this year,” Deputy Minister Sultanbekov said. Import of electricity from Russia is necessary for diversification of supplies, he said. “Import of electricity from Russia is diversification of options. We have elaborated electricity supplies with Turkmenistan. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are countries with which we have…

Kanat Dzhumagaziev has been appointed a Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic in Chui region. Press service of the head of state reported. Sadyr Japarov signed a corresponding decree. The head of the department for preparation of decisions of the President and the Cabinet of Ministers of the administration of the head of the Kyrgyz Republic Aibek Dzhunushaliev presented the new leader to the region’s activists. By another decree, Iliyaz Tashkulov was appointed the head of Sokuluk district. Earlier, Sadyr Japarov dismissed Nuril Alymbaev and Kurbanbai Aitibaev from their posts due to failure to comply with the presidential decree on land amnesty. Source: 24 KG