Yesterday I met Sultan, who does a business in China, and talked about uniting the political active and interested in this sphere youth around the world, who thinks that Kyrgyzstan is his/her motherhood. The first step for this could be creating social website, like facebook or myspace, where there will be the main aim - to create a team among the participants. Does anyone have any ideas concerning this?

I was planning to Visit Washington D.C. this summer, but it’s failed. I was going to give up of something, but still couldn’t. I wanted to improve my english, but couldn’t find a time for that. I was planning to post every day to this blog, but also didn’t! So, sorry 4 everything

The results from the latest Libertarian Lists survey are complete.  Thanks to everyone who participated in the online poll.

• Ron Paul Factor
• Libertarian Party Presidential Race
• Tabled results from the general libertarian movement
• Tabled results from LP members and delegates

Enjoy!

LibertarianLists — a Small Government Solutions project

Tags: Libertarianism, Libertarian list

Killing the time learning new features of some web 2.0. projects

Putin and Medvedev sit in a restaurant. Putin: “I’ll have the steak.” Waiter: “And what about the vegetable?” Putin: “He’ll take the steak too.” (LATimes)

So, as awaited, Medvedev won. He won because he went with Putin. For most of the Russians Putin - new Jesus Christ, that saved Russia, which is also trying to save the world from “US hegemony in the world”. The United States of America and its champion countries are the main enemy that “want to destroy the country of russians”.

I was not going to talk about this issue. I just wanted to question if the declared unity of Medvedev and Putin works. Actually, there takes a place differences between these two people: Putin was KGB agent, but Medvedev not - he was enterpreuner, law professor and etc. Does Medvedev want to be always under powerful Putin? Can the phrase “handpicked successor” be addressed to him?

Hey folk! I’m again here, and it was not easy not to write a blog :).

So, just a couple of words. Tomorrow I’m leaving Bishkek, and flying through Tashkent to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I have already been there once, but that was only in an airport, and that’s all.

So, tomorrow I am coming to this country for a longer time: more than 10 days. I think I’ll have a good rest, probably my knowledge will be improved and etc :).  If anyone from KL wants to meet, just comment and leave your contacts. Thanks.

KYRGYZ

This summer my family trekked to Kyrgyzstan at the invitation of Mirsulzhan Namazaliev, m.namazaliev@gmail.com,
Co-chairman of the Liberal Youth Alliance and Aida Alymbaeva, Chair of
the Social Research Center of the American University of Central Asia, http://src.auca.kg.
Elnura Adylova, sister to one of my best former students, Erkin Adylov,
hosted us at her home during the visit and, along with Mirsulzhan,
guided us through the spectacular mountain and lake country. These two
were absolutely the greatest friends one could ever have.

Mirsulzhan kindly introduced us to the UNV’s Summer Democracy School, www.bdk.kg;
Cholpon Nogoibaeva, President of the Bishkek Liberal Club,
http://www.akipress.org/_htm/blc.htm; and the Liberal Platform of
Action and the Club of Young Liberals, www.liberal.kg.

Our quest was to seek out the long lost copies of the Kyrgyz edition of
JG. This was a project of the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) at the
American University in Kyrgyzstan. Zarina Osmonaliev, at one time the
Sam Walton Fellow for SIFE at AUCA, helped us to resurrect these books.
Mirsulzhan and Ulukbek described a plan to use these in the villages to
promote economics education.

Mirsulzhan is one of the most energetic, intellectual, and
bold of libertarian activists I have met anywhere in the world. He was
in the midst of the demonstrations that recently brought a change in
the government and he will surely be the instrument in future reforms
throughout Central Asia.

RUSSIAN

Most people in the cities of Kyrgyzstan speak and read Russian instead
of the traditional Kyrgyz language. This seems true in most of the
former Soviet Republics of Central Asia. Thus, it is with keen interest
that we look forward to publication of the new, revised Russian
editions of JG.

Source: http://www.jonathangullible.com/newsletter.htm

Powered by ScribeFire.

I’d recommend you all visit a new central asian website, administered by AkiPress Agency (Kyrgyzstan). http://www.ca-news.org/ . ALl the best!

I have already read an article “Hope Amid Turmoil in Latin America?” at the Atlas Foundation web-site, written by Alejandro A. Chafuen. It was in a PDF format, thus I cannot make an active link for that. My first impression from reading it was about the courage of free-market oriented people in Latin American anti-capitalist, anti-american countries, such as Venezuela, Argentina, and Bolivia.

