WELCOME TO IWPR'S REPORTING CENTRAL ASIA, No. 510, October 2, 2007 KYRGYZSTAN TO GET NEW CONSTITUTION AT LAST After two years of argument about the constitution, President Bakiev is pushing through a quick solution although not everyone is happy with his vision of how Kyrgyzstan should be governed. By IWPR staff in Bishkek and London
SHOPS SHUT FOR TAJIK HARVEST Trade grinds to a halt in parts of southern Tajikistan as local officials order markets and shops to close so the workers can help bring in the cotton harvest. By Saidrahmon Nazriev and Biloli Shams in southern Tajikistan and Aslibegim Manzarshoeva in Dushanbe UZBEK REGION TIGHTENS UP ON COTTON The enticing prices fetched by cotton in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan means Andijan is particularly prone to smuggling. By an IWPR contributor in Central Asia SPICE ROW IN KYRGYZSTAN Thousands earn an income picking wild capers, but this new industry has spawned debate about sustainability, fair pay and government regulation. By Abdumomun Mamaraimov in Jalalabad PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS CENTRAL ASIA: JULY/AUG 07 Journalism teachers and students believe new IWPR manual will serve as an important training resource in the region. By Saule Mukhametrakhimova, Central Asia editor. **** IWPR RESOURCES ****************************************************************** IWPR ANNOUNCES FINALISTS OF 2007 KURT SCHORK AWARDS Please go to http://www.iwpr.net/kurtschork.html to find out more. SAHAR JOURNALISTS ASSISTANCE FUND: IWPR is establishing a fund, in honour of Sahar al-Haideri, to support journalist participants in its training and reporting programmes around the world. The Sahar Journalists Assistance Fund will be used to support local journalists in cases of exile or disability, or to assist their families in case of death in service. To find out more or donate please go to: http://www.iwpr.net/sahar.html NEWS BRIEFING CENTRAL ASIA is a new concept in regional reporting, comprising analysis and news behind the news in Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Available at: www.NBCentralAsia.net **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** REPORTING CENTRAL ASIA RSS: http://www.iwpr.net/en/rca/rss.xml TURKMEN RADIO: INSIDE VIEW is an IWPR radio training and broadcast project for Turkmenistan. View at: http://www.iwpr.net/?p=trk&s=p&o=-&apc_state=henh RECEIVE FROM IWPR: Readers are urged to subscribe to IWPR's full range of free electronic publications at: http://www.iwpr.net/index.php?apc_state=henh&s=s&m=p GIVE TO IWPR: IWPR is wholly dependent upon grants and donations. For more information about how you can support IWPR go to: http://www.iwpr.net/donate.html **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** KYRGYZSTAN TO GET NEW CONSTITUTION AT LAST After two years of argument about the constitution, President Bakiev is pushing through a quick solution although not everyone is happy with his vision of how Kyrgyzstan should be governed. By IWPR staff in Bishkek and London Kyrgyz citizens are due to vote in a national referendum next month that could finally put paid to two years of turbulent debate about what kind of constitution their country should have. However, many analysts interviewed by IWPR say a new constitution put forward by President Kurmanbek Bakiev leaves the balance of power with him rather than parliament, and does not advance the cause of democracy in Kyrgyzstan. Bakiev announced the October 21 referendum only a month beforehand, in a state-of-the nation speech he gave on September 19. The move was a response to a Constitutional Court ruling five days earlier that the current constitution, passed in December 2006, was null and void. The present said his hand had been forced by the courts decision. Quite frankly, that news was difficult for me to take, but once I had looked at the Constitutional Courts documents and conclusions, there was nothing left to do but and admit it was right and acknowledge that the law is supreme It should serve as a lesson to all of us. Bakiev used his speech to set out the main points of a new constitution which he wants people to vote on. It is unclear when and how this document was drafted, since the court ruling came as a surprise to many. If this draft is approved in the referendum, the current parliament or Jogorku Kenesh (Supreme Assembly), elected in early 2005, could be dissolved by the end of the year to make way for a new one. CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM A HIGHLY POLITICISED ISSUE The constitution has been at the centre of political debate since the March 2005 revolution which ousted the then president Askar Akaev from power. In October 2005, Bakiev, who had been elected president three months earlier, set up a constitutional conference with nearly 300 members, tasked with drawing up a new document. By December 2005, after months of work, there were multiple drafts of the constitution in circulation, but no conclusive result, and Bakiev decided to put the whole process on hold. Demands for constitutional reform then became a central rallying-point for the opposition, which accused Bakiev of failing to deliver on reform pledges and accumulating too much power. They wanted a new constitution to slash the authority of the head of state and give more powers to