WELCOME TO IWPR'S REPORTING CENTRAL ASIA, No. 517, 27 November, 2007 KAZAK MEDIA CRACKDOWN COUNTERPRODUCTIVE Observers say restrictions have merely increased interest in leaked recordings purporting to reveal official wrongdoing. By Elina Karakulova in Bishkek
KAZAKSTAN: ETHNIC CLASH A WORRYING SIGN Recurring conflicts suggest officials should be keeping a close watch on ethnic tensions. By IWPR staff in Central Asia KYRGYZSTANS CELEBRITY PARTIES The revival in political activity in the run up to elections has not resulted in the emergence of strong parties. By Yryskeldi Kadykeev in Bishkek KYRGYZ PARTIES SAY RULE CHANGE UNDERMINES ELECTION A new requirement set by election officials could make it almost impossible for parties to win seats in parliament. By Yryskeldi Kadykeev in Bishkek TENSIONS OVER FOREIGN WORKERS IN TAJIKISTAN Tajiks are going to have to get used to workers coming from abroad if they want inward investment. By Asliddin Dostiev in Kulyab and Ruhshona Najimiddinova in Dushanbe **** IWPR RESOURCES ****************************************************************** CROSS CAUCASUS JOURNALISM NETWORK. 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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 ******************************************************************** KAZAK MEDIA CRACKDOWN COUNTERPRODUCTIVE Observers say restrictions have merely increased interest in leaked recordings purporting to reveal official wrongdoing. By Elina Karakulova in Bishkek Analysts say the harsh measures the Kazak government has taken to stop the media publishing potentially damaging material have only served to make people more curious about the offending information. Nor does it do Kazakstans international reputation much good. Several opposition websites have been blocked over the last two months after they published audio recordings of conversations which appeared to be of high-level officials admitting corruption as well as a plot to eliminate President Nursultan Nazarbaevs disgraced ex-son-in-law, Rakhat Aliev. In May, Aliev was sacked as ambassador to Austria and the OSCE after he was charged with kidnapping two former top managers in Nurbank, in which he was a major shareholder. Aliev said at the time that his fall from grace was politically-motivated, as he had told Nazarbaev he planned to run for the presidency in 2012. The presidents daughter, Dariga Nazarbaeva, divorced Aliev in June. In late October, the authorities blocked several opposition sites, offering technical problems as the explanation. This came after audio recordings and transcripts of telephone conversations supposedly between high-level officials appeared on the internet, in which the speakers discuss ways of silencing Aliev to stop him making statements that might compromise the authorities. In November, more material appeared on the sites, once again ostensibly intercepted phone calls between senior figures, but this time concerning the funding of the presidents party Nur Otan. The origin of these recordings is unknown, and their authenticity has not been confirmed. The Kazak prosecution service and interior ministry have said the recordings are fake. A Radio Liberty report from November 2 said that four opposition weeklies which were planning to publish material relating to Aliev were turned away by their publishing houses and prevented from going to print amid veiled threats from the authorities. Meanwhile, internet users in the country reported problems accessing external Central Asian websites such as Ferghana.ru. In a telephone interview with Radio Liberty on October 26, Aliev effectively accused his former father-in-law of ordering the killing of opposition leader Altynbek Sarsenbaev and two aides in 2006. On November 8, a trial began in Almaty in which Aliev stands accused of involvement in abduction, financial wrongdoing, and abuse of official powers. The trial is taking place in absentia, as Austria has refused to extradite Aliev, on the grounds that there was no guarantee that judicial proceedings would be fair. The same day, the prosecutor's office issued a warning to media outlets to refrain from publishing material that violated the privacy of personal correspondence and telephone conversations. Prosecutors have ordered an investigation into how the recordings were produced, how they ended up on websites, and whether they represent a breach of anyones privacy. Adil Jalilov, head of the MediaNet NGO in Almaty, said the country has continued to use restrictive measures left over from Soviet times to control the media. The blocking of sites showed that there are no new methods of dealing with media. Blocking is the most primitive way of exercising control, he said. Media in Kazakstan already face many restrictions, and the country ranks 125th out of 169 on the Press Freedom Index produced annually by the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders. While a handful of newspapers in the country offer alternative sources of