He says that:

“During the 1970s, and almost until the crumbling of the Soviet Union, the enemies of freedom had a much more positive outlook for their cause. The ideas of liberty seemed doomed; national central planning, inevitable. Private property had to be strongly curtailed; Marxism was being blessed at the pulpit. Although left-wing movements had different flavors in different countries, they had a unifying philosophy that told them that they were the wave of the future”.

Then he adds the ideas that are fueling the attacks on liberty today are less optimistic, less appealing. So, freedom is becoming a winner gradually. The amount of Free-Market champions is growing, and at this time, Universities do not afraid to invite market-oriented intellectuals to have a speech for students. Instituto de Estudos Empresariais, free-market oriented young professional’s union, organizes the largest in the world conference on Free-Market, inviting people around the world for it. So, let me congratulate you guys, we are, even if slowly, but winning!

Hello World!

I’ve realized I am so irresponsible in my own words. I promised to keep posting regularly, but in fact, I wasn’t writing here for a long time.

Before, when I was writing here very often, I had a strategy: If I didn’t write anything in English, I shouldn’t write anything in my Russian blog. But, as you have seen I have not being following the rule, created and ratified by myself :).

So, from now I am going to recommence posting. Is there still anyone who reads this blog? If not, then I am going to do posts intensively :). I am of course kidding.

By the way, guys, could you help me with one thing. Do you remember I was telling about my English course? So I have gained some good results. Do you see? Do I still have huge mistakes? Or I do have only a lot of mistakes? If you see any of my mistakes, let me know: It is really important for me.

By the way, I have a one idea. It is really idealistic and unbelievable. But, regretfully I will not tell you about my idea, I am so introvert person :).

Ok. I will try to be more serious (I cannot because I am so exhausted today :).

Last days I was working at renovating our web-site of liberal values in Kyrgyzstan. I hope you will have loved it. If you have a time, just look at it, and give me feedbacks: www.liberal.kg. I have added there blog platform, some other functions. And there is a possibility for networking: friendship and other services do work.

I had also carried out the First Meeting of Liberal Youth Club. That was nice. A lot of smart young guys were talking as good as just politicians. Imagine? So, we are going to untwist it farther. I hope it will become as a young think-tank, no, as a platform for young intellectuals.

Oh, yeah, I already was going to forget. We are also organizing the Central Asian Workshop on New Media (blogging). It will take place in Bishkek from 1-3 November, 2007.

See you,
Mirsulzhan

Men with Kyrgyz headgear at Murgab (Pamir, Tajikistan);

These photoes are taken from the Flickr of retlaw snellac.

 I thank Ben who has edited this post and published at Global Voices Online and Neweurasia (Originally published at Global Voices and Neweurasia). It was nice to collect opinions of people through the kyrgyz blogs.

 The citizens of Kyrgyzstan, a nominally Muslim country, have an interesting history with Islam: While the nomadic Kyrgyz haven’t really been introduced to the religion before the 18th century, Kyrgyzstani Uzbeks from the Ferghana Valley practice a more traditional form of Islam. During the Soviet era, religion was pushed to the sidelines of society, but Islam has seen some revival since Kyrgyzstan’s independence in 1991, again mostly in the southern rural parts of the country.

Hajj pilgrims heading to Mecca from Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan. By Flickr user teokaye.

Last week, Kyrgyzstani bloggers were worried about the threat of Islamisation in their country. The debate was the result of an interdepartmental commission’s decision to allow Muslim women to wear hijabs for their passport photographs.

The decision of the commission was based on a claim that Islam prohibits women to uncover their heads and ears in front of unknown males. “We feel discomfort when we go through border control. The airport personnel demands us to take off our hijabs instead of introducing special rooms and having women personnel checking us”, Islamic representatives were quoted as saying.

However, most Kyrgyz bloggers are concerned about the decision and its implications.

Elena Skochilo (LJ user morrire), one of the most popular Kyrgyz bloggers, has quoted news, and said:

Упорной оказалась дочка Фронтбека, добилась своего…
The daughter of Frontbek seems pretty stubborn. She has achieved what she wanted…

By “daughter of Frontbek”, Elena refers to Jamal Frontbek Kyzy, who is the chairwoman of the Progressive Public Union of Women “Mutakallim”. This Islamic organisation has become one of the initiators of the “Hijab Process” and unites over 40,000 supporters.

Mirsulzhan, writing for neweurasia, added:

Такие организации, включая другие подобные структуры, как “Жанырык” финансируются арабским миром.
Such kind of organizations [Mutakallim – ed.] including other structures such as “Jangyryk”, a youth movement, are financed by the Arabic World.

Alan Kubatiev, another blogger and famous publicist from Kyrgyzstan (LJ user alan-kubatiev), also supports the opinion of Mirsulzhan about the Islamic community’s fundraising resources.