parliament instead. In November 2006, under pressure from large opposition demonstrations, the authorities agreed to a compromise document, which parliament swiftly adopted. This version of the constitution strengthened the role of parliament and limited the presidents authority. At the end of December, however, the constitution was reworked yet again and rapidly passed by parliament, reportedly after Bakiev threatened to dissolve the body if it did not comply with his wishes. The revisions largely re-established the status quo ante and restored most of the powers the president lost in the previous months version. The Constitutional Court ruling of September 14 said that neither the November nor the December 2006 constitutions counted as valid, because they were passed without reference to the court. Reviewing a case brought by two members of parliament, judges ruled that it was not lawful for the legislature to amend its rules of procedure to allow itself to pass constitutional amendments without referring them to the court. The court said that Kyrgyzstan must revert to the constitution of 2003 for the time being. NEW DOCUMENT STRENGTHENS ROLE OF PARTIES Outlining the new version, Bakiev said its main thrust was to increase the role political parties play in Kyrgyz political life. All elected members of parliament should be answerable to parties rather than being unaccountable and beyond anyones control, he said. At present, he argued, even a small number of deputies protecting local interests or the interests of a narrow group of businessmen can block the passage of important pieces of legislation, or push through laws that suit them. The proposed constitution draft would see the one-chamber legislature increase in size from 75 to 90 seats. That change is not new, but inherited from the December and November 2006 documents. However, whereas those versions envisaged that the old first-past-the-post electoral system would be replaced with proportional representation for just half the seats, the latest draft would see all seats filled by the new method, which is based on party lists. As Bakiev pointed out, in the Kyrgyz political environment, the first-past-the-post system has worked to the advantage of local strongmen rather than democracy. In past elections, he said, that has allowed votes to be bought, a divisive situation in every village and even every family , armed clashes between candidates supporters, pressure on election commissions and even the seizure of [buildings of] the judiciary. All this has to be stopped, he said. We need responsible parties which decide on a strategy of action and put their ideas and decisions into action. HARD FOR PARTIES TO WIN ABSOLUTE MAJORITY The change to full proportional representation will affect the way governments are formed, and Bakievs critics say he is placing himself in an unassailable position since it will be difficult for any one of Kyrgyzstans numerous political parties to win a parliamentary majority. Under the proposed system, if one political party wins over half of the 90 seats, it can nominate a prime minister for the presidents approval. With such a high hurdle for parties to meet, some analysts doubt any will be successful, so that Bakiev will be able to exercise the alternative provision which allows him to approach any party and ask it to form a government. According to political scientist Shairbek Juraev, the possibility that a marginal party could be asked to form a cabinet goes against the spirit of proportional representation. The whole idea behind shifting to a proportional system is that the government must have the support of parliament, he told IWPRs News Briefing CentralAsia agency. Moreover, he said, the parties room for manoeuvre is further restricted by the fact that there is no mechanism for them to build parliamentary coalitions in cases where none of them has an individual majority. However you want to describe this form of government, it will in practice be a presidential system, he said Juraev. PRESIDENT MAKES KEY APPOINTMENTS In his speech, Bakiev identified another element of the proposed constitution as being to strengthen the hierarchy of executive power, and give [regional and district] governors a greater role and more accountability, making them effectively into the presidents representatives on the ground. The new draft gives the president powers of appointment to most senior positions he approves a prime minister, whose name is put to him by parliament. The prime minister then comes up with a cabinet which the president again approves. The president also names the members of the National Security Council, and appoints and dismisses local judges. He also submits nominations to parliament for the posts of Constitutional Court and Supreme Court judges, the prosecutor general, the National Bank chief and the head of the Central Election Committee. The president has wide-ranging powers to dismiss some, but not all, senior officials without consulting the legislature. These include the prime minister, cabinet members, the prosecutor general, and the National Bank and Central Election Committee heads His critics argue that this leaves Bakiev and his successors as president with far too much power. This new draft constitution is aimed at creating a super-presidential system, since the president