information, opposition material is mostly available only on the internet. Online news services have faced similar restrictions in the past. Many came under severe pressure after publishing articles on Kazakgate the high-profile trial of Nazarbaevs former energy adviser, who is accused of arranging bribes for top Kazak officials in exchange for granting oil contracts in the Nineties. The Coalition for Torture Prevention in Central Asia, which unites human rights organisations across the region, issued a statement condemning the latest media blockade. The simultaneous blocking of online media agencies disloyal to the Kazak government - such as Zona.kz, Kub.kz, GEO.kz, Inkar.info - and inspections conducted on the offices of the Respublica, Svoboda Slova, Vzglyad.kz and Tasjargan opposition newspapers leaves no doubt there is a campaign against the independent mass media designed to force them to stop work, it said. Vyacheslav Abramov, representing the coalition, said the media crackdown was unprecedented in its intensity and scale. The information blockade was organised and highly efficient, and extended to more media outlets than similar actions had done in the past. Abramov noted that the campaign against media outlets had achieved its aims, as many had agreed to new restrictions. Culture and Information Minister Yermuhamet Yertysbaev confirmed that several opposition media had told him they promised not to support the criminal Aliev, not to give him a voice on their pages, not to publish malign information passed to them by Aliev, and not to insult the presidents reputation, according to a Respublica newspaper report from November 9. Abramov added that while he personally believed the websites had no right to publish transcripts of private telephone conversations, the tactics used by the authorities had been harsh. By contrast, the head of the Kazak media organisation Journalists in Trouble, Rozlana Taukina, said that there was no personal information contained in the audio files, so media outlets had every right to make them publicly available. The statement [prosecutors warning] was absolutely unconvincing because there is nothing secret or personal about it, she said. It is information in the public interest that relates to officials who run the country and are involved in party politics. It cannot constitute a breach of private correspondence or of state secrecy. Taukina predicted that the governments response to attempts to publish further revelations will be both swift and harsh, As soon as [such] information appears, Im sure that newspapers will be closed down, and their electricity could be turned off. She argued that the fallout from the media crackdown had been more damaging to the Kazak authorities than the content of the audio files. The states efforts to prevent this information spreading has created suspicions, she said. Times have changed. One cannot withhold information published on the internet, and were now witnessing a dramatic rise in public interest in the blocked websites. The chairman of the Journalists Union, Seitgazy Mataev, agreed that the attempt to block information had been counterproductive. People have continued to access blocked websites through proxy services or else theyve got friends to email them the reports, he said. Mataev added that this media scandal could undermine Kazakstans bid to chair the OSCE bid in 2009, a decision on which will be announced later this month. This is a big minus for the country. For other OSCE members, this counts as curtailing freedom of speech, and of course thats true. Such things dont happen in other countries, because theyre aware its pointless. Elina Karakulova is an IWPR editor in Bishkek KAZAKSTAN: ETHNIC CLASH A WORRYING SIGN Recurring conflicts suggest officials should be keeping a close watch on ethnic tensions. By IWPR staff in Central Asia Sporadic clashes involving different ethnic groups in Kazakstan suggest that the authorities are failing to manage intercommunal tensions and work towards better integration, say analysts. Over the last two years, a number of incidents that initially had no ethnic dimension have blown up into broader clashes between people divided along ethnic lines. In the most recent case, rioting broke out in the village of Mayatas in the South Kazakstan region, after a 16-year-old Kurdish male was accused of sexually assaulting a four-year-old Kazak boy. After the childs father reported the alleged attack to police on October 28, local Kurds suffered arson attacks which continued for three days. According to local news agencies, the majority of Kurds fled the village. Hanush Usenov, the grandfather of the teenager accused of the crime, said his family members were unable to leave because when they tried to do so, they were set upon. First they threw stones at our windows, and then they jumped over the fence, poured petrol on a hut and a truck full of things, and set fire to them. We tried to resist, but we couldnt stop them. My