Женщина по имени Фронтбек кызы, то есть дочь Фронтбека …, победила в долгой и изнурительной борьбе, где ее никто не поддерживал, кроме соратников и исламского сообщества. Зато последнее поддерживало очень неслабыми суммами.
Frontbek Kyzy has won a long and exhausting fight. She was not being supported by anyone but her closest aides and the Islamic community. But the latter had been supporting her with a sizeable chunk of money …

Mirsulzhan also noticed that Jamal Frontbek Kyzy and her organization had become very active recently. They were also against celebrating the Saint Valentine’s Day in Kyrgyzstan, he says.

… Жамал Фронтбек кызы сказала, что некоторые мусульманки против празднования Дня Святого Валентина в Кыргызстане: - <>.
… Jamal Frontbek Kyzy said some Muslim women are against celebrating the Valentine’s Day in Bishkek: - “I don’t support Valentine’s Day because 13-14-year old girls go to parties instead of bringing up children…”

“Mutakallim” has been also supporting the idea of some politicians to allow polygamy in Kyrgyzstan. Free Kyrgyzstan (LJ user free_kyrgyzstan) comments:

Интересно, если быть такими уж прямыми, то нельзя и по бабам ходить мусульманам. И перестать фотаться, Коран против изображений. Не хочется, что-то жить как в 19 веке…
Interestingly, if they’re serious about this, they should also ask for forbidding men dating women and stop taking photos, as the Koran is against pictures. I would not like to live in the 19th century…

Alan Kubatiev believes that Islamization in Kyrgyzstan is a serious threat:

Исламизация Киргизстана принимает все более настойчивые и ригидные формы. Огромное большинство принявших - невежественны и в самом исламе, знают его лишь от не менее безграмотных мулл и проповедников, агрессивны и маргинальны.
Islamisation in Kyrgyzstan is attaining a more strong and rigid form. The most part of religious people are ignorant, they were taught Islam only from illiterate mullahs and the pulpit, they are aggressive and marginal.

Alan Kubatiev also added that the poor often turn to Islamic organisations in order to receive material support from their community.

Государство отдало эту часть населения безропотно и с готовностью. Плоды, которые оно пожнет лет через семь-восемь, его очень удивят.
The State has written off this part of the population. The results of this neglect will be tremendous after seven-eight years .

An anonymous commentator on Elena Skochilo’s blog replied:

Это не “безобидное проявление себя в религии”. Это первый шаг на пути поголовной исламизации. Если так дальше пойдет в скором времени вас то же принудят носить платочек и принять ислам, причем вашего мнения и не спросят. У них слоган - вы с нами или против нас… Так что разрешение ношения хиджаба-платочка - это маленький шажок к горькому началу (или концу?).
This is not an “inoffensive display of one’s religion”. This is the first step towards an all-out Islamisation. If this will proceed then very soon you will be forced to wear headscarves and accept Islam. Their slogan is “if you are not with us then you are against us”… So allowing to wear the hijab on passport photos could be the beginning of the end.

Edil Baisalov, a Kyrgyz politician (LJ user baisalov), says that every women has a right for choice - wearing hijab or miniskirt.

Время порабощения слабого пола закончилось. Кыргызская женщина свободна. Отказывать ей в равных правах с мужчинами - это варварство. Арабский мир отстает в развитии, потому что 50 процентов женского населения этих стран неграмотны. Не может государство <>. А в Кыргызстане есть люди, желающие подрезать крылья стране.
The time of the enslavement of the “weak” gender is over. Kyrgyz women are free. To refuse them their equal rights with men is barbarism. The Arab world is behind us, because there, 50 percent of women are illiterate. A state cannot “fly with one wing”. There are some people in Kyrgyzstan who would like to take one wing off their country.

Others within the Kyrgyz blogosphere also support the idea of allowing hijabs on passport photos. Almurad from Osh (Kyrgyzstan’s southern capital, the more religious area of the country), comments on the post of Mirsulzhan at neweurasia.

Почему если девушка ходит в мини - это норма? А если девушка хочет обратное? Почему последнее не считается “Ведь, их действия являются лишь проявлением личной свободы…”, как в случае первой категории?
Why is it a “normal” thing if a girl wears a miniskirt? And what if a girl wants to wear a hijab? That is only their individual liberty, exactly as with the miniskirt!

Ataman Rakin, one of the most active commentators on neweurasia, does not think (RUS) that the Islamization of the country is a threat.