has all the leverage when it comes to appointments and dismissals, said Asiya Sasykbaeva, the head of the Interbilim rights group. Gulnara Iskakova, a constitutional law expert who is acting professor at the American University of Central Asia, says the mechanism by which the president can sack the entire government replicates the 2003 constitution. Whats the point of having a government formed by political parties when it can be dismissed by the president? she asked. PRESIDENTIAL PARTY COULD TAKE CONTROL One obvious result of the change to the election system is that political parties will have more of a formal role to play. More than any other Central Asia country, Kyrgyzstan has a large number of parties representing a wide range of political views. In practice, though, they do not play much of a role because the current parliament elected under the old system is still in place. Many observers believe that if parliament is dissolved to make way for an election to a new-shape legislature, there will be a flurry of activity as parties both pro-government and opposition join forces to create bigger, more powerful entities that are capable of winning substantial numbers of seats. Iskakova points out that members of parliament can lose their seats if the political party they belong to ceases to enjoy legal recognition. This would make it possible to get rid of troublesome deputies by refusing to grant their party a renewal of their registration with the justice ministry something all parties require to be allowed to stand in elections. In his speech, President Bakiev also indicated that he wanted to set up his own political vehicle, which he described as a party of creation, a party of responsibility, a party of action. Political scientist Turat Akimov believes such a pro-government force is likely to include Moya Strana (My Country), which is led by the head of the presidential administration Medet Sadyrkulov; Novy Kyrgyzstan (New Kyrgyzstan), headed by presidential adviser Usen Sydykov; and the Social Democratic Party, which is led by Prime Minister Almaz Atambaev and Finance Minister Akylbek Japarov. Akimov fears that such a pro-government alliance might dominate Kyrgyz politics, as has happened in Russia and Kazakstan, where the sheer weight of the pro-presidential parties United Russia and Nur Otan, respectively, have left the opposition on the margins. In an August 18 election in Kazakstan, which also followed changes to the constitution envisaging a new-shape legislature, Nur Otan, swept the board and won every seat in the lower chamber. Political scientist Zayniddin Kurmanov does not think Kyrgyzstan will go this way, as the opposition is more established there. A presidential party in Kyrgyzstan is going to win most of the seats, but not 90 per cent like in Kazakstan. Opposition parties will get 25 to 30 per cent of the vote, he said.. END TO CURRENT PARLIAMENT ALMOST INEVITABLE Perhaps surprisingly, the Kyrgyz opposition has so far not seized on Bakievs unilateral move to call for new protests. Its last major action was in April this year, when a street rally calling for Bakievs resignation and a new constitution fizzled out after police moved in to break up protestors. Following the Constitutional Court ruling, Valentin Bogatyrev, director of the Fund to Support Development Programmes, said he doubted a major new political crisis was on the way. Assuming the referendum result goes in Bakievs favour, Bogatyrev predicts that a new constitution will be in place by the end of the year. While the November and December constitutions also envisaged changes to parliament and led to calls for the legislature to be dissolved to make way for fresh elections, nothing happened. In his speech, Bakiev said legislators had actively blocked attempts to unseat them. This time round, it seems certain that parliament will be dissolved. In his speech, Bakiev made it clear he did not envisage a period where the new constitution was in force yet the old-style legislature remained in place, seeing out a mandate which ends in 2010. The majority of the Jogorku Keneshs members do not plan to shift to a party based system, and are doing everything they can to sabotage it, he said. So in addition to the constitutional bill, well be putting a draft election law on the referendum agenda. Thats because there is a need to pin down as quickly as possible the legal mechanisms for holding elections under the new party-based system. On September 18, parliament reacted to the Constitutional Court ruling by passing a vote of no confidence in the institution, and asked the president to nominate new judges. Bakievs views can be judged by his state-of-the-nation speech the following day, in which he did not even refer to the no-confidence motion and urged everyone to get on with the constitutional reform so as to put an end to political battles and focus on economic and governance tasks. SHOPS SHUT FOR TAJIK HARVEST Trade grinds to a halt in parts of southern Tajikistan as local officials order markets and shops to close so the workers can help bring in the cotton harvest. By Saidrahmon Nazriev and Biloli Shams in southern Tajikistan and Aslibegim Manzarshoeva in Dushanbe People in cotton-growing areas of southern Tajikistan complain they have been finding it hard to buy food and other essentials