son was hospitalised because they beat him up, he said. Usenov alleged that the police failed to provide security to Kurdish villagers when the violence erupted, The police saw it, but did nothing. They were here but they did not protect us. These guardians simply stood to one side and watched. The homes of many other Kurdish families were also attacked. Myrza Afendiev, whose house was razed to the ground, described the attack to IWPR, They brought some straw, put it on our house and poured petrol on it. I begged them not to. I said, Children, dont burn me out! Im old - where will I go? I am guilty of nothing! They punched me and I fell over. And then they wouldnt let me put the fire out. They waited for a couple of hours until everything had burned to ashes. Although police report that the attacks on property began on October 31, local people say the violence started on October 28, when the alleged sexual assault was first reported to the police. In a press release, the Kazak interior ministry reported seven incidents in which one house and several outbuildings, cars and haystacks were burned to the ground. The press release also said that two local citizens of unspecified ethnicity were beaten up and three policemen suffered injuries while attempting to restore order. Police were drafted in to patrol the streets of Mayatas. On November 15, the regional prosecutors office reported that a 16-year-old suspect of Kurdish ethnicity had been charged with rape, and 18 people suspected of involvement in attacks on property in Mayatas had been detained. Interviewed by local journalists on November 6, the head of the Association of Kurds of Kazakstan, Nadir Nadirov, accused local government officials of failing to prevent a localised incident from triggering broader conflict between Kazaks and Kurds. When theres a crime, it shouldnt [be allowed to] grow into interethnic hostility, he said. While the South Kazakstan regional police department says there has been no further trouble since the incident in Mayatas, Nadirov told the internet news service Fergana.ru that ethnic Kurds in other villages were still being targeted in arson attacks. After the lootings of houses in Mayatas, the wave of arson spilled over to other villages and other regions including Shymkent and Jambyl, he said in the interview, published on November 19. Ive met people in villages where there was trouble. They told me their houses were burned, their children were attacked, and they themselves were threatened and told to leave their villages immediately. Observers say the case of Mayatas reflects a worrying trend where crimes or personal disputes rapidly escalate into fighting between members of different communities. In an ethnically diverse country that has managed to maintain a good deal of harmony since independence in 1991, local and national officials may have taken their eye off the ball. In March, a billiard-room brawl between two villagers in the Almaty region one an ethnic Kazak and the other a Chechen grew into a street fight involving 200 people from the two communities. Shots were fired and three people died. (See Kazakstan: Village Brawl Reverberates in Halls of Power, RCA No. 487, 23-Mar-07.) In October 2006, a fight broke out between hundreds of Turkish expatriates and local workers at an oil facility belonging to the Tengizchevroil company in the Atyrau region of western Kazakstan. At least 100 people were taken to hospital in rioting which, according to local reports, began when a Kazak worker tried to push into a queue for lunch. Two months later, a brawl in a café in Chilik, a town in Almaty region in the east, triggered clashes between Kazaks and Uighurs. Political scientist Eduard Poletaev, the chief editor of the Mir Yevrasii journal, said that recurring outbreaks of ethnic violence posed a serious challenge to the authorities and raised questions about the performance of officials responsible for security and stability. Poletaev argued that the authorities have only made superficial attempts to integrate its ethnic minorities. The problem is that everything is kept at a declarative level. The organisations responsible for ensuring ethnic harmony concern themselves mainly with arranging performances in national costume on holidays, he said. He believes some of the current conflicts can be traced all the way back to the forced displacement of several ethnic groups by Joseph Stalin. Ethnic groups who were moved to an alien environment were forced to acquire lucrative jobs and trade on the black market. This sparked a negative reaction from [the rest of] society, he explained. As well as deporting the Chechens, Germans, Crimean Tatars and other groups wholesale to Central Asia, Stalin also sent thousands of Kurds there from Armenia and Azerbaijan in 1937 and from Georgia in 1944. Paranoid about minorities he considered of suspect loyalty, he seems to have been worried that the Kurds might collaborate with Turkey. According to the official