… pritshyom tut ‘ugroza’? A esli Islam dayot lyudi indetitshnost, dostoinstvo i sotsialnaya oborona protiv narkomania, massovoi alkogolism i nyneshnaya pornokratiya, eto ploxa shto li?
… Why is it a threat? If Islam gives people an identity, dignity and social defense against drugs, mass alcoholism and pornography – why is this bad?

Mirsulzhan of neweurasia replies:

Мне б сильно не хотелось видеть мою страну под игом авторитаризма, также как и под игом исламизма. Считаю наиболее рациональным в этом аспекте является западная демократия, либеральные ценности. Даже ислам не может защитить человечество от наркомании, алкоголизма и порнографии. Поскольку, эти факты имеют место также и в Иране, Арабских эмиратов и прочих стран. Зачем отнимать свободу, ведь несвободный человек будет творить вещи хуже, сто раз хуже…

I would neither like to see my country under authoritarianism nor under Islamism. I strongly believe the most rational choice we can make in this aspect is Western democracy, with its liberal values. Even Islam cannot defend humankind from drugs, alcoholism and pornography. Because these facts we can meet even in Iran, Arab Emirates and etc. Why do we need to steal someone’s liberty? People without liberty can do worse things, hundred times worse things…

The Shanghai Summit went off without a bang or even a fizzling noise of the Central Asian republics frying under the massive heat of their fellow members from Russia and China. Putin is an honest man according to many here. When pressed, people don’t have a good reason for how honest he is other than the “lack of corruption in Russia.” I’ll leave that out with no comment, this ain’t no political blog!, writes James, the another Peace Corps volunteer in Kyrgyzstan.

I see my blog is also specified on linking the posts of foreighners, live or came to Kyrgyzstan by travel. For today, I’ve found another interesting post of Lauren and Martin, Peace Corps Volunteers in Bishkek, about “konoks” (quests). They are here from July 2007. In the Kyrgyz Republic, Lauren will be serving as a secondary school English teacher. Martin will be working as a sustainable NGO developer.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of Kyrgyz societies is the tradition of konok, or guesting. Konok (gosti in Russian) is the process in which you go over and visit a neighbor. It generally involves tea and a lot of food. Usually, the person hosting offers their best food and sits the guests in the seat of honor, which is usually a raised seat at the end of the table. For Lauren, it is a little similar to the once tradition in Chile, except there is a lot more pressure to eat. Families invite others for konok for special occasions or just to make someone feel welcome in the neighborhood. So far, Lauren and I have gone on konok three times each and they are the times that we feel most welcome within our neighberhood.

I wanted to write something for round-up from Kyrgyzstan, but I see that there is no any interesting theme to discuss at the Kyrgyz Blogosphere…

One funny news I’ve found at 24.kg news agency. That is our MPs will be taught how to work with new labtops by European Union’s and UNDP’ parliament program.

So, there is planning to be a little modernization in the Jogorku Kengesh (Kyrgyz Parliament). Project experts are sure that labtops will improve voting procedure and avoid voting errors, as it was before. There will be a network of law database and MPs can easily find any legal and reference help :).

The ceremony of handing the equipment will be held in September, after the start of renewed parliament session.

Ben Maritz, who is travelling in Central Asia now, has written another post about the Water Policy of Kyrgyzstan and aggrevated relations of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan on this issue:

Kyrgyzstan’s greatest natural resource is its water, which flows down from its Tian Shan and Pamir mountains into the Syr Darya and Amu Darya (also known as the Oxus) rivers that lead to its neighbors. During the soviet era, this water was used mainly for the thirsty production of cotton in the valleys of Uzbekistan. Since independance in 1991, as the various central asian countries struggled to make the transition to market-based economies, each has been trying to monetize whatever assets the Stalin era gerrymandering left them with. For most countries, this is mostly natural gas. Kyrgyzstan, however, has no gas, and so has taken to trying to sell their water to their neighbors: threatening to dam up the rivers for power production if Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan do not provide cut-rate shipments of natural gas.

The predictable result of this has been a very tense relationship between the two countries, which has led to occasional border skirmishes and vastly restricted regioal commerce, hobbling Kyrgyztans economy, and making border crossings very difficult. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the regional politicial club, has made resolving water disputes a top priority, and some progress has been made, but still the main borders between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are closed — the two countries’ capitals are can be passed only thorugh Khazakstan.

