Comments on: The End of the Beginning

By: blog.neweurasia.net » Blog Archive » Blogosphere Roundup

blog.neweurasia.net » Blog Archive » Blogosphere Roundup — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 17:24:35 +0000

[...] Kyrgyzstan: Betsy writes about everyday deceptions in Kyrgyz life on her blog A Moveable Feast. Whether it’s a headmaster arguing about the colour of a pen or a full restaurant without gas to cook, many things in Jalalabad are just not what they seem if you dare to dig a little deeper. Betsy wonders whether she’ll take her doublecheck-attitude back home to America. Larry Tweed aka The Kyrgyzstan Kid has a lyrical mouth-watering post on shashlik (the Central Asian kebab). After last year’s turmoil in Kyrgyzstan, the country is still struggling to return to normality. The soap opera that has dominated political life ever since the toppling of the former government is beginning to unease observers. What is the outlook for the future? James of neweurasia and Gene of The Registan hold different opinions. Vyacheslav in Bishkek has set himself the objective of earning $1,400 before April 5th. He is working on commission in a local business and promises to update the readers about his progress on his blog, moneysuck.com. [...]

By: Global Voices Online » Blog Archive » Voices from Central Asia and the Caucasus

Wed, 15 Feb 2006 02:25:00 +0000

By: Gene Daniels

Gene Daniels — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 01:49:39 +0000

The purchase of weapons I mentioned is simply a topic that has often come up in conversations with people; taxi drivers, workers in bazaars, etc when I ask them about their feelings on the security in the country. My observations on this point are just that, observations.

And to answer Kudus question about purpose of these purchases, offensive or defensive, in each case it was in the context of a perceived lack of societal security, or the need to defend oneself and family. So we would say that they were thinking defensively.

However, while that is basically a good thing, the line between “defense”
and “offense” is more semantic than ontological in a context where there is
instability, deep ethnic distrust, and memories of 1990 in Osh.

By: Global Voices Online » Blog Archive » Kyrgyzstan: Chaos in the Mountains

Tue, 14 Feb 2006 01:48:56 +0000

[...] James of neweurasia and Gene Daniels of Registan.net have different takes on political turmoil in Kyrgyzstan. [...]

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 01:20:10 +0000

Gene, is the purchase of weapons a survey question or something? Does the survey ask why? It seems likely that the purchase of weapons by non-Kyrgyz may be for defensive reasons rather than offensive. Hearing of ethnic clashes, it may have gotten some people of minority groups worried enough to pack heat. This isn’t a good sign for sure, but wis better than those weapons being purchased by groups for offensive reasons.

By: Gene Daniels

Gene Daniels — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 00:41:57 +0000

To reply to Kudas question about where the information about large numbers of non-Kyrgyz purchasing weapons, the short answer is it is from personal responses. I am an ethnographic researcher in Kyrgyzstan, and I have personally recieved many reports of weapons purchases since the revolution, esp. from non-Kyrgyz such as Uzbeks and Kurds.

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 00:33:21 +0000

You know, I do think that people are being perhaps too critical with things so early on. Compared to Ukraine and Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, as an Asian nation, has had practially no exposure to democracy and has much less international help from full-fledged democracies. There was bound to be turmoil after the revolution – there no way ANY leader could have prevented some of this turmoil without shooting a lot people. It’s unfair to judge things without this context.

Things certainly could be better; Bakiev doesn’t seem to be the most competent, pro-democracy leader in the world. However, what’s in the headlines this week in Central Asia? The Kyrgyz speaker calls the president a dog on TV and isn’t immeditately locked up in prison like would happen in any neigboring country, and many top interior ministry positions are purged after an uproar. Meanwhile in Kazakhstan an opposition leader is murdered, in Uzbekistan the trials of Umarov and Khidoyatova go on, and in Turkmenistan pensions are slashed and an old man is put in jail for getting upset about it.

As long as the government can hold the country together, a big if, I think Kyrgyzstan is better positioned for development in the long term than it was before the revolution.

By: kyrgyzstan.neweurasia.net » Blog Archive » Turmoil in the Mountains

kyrgyzstan.neweurasia.net » Blog Archive » Turmoil in the Mountains — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 22:46:19 +0000

[...] Gene at Registan has another perspective on Kyrgyzstan’s prospects. [...]

By: Kuda

Kuda — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 14:26:59 +0000

Hi there,

A few points. You noted that “large numbers of non-Kyrgyz citizens report having purchased weapons in the last 6-8 months”. I have not heard this exactly, but I am no doubting it outright. A question; where has this been reported? And are the numbers large? Where are the non-Kyrgyz from?

Gene liked the insight though. Do you see a North-South split happening in the near future? I fear summer may bring more widespread disturbances.