statistics, there are now some 46,000 ethnic Kurds in Kazakstan, of whom an estimated 7,000 live in the South Kazakstan region. Political scientist Maxim Kaznacheev agrees that recent violent incidents suggest that the government is not working hard enough to defuse ethnic tensions. Theres no point in talking about a [government] strategy to resolve interethnic conflicts it simply doesnt exist, he said. Unfortunately, it has to be said that ethnic conflicts are going to recur with increasing frequency . Our government has not able to offer society alternative ways to express protest. Sociologist Gaziz Nasyrov said the frequency of such clashes leads him to suspect that some politicians would prefer ethnic unrest to organised anti-government protests. Residents of rural areas, where life is harder than in the towns, are probably being allowed to blow off steam by directing their protest in a manner that, in certain peoples opinion, is the safest way. According to people in Mayatas, the recent unrest has left the village divided along ethnic lines, something they say was never the case before. Ive lived here for 54 years and nothing like this has ever happened before, said villager Gandal Maksieva. Look around - the village looks as if its completely dead. We all used to live peacefully, amicably and happily. Another villager, an elderly Russian lady, said the attacks had instilled fear. People here were friendly and we used to visit each other. For instance, recently there was a wedding where the whole village came; there were Kurds and Kazaks. And now were all afraid. KYRGYZSTANS CELEBRITY PARTIES The revival in political activity in the run up to elections has not resulted in the emergence of strong parties. By Yryskeldi Kadykeev in Bishkek As Kyrgyzstan gears up to elect a new kind of parliament based on political parties, some analysts have predicted the emergence of bigger political entities based on policies rather than personalities. However, with less than a month to go, it looks like business as usual, with numerous parties fielding prominent politicians in the hope that this will win them votes. When changes to the electoral rules were revealed in a constitutional draft announced by President Kurmanbek Bakiev in September and duly passed in a referendum on October 21, it was clear that the introduction of proportional representation in place of the old first-past-the-post system would favour more substantial parties. As things stood, few of Kyrgyzstans 100-odd parties stood a chance of overcoming the five per cent hurdle and forming a government. The new constitution approved in October gives the majority party, for the first time in Kyrgyzstan, the right to pick a prime minister, who then nominates ministers. To stand a chance of winning seats at all in the December 16 ballot, let alone gaining a majority, parties will need to be fairly substantial. The constitution sets a threshold of five per cent of the vote nationwide, and 0.5 per cent in each of the countrys regions as a way of ensuring parties have national rather than local appeal. To achieve this, many would need to formally merge into bigger entities. Under the electoral code passed at the same time as the constitution, parties cannot form ad hoc election bloc. However, apart from President Bakievs attempt to create a ruling party, that has not happened. Bakiev announced the Ak Jol Peoples Party on October 15, saying there was a need for a new political force, a party of construction, responsibility and action. The day after he was elected party chairman, Bakiev laid down his powers temporarily, explaining that as head of state he could not participate in party politics. So far, Ak Jol has expanded by recruiting politicians from other parties rather than by swallowing up allied groups in their entirety. There is a normal process of party amalgamation going on, and it only can be welcomed, said Elmira Ibraimova, Ak Jols deputy chairperson. The opposition, meanwhile, remains in at least three camps. Ak-Shumkar, which emerged in April 2007 out of earlier opposition formations, announced plans to team up with the older Ata-Meken party in late October. The new entity has taken the name Ata-Meken, and has gone on to present a list of candidates to Kyrgyzstans election commission. Meanwhile, Ar Namys headed by Felix Kulov, Bakievs former prime minister and now one of his fiercest opponents, is likely to go its own way. It has agreed a kind of mutual support pact with Ata-Meken, but they will not form a closer relationship. The Social Democrats, who also count as an opposition party despite having Prime Minister Almazbek Atambaev as their leader, will field candidates separately. Political analyst Nur Omarov believes the different opposition parties have yet to recover from events in April this year which left them in disarray. Amid mounting tension between the Bakiev administration and the opposition, the more moderate Movement for Reforms aligned itself with Kulovs United