I was telling you about the idea of pro-western vector of Kyrgyzstan’s development. Nargiza Yuldasheva, 24.KG reporter who also came to our meeting on creating a Liberal Club in Bishkek, wrote an interesting article “Where to go, whom to join”. You can read it below:

Where to go, whom to join…

20/08-2007 13:22, Bishkek – News Agency “24.kg”, By Nargiza YULDASHEVA

Kyrgyzstan, as any other young state, naturally is searching for own identity. From time to time we can observe how separate persons, groups or movements are offering their ideas regarding the topic and start promoting it. It is political parties the number of which in our small country reaches over 100. Religious organizations are also proposing to create caliphate. There are ideas of unions with Turkic world, Central Asian states, and the idea of confederation with Russia, but others propose to choose the Western vector of Kyrgyzstan’s development. Today we will talk about it.

German Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Klaus Grevlich said at the session of Bishkek liberal club that: “There are many basic features of democracy in Kyrgyz history. But there is the European Union, an interesting union in terms of sovereignty because it is the conglomerate of independent states. They learnt to cooperate with each other on voluntary basis and in this regards the union can be seen as truly innovative approach in modern history. I do not think that one have to copy it, but why not to come up with the idea that Kyrgyzstan becomes 28^th country of the EU?” Interesting, isn’t it?

Let me introduce you, Emilbek Kaptagaev, more known as the head of National Democratic Party “Uluu Bilimdik” (Great Union) and the director of Issyk-Kul biosphere territory. He and his party are actively lobbying idea of Kyrgyzstan’s entrance to the EU and orientation of the republic to standards of the Old World for two years already.

He said that “it is time for a new search and Kyrgyzstan should do it.” “There is no inspiring idea, internal energy in society, we are gradually rolling down to a standstill. We cannot stay for a long time in such standby mode because we are living in the period of colossal time compression – events of one year cover the whole epoch,” that is how he explained the necessity to join the EU.

Kaptagaev said that by 2010 Kyrgyzstan should bring domestic legislation in line with the Constitution and Charter of the EU and by 2020 (!) – to join the EU. But there is a logical question: is the EU ready to accept us with open arms. “For now probably it is not the time to talk about readiness of the EU to see us in the family. We have to think about ways which can take us there in the shortest term,” he said.

It is remarkable that the party proposes Kyrgyzstan to find its place in … Islamic world along with the European vector. “When over 85 per cent of the country are Muslims it is at least stupid to work out development strategy without taking into account tendencies of Islamic civilization’s development. If we want to have the united Kyrgyz nation, we have to strengthen out common faith,” he said. Kaptagaev believes that “Kyrgyzstan can show to the world the unique example of good combination of nomad civilization, Islamic spirituality and European standards of public development.

The leader of the Coalition for Democracy and Civic Society Edil Baisalov also proposed to choose European standards of development. But he wants Kyrgyzstan to join the Council of Europe instead of the EU. “Russia, Caucasian countries have already joined the union, and we have to try to join the organization, if we want higher level of culture, politics, legislation and other spheres of state management,” human rights activist said.

Baisalov said that entrance of Kyrgyzstan to the Council of Europe will open new opportunities for Kyrgyzstan and citizens. “We all know well how human rights are observed in Europe and I think that our society wants to live as free as Europe. Kyrgyzstan’s entrance to the council will let Kyrgyzstanis to turn to the Strasburg court for human rights without obstacles,” he said.

The member of Bishkek liberal club Timur Shaihutdinov calls such proposal “natural competition of elite groups.” “Even though perspective of Kyrgyzstan’s entrance to Europe seems an unachievable dream, the public discussion of the idea can become consolidating factor for significant part of the Kyrgyz society and political elite,” he said.

The expert also said that “the idea is not just desire to join the Old World, but also conscious choice of elite in favor of certain set of European values.”

Everybody will assess in own way to what extent the idea of joining the EU is utopian or real. But we should not forget such important factors in the society as regionalism, clanship and tribal division. Because it often happens that the very factors, but not political beliefs and viewpoints, form so called elite groups.

The president of the Institute for Public Policy Muratbek Imanaliev write in “Kyrgyzstan: project of future” article that one of the main requirements for creation of full-fledged Kyrgyz state is “functioning of gradual and painless changing elites.” He said that elites, as carriers and distributors of ideas should consolidate in the framework of “national dream.”

The expert also stressed that the development process not only of Kyrgyzstan, but also other countries is accompanied by “intensive activity of new players at the international arena – global, regional intergovernmental organizations, transnational corporations, and in the last two decades by transborder crime groups as well.” Thus, he calls “the skill to competently and timely use experience of “example” countries in own country” one of the most important objective for elite groups.

There are many ideas in the society as whom and how to join, and it seems that it is the beginning. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit which was held in Bishkek did not become an exception in this regard. However, Kyrgyzstanis are to be responsible for the choice of further development, because we are living here.

URL: http://eng.24.kg/viewpoints/2007/08/20/3131.html