since the local authorities began closing shops and markets so that staff could be sent to help gather in the cotton crop. Following a decision by a special committee called Cotton-2007 set up to manage the harvest in Khatlon region, which covers the south of the country, markets have been closed in the districts of Kumsangir, Kolkhozobad, Panj, Khuroson, Qabodiyon and Jami, and the traders sent out to the cotton fields to help the farmers. According to a representative of Tajikmatlubot, an association of trading firms market stalls are kept closed all day until four or five in the afternoon so that traders can be sent to the fields to gather cotton. If traders cant work and cant sell their seasonal goods on time, and if the rent isnt collected on their stalls the losses will be serious, said the Tajikmatlubot official, who did not want to be named. If they arent working, how will it be possible to tax them? This will have a negative effect on government revenues. Local officials deny giving any such orders and insist people are volunteering to help farmers. During the Soviet era, it was common practice to close workplaces during the harvest so everyone could be despatched to the fields. Since independence, attempts to organise adult volunteers systematically have been less successful. The widespread use of child labour, with pupils taken of school en masse to work long hours in the field, remains a concern, as IWPR reported recently (Tajik Prosecutors Investigate Child Labour Claims, (RCA No. 501, 13-Jul-07). Last year, the provincial governor of Khatlon, Amizsho Miraliev, slammed the Kumsangir district administration for closing markets during the cotton harvest season, and ordered the decision to be reversed. He has since been replaced. The practice has been revived, as regional officials face continued pressure from above to meet high production targets. Although farms in Tajikistan are privately owned, the land they work is still leased from the state. As a result, farmers are more or less obliged to grow the amount of cotton they instructed to produce, and to sell it to the state at artificially low prices. Local government is roped into ensuring Soviet-style plans are fulfilled. IWPR contributors visited two southern districts, Panj and Vose, to see how widespread the market closures were. Towards 1 pm on September 13, when the central market in Panj district should have been bustling, the stalls were closed, with a just few owners wandering around aimlessly. Several women selling carrots were approached by a policeman who asked them to gather up their goods and move on. Wait until 4 pm, he advised them. My boss might come along, and if he sees you, hell punish me. You can start selling again later. IWPR was unable to speak to anyone in the markets management it transpired that they had been sent off to pick cotton like everyone else. Mahliko had travelled from a remote village to buy food supplies for the night-time meals of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, which began that day, and was upset to find the market closed. If I have to wait until [trading starts at] 4 pm, Ill miss the bus and probably wont find any other way of getting home, she complained. Another disappointed shopper had come in from the Jami district to buy school uniforms for her children. Since the markets are closed, well have to go to Qurghon-Teppa [a bigger town] but thatll cost a lot, she said. Mansur, a resident of Kumsangir district, said it had become hard to buy bread. Although the markets reopen at around six in the evening, there are long queues and arguments break out between frustrated shoppers, he said. Theyve banned the use of taxis in this district, he said. We give some money to drivers we know are going to Dushanbe or Qurghon-Teppa so that theyll buy bread for us there, he said. Weve even written to the presidents website about this. People in other areas complained of being corralled into taking part in the harvest. For the last couple of years, the local authorities have closed two large markets in the Vose district at harvest time. This year, they have even recruited Muslim clerics to drum up volunteers. IWPR observed one mullah instructing mosque-goers to help on the farms and then provide documentary evidence of this to their local cleric, who would then report to the authorities. Local farmers confirm that armies of people are turning up to help pick cotton. The overseer at one private farm told IWPR that every day, 200 volunteers arrived to help his team, although in his view they contributed little. To be quite honest, they just come and pass the time. They only gather four or five kilos, some of them maybe ten. So 200 people wont even gather a ton of cotton in the course of a day, he said. A local government official in Panj district acknowledged that people had mobilised for action, In most organisations and offices in the district, there is only one person on duty, and the rest are away gathering cotton. But he was adamant that market traders and other volunteers were going of their own free will. Over in Vose district, local government chief head Alimurod Tagaimurodov denied any threat had been made to close mosques. We did not give such orders, nor did we warn that we would close the mosques, he said. We simply asked representatives of the jamoats [lowest tier of local government] and the mullahs in the district to go around the mosques and tell people to go out into the fields and help our farmers during the cotton harvest. Higher up the chain of authority, officials in the Khatlon regional government issued similar denials. Staff members [here] gave no formal order to close down the markets, said departmental chief Davlatkhuja Mirzoev said. Finally, at national level, the head of a government agricultural department, Jumakhon Safarov said he was unaware of any decision by the Khatlon administration to close markets and shops, although he said he was aware of market closures in some parts of the region. I personally am against forced labour - everyone has his or her own job to do, he said. There is, however, little financial incentive for anyone to go and pick cotton voluntarily. According to an analyst who did not want to be named, pickers are paid the equivalent of three US cents per kilo of cotton, and each person will on average gather about 40 kilos in a day, which means earnings of just over a dollar four somonis in the local currency. Thats why people dont want to work in the fields. The work is back-breaking and the pay miniscule, said the analyst. Salim, a businessman in Panj, asked why he should be going off to do the farmers job for them. Were under no obligation to close our shops and go to gather cotton, he said. These private farms are businesses just like ours and have their own shareholders They should get them involved in gathering their harvest, he said. Why is no one looking out for us? Who will compensate us for the losses we incur by closing our shops? Saidrahmon Nazriev, Biloli Shams and Aslibegim Manzarshoeva are IWPR contributors in Tajikistan. UZBEK REGION TIGHTENS UP ON COTTON The enticing prices fetched by cotton in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan means Andijan is particularly prone to smuggling. By an IWPR contributor in Central Asia The authorities in the Andijan region of eastern Uzbekistan are taking steps to ensure this autumns cotton harvest is better organised than before and that none of the crop goes astray. But cotton industry insiders predict that theft and redirection of the crop will remain a problem as long as farmers can command a higher price in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan. Prompted by a disappointing harvest last year, the authorities in Andijan have introduced a raft of new measures to increase controls over the cotton crop, making picking more efficient and reducing the opportunity for theft and smuggling. While farmers in Uzbekistan work in the private sector, they are still required to meet Soviet-style production quotas for cotton and grain, which they then have to sell to state purchasers at artificially low prices. Uzbekistan is the worlds second-largest exporter of raw cotton, and Andijan is an important producing area. It lies close to the border with Kyrgyzstan and so has a particular problem with farmers smuggling cotton into the neighbouring country where they can get a higher price. This autumn, the regional authorities will pioneer a new team-based approach to harvesting cotton to make the process more efficient and ensure the crop does not go astray before it reaches the official collection points. In a local TV programme, Andijan provincial governor Ahmadjon Usmonov outlined how the new system - already being used to harvest grain - should work. A total of 1,500 teams of around 150 harvesters each will be assigned to farms across the region. Team leaders appointed by local authorities will manage the whole process - organising harvesters, arranging collection of the crop, and transporting it to delivery centres. A policeman and prosecution service worker will be assigned to each team to oversee the work, and a doctor, nurse and mechanical engineer will also be on hand to make sure nothing holds up the work. Usmonov cited as an example one team which will consist of farm workers and local residents and be led by a school headmaster in the Bulakbashi district. The idea is that opportunities for theft will be reduced as once gathered, the cotton will no longer lie in the fields overnight, but will be delivered to collection points immediately by a specially-appointed delivery person accompanied by a senior team leader and a policeman. A receipt for the delivery will be issued in triplicate. The increased vigilance and controls are intended to stamp out the widespread practice of recording inflated amounts when cotton is delivered. In an environment where failure can mean summary dismissal, local government is held responsible for meeting the plan even when external factors such as drought or rain make that impossible. Pressure to meet Soviet-style targets often prompts local officials to collude in fabricating glowing reports, so that the aggregate national production figures may be based on flimsy ground. According to official reports, Andijan region fell short of its quota by 14 per cent last year. In a recent media interview, Bahodir Mamajanov of the Andijan regional department for agriculture said the presence of a police officer at crop delivery points would prevent farmers bribing officials to issue papers showing they had fulfilled their quotas. Meanwhile, Uktam Haidarov, an official from the regional body that coordinates mahallas or neighbourhood committees the lowest rung of local government - said the mahallas would post a member at every kilometre along the border with Kyrgyzstan in an effort to stop smuggling. They will join the thousands of police and border guards on what is already a fairly well secured stretch of Uzbekistans frontier. Finally, the regional authorities have recruited the senior cleric in Andijan to add a spiritual dimension to the all-out campaign, which coincides with the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Nuriddin Khaliknazarov is accompanying governor Usmonov on a tour of the region, giving sermons about the value of cotton and the virtue of honesty. Meanwhile, central government has increased the incentives for both pickers and farm owners. A decree by Uzbek president Islam Karimov means that this year, farms will receive the equivalent of 323 US dollars per ton of first-class cotton still less than a third of the world price which the government will earn from exports. Cotton pickers, who were formerly paid the equivalent of five to seven US cents for every kilogram they pick, will get a 20 per cent increase in wages. However, a former director of a cotton-processing plant in Andijan predicted that tougher measures and higher purchase prices were unlikely to stop smuggling. He says that by moving the cotton into Kyrgyzstan, Uzbeks can get 20 Kyrgyz soms or 50 US cents per kilogram several times the money that pickers are paid at home. The former factory director, who asked not to be named, noted that less cotton has been planted in southern Kyrgyzstan than last year, which suggests that demand for the Uzbek product will grow. The former factory director concluded that the financial rewards for smuggling cotton are still greater than the risks. If you bear in mind that there is corruption among the police and border guards, its reasonable to assume that there will be no less theft than there was last year, he said. A former government official who did not want to be identified noted that while the world price of cotton has fallen in recent years, the way the industry is structured in Uzbekistan means that a small elite will continue to benefit from the export trade while paying little heed to farmers who eke out a poor existence from the small amount they earn as producers. As prices of bread and other wheat products continue to reach record highs in Central Asia, the additional hardship this is causing seems likely to add to the temptation to defy the authorities and sell cotton abroad. SPICE ROW IN KYRGYZSTAN Thousands earn an income picking wild capers, but this new industry has spawned debate about sustainability, fair pay and government regulation. By Abdumomun Mamaraimov in Jalalabad A piquant pizza topping might seem an unlikely source of tension in Kyrgyzstan, but a debate over caper production exemplifies what can happen when a new industry collides with other interests like sustainable development and the environment. Capers have always grown wild in southern Kyrgyzstan, but did not really feature in the local cuisine. It was Turkish businessmen who spotted the potential for reaping the small spicy buds and sending them off to Europe where they are pickled and sold as a Mediterranean flavouring. The caper industry has burgeoned since it started in Jalalabad a few years ago, and thousands of people mainly women and children now make a living by picking the immature buds perhaps 30,000 or 40,000 tons every year for export. While the discovery of foreign demand for a home-grown plant has created a lot of employment in the south, there are no regulations governing how much the harvesters are paid, as they work freelance. The pickers receive only a fraction of the eventual price that buyers will pay in Western delicatessens, although by local standards the money can be a useful supplement to family incomes. For the last three years, 13-year-old Akyl and his friend Marat have been picking wild capers in Jalalabad during the summer holidays. Last summer, Akyl earned 9,000 soms - over 230 US dollars in a few months, the same as his mother earns in a year working as a cleaner, and enough to stock up on food for winter and modest school clothing. This year, he plans to earn even more. During the harvesting season, which runs from June until October, buds are gathered using gourds specially cut into shape and then emptied into old cloth bags. The buds are very light, but one picker should be able to gather three or even five kilograms a day if he or she works hard, getting up to one dollar per kilogram. Its hard work, but its better than dragging a handcart at the market, where anyone can be rude to you, said Akyl. Collecting the buds puts a strain on the back, as the long stalks of the plant are spread low over the ground, and the prickly buds are sore on the fingers. A woman of 45 explained, Because youre constantly bending your back, your back hurts, and when you raise your head everything goes black. The doctors say I have anaemia, she said. But the work not only helps us survive, it lets us put our the children through school as well. This woman, who did not want to be identified, has a full-time job but has found it hard to make ends meet as public-sector wages lag further and further behind the rising cost of living. I work as a technician at a school, but we dont work in the summer holidays, she said, wiping the perspiration from her face and smiling in embarrassment. Explaining that she earned just 400 soms around 10 dollars a month from her job and had to support three young children, she added, My husband is in Russia, but the money he sends us isnt enough for the family. At central collection points in villages and towns in the region, the buds are sifted and graded manually sifted out by sorters, who earn 70 or 80 soms - around two dollars - a day. When we get hired, were promised 100 to 150 soms a day if we meet the quota, said 35-year-old Aisuluu Temirova. But we soon find out that it isnt easy to do that. Its hard work, but its better than no work at all. Abdykapar Kayupov is head of Sky, a local firm which buys capers from the pickers and sells them on to foreign buyers. He said the industry brings in several million dollars a year for Jalalabad region alone and has created work for up to 6,000 people there. Kayupov said it was natural for the retail price in Europe to be ten times higher than the money the pickers earned, since by then the product had reached the 15 person in the chain. He would not reveal how much his firm earned for a kilo of capers. Although caper picking has become a vital source of income for many, there are fears that will prove an unsustainable form of livelihood. As the capers are wild rather than cultivated, no investment is made in regenerating plants for future years. Environmentalist are warning that unregulated and excessive harvesting will rapidly deplete stocks and cause wider damage to the ecosystem. The thick stems of the caper shrub help keep the soil moist and protect it from erosion, they say its destruction could turn the area into a wasteland where other plants will refuse to grow. Figures from Jalalabad regions customs service indicate that exports are falling 812 tons of capers were recorded leaving the country last year compared with 1,400 tons in 2005. Environmentalists cite this as evidence that the plant is dying out. Rahman Kasymov, chief inspector of the regions environmental service, said unrestricted harvesting was killing the plants off. People gather the buds and dont let the plant blossom and bear fruit, he explained. According to biologist Zikriyo Sarimsakov, the threat of over-picking is very real. If you gather 40 to 50 per cent of the buds, it isnt dangerous for the plant, but if you pick more than that, the plant may be destroyed, he said. People usually gather a lot more because no one is controlling the process. Kayupov dismissed such claims, saying capers were resilient and so widespread that would be extremely hard to wipe them out. Capers grow over a vast area, and people dont manage to harvest them completely. In addition, the opened blossoms, flowers and fruit dont interest us. And new buds quickly grow to replace the ones that are picked, he said. A Turkish businessman involved in the trade agreed. This plant is hardy and the buds grow back quickly. Weve been gathering them in Turkey for decades and they havent died out, he said, asking not to be named. Salijan Umarov, an advisor to the Jalalabad city administration, said the purchasing firms were reneging on promises they had made to invest in regeneration. They do not observe these rules, and this may lead to the destruction of a unique plant, he said. Kasymov said the Turkish businesses that initially encouraged the caper industry in southern Kyrgyzstan paid a local green tax and also provided tens of thousands of seedlings. These firms paid the environmental service one som per kilogram of capers, he said. We used this money to restore dams, put in new plants, and help people who had suffered from natural disasters. In 2005, the Kyrgyz authorities abolished the requirement for a license to harvest of capers, and the environmental service lost both its income and the right to supervise harvesting practices. We used to send our inspectors out and theyd monitor every kilogram of capers that was harvested, and the way they were picked. Now we only have the right to ensure that the caper pickers keep the area clean, said Kasymov. Another ecologist, Kasym Rahmanov, would like to see a moratorium on the caper trade or at least the restoration of the earlier licensing system. The arguments between the different interest groups extend beyond questions of equitable pay and environmental sustainability to allegations of full-scale corruption. Some environmentalists allege that people in high places are benefiting from the lack of regulation One official, Nurbek Jeenaliev, who heads the agricultural department in the Jalalabad regional government, harbours similar suspicions. The absence of licensing for this kind of business leads to attempts to cover up [illicit exports] and thus sows corruption. The customs and tax agencies also have an interest, as they can conceal the scale of exports in return for bribes, he said. But the head of Jalalabad regions customs service, Abdilaziz Kayupov, denied that his officers were taking kickbacks, and added his own counter-allegation that environmental groups were simply annoyed at losing out on the income they earned when licensing was in place. These environmentalists who propose reintroducing licenses for caper picking are interested in the money they used to get from the collectors. Now theyre trying to prevent people collecting buds that will otherwise go to waste, he said. The Turkish businessman agreed that the environmentalists had their own reasons for opposing the trade. Before we arrived, no one was interested in this plant. Were now turning these wild plants into money, he said. We pay thousands of people and create millions [of dollars] in investment for the region, but all the ecologists and forestry workers do is hinder us. Abdumomun Mamaraimov is an independent journalist in southern Kyrgyzstan. PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS CENTRAL ASIA: JULY/AUG 07 Journalism teachers and students believe new IWPR manual will serve as an important training resource in the region. By Saule Mukhametrakhimova, Central Asia editor. A Russian-language IWPR conflict reporting training manual has been distributed to around 500 media organisations and journalism faculties at universities across Central Asia. The launch of the new title in Bishkek in July, was timed for the start of the new academic year. Teaching staff and journalists alike have welcomed the new publication, a Russian translation of a standard IWPR training handbook, Reporting for Change: A Handbook for Local Journalists in Crisis Areas Marina Sivasheva, head of the journalism programme at the American University - Central Asia, regards the manual as a valuable contribution to journalism teaching. The book is a sound publication that deals not only with journalism but also ethical problems. Because of its range of content, its useful for anyone who works in the media sector. The provision of practical exercises promotes discussion in the classroom, she said. Svetlana Gafarova, head of the Center of Social Information and Forecasting in the city of Osh, which helped distribute the handbook among journalists in southern Kyrgyzstan, believes it fills a gap in the training materials available for student journalists. There is a great variety of content developed mainly for journalists in Russia. Manuals of this kind are necessary for us, as they are breath of fresh air, assisting both beginners and their more experience colleagues, she said. Gulnura Toralieva, programme director at the Institute for Public Policy in Bishkek, said the manual will help journalists write for international audiences, Its an excellent guide to international journalism for local journalists. Ravshan Abdullaev, a young journalist from Tajikistan, said she found passages of the book dealing with the personal experiences of IWPR journalists particularly useful. The experience of IWPR journalists who reported from conflict zones is very important for us. There was a civil war in Tajikistan and the most terrible lack of information. I've read in the new manual that journalists were risking their lives to do their work. This book is useful for young journalists, because it teaches them how to operate. Tajik journalist Nafisa Pisaredjeva, who also writes for IWPR, suggested that the publication might in future include a chapter on IWPR trainers experience of working with Central Asia journalists. We have something to learn from the them and they have something to learn from us, she said. **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** REPORTING CENTRAL ASIA provides the international community with a unique insiders' perspective on the region. Using our network of local journalists, the service publishes news and analysis from across Central Asia on a weekly basis. The service forms part of IWPR's Central Asia Project based in Almaty, Bishkek, Tashkent and London, which supports media development and encourages better local and international understanding of the region. IWPR's Reporting Central Asia is supported by the UK Community Fund. The service is published online in English and Russian. The opinions expressed in Reporting Central Asia are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the publication or of IWPR. REPORTING CENTRAL ASIA: Editor-in-Chief: Anthony Borden; Managing Editor: Yigal Chazan; Senior Editor: John MacLeod; Central Asia Editor: Saule Mukhametrakhimova; Project Director: Kumar Bekbolotov. IWPR Project Development and Support: Executive Director: Anthony Borden; Strategy & Assessment Director: Alan Davis; Chief Programme Officer: Mike Day. **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** IWPR builds democracy at the frontlines of conflict and change through the power of professional journalism. IWPR programs provide intensive hands-on training, extensive reporting and publishing, and ambitious initiatives to build the capacity of local media. Supporting peace-building, development and the rule of law, IWPR gives responsible local media a voice. Institute for War & Peace Reporting 48 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8LT, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7831 1030 Fax: +44 (0)20 7831 1050 For further details on this project and other information services and media programmes, go to: www.iwpr.net ISSN: 1477-7924 Copyright © 2007 The Institute for War & Peace Reporting **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** If you wish to change your subscription details or unsubscribe please go to: http://www.iwpr.net/index.php?apc_state=henh&s=s&m=p