Front for a Worthy Future for Kyrgyzstan for a rally that was broken up just over a week later. This confrontational strategy failed and Bakiev was not unseated, and the opposition has struggled to regroup and find new tactics since then. The leaders of certain parties and movements have been compromised, particularly after the April events, and this serves to keep these opposition parties away from one another, Omarov told IWPR. Omurbek Tekebaev, who heads the Ata-Meken party, agreed that Kyrgyzstans parties were reluctant to join forces. Many party bosses dont want to create new parties to suit the moment, he said. They would have to forget the history of their party, the history of a glorious struggle against authoritarianism, and amalgamate with someone else just to get into parliament. And the voters might not like it, either. By the time this report was published, 12 of the 50 parties that had applied to stand in the election had been approved by the poll commission. Under the rules of proportional representation, each party can nominate up to 100 candidates, and seats will then be allocated from the top of the list downwards according to well it fares at the polls. However, the Central Electoral Commission has ruled that only the top five names on each partys list will appear on the ballot papers, for reasons of space. The result has been to encourage parties to focus their campaigns on big-name politicians and public figures rather than on policies. Thus, Bakievs Ak Jol has Cholpon Baekova, the head of Kyrgyzstans Constitutional Court, as number one in a top five that also includes State Secretary Adakhan Madumarov and Vladimir Nifadyev, head of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavonic University. Apart from Tekebaev, the new, consolidated Ata-Meken has noted opposition parliamentarians Kubatbek Baybolov and Temir Sariev, while the Social Democrats have a constellation of well-known figures including ex-parliamentary deputy Omurbek Babanov and vice-president of the American University in Central Asia Bakyt Beshimov. Kulov and his deputy Emil Aliev are leading contenders in the Ar-Namys, which also has Anvar Artykov and Valery Dil, leading members of the ethnic Uzbek and German communities, respectively. According to Omarov, that leaves voters having to choose between individual politicians, rather than clearly-defined political directions. The voters will vote for personalities. In the forthcoming election, its a serious problem that what people want is to see new faces and new politicians, whereas what well get is politicians who have been around for the past 15 years, he said. As for the programmes of the political movements, they are all much of a muchness. They all make appeals to the people and say theyll protect them. Just a set of hackneyed phrases with no real content. Dooronbek Sadyrbaev, who has been placed number five on the list of the moderate opposition party Asaba, agreed that personalities and money too would count. Reputation and money are still needed to win elections in our country. The top-five lists consist of either the wealthy or the famous, he said. The parties are bringing in well-known, tried-and-tested politicians like me to win votes. I describe them as the clapped-out steam engines that will pull the young, fresh politicians in their train. Sariev, one of the leaders of Ata-Meken, agrees that there is a point to using high-profile politicians as long as they form part of a good team. People need to have confidence and theyre looking for leaders, he said. Theyll vote wholeheartedly for anyone in whom they have faith. In addition, since these are party-based elections they will be voting for a list and theyll want to see a team whose members complement each other. As debate rages about the justice of imposing a regional as well as national threshold of votes which parties need to surpass in order to win seats, politicians are divided on how much of a role regionalism will play in this election. People dont have time to study the [campaign] platforms of all the parties. Our voters may forget the one partys programme the moment they read another. So the defining factor will be regionalism, said Jenishbek Nazaraliev, who is number one on the opposition Asaba partys list. Sariev disagrees, saying, I dont think the regional factor will play a significant role. Sociological surveys demonstrate that people gain more confidence in the opposition parties after they merge. That gives me hope that we will move away from the regional factor and pay more attention to personalities and teams. Edil Baisalov, a well-known opposition figure who has been nominated by the Social Democratic Party, is also optimistic about the forthcoming ballot. Theres rapid political development under way, which is gratifying, he said. It wont be an ideal election, but it will offer important lessons for how to make this system take root and establish itself. Its important for parties to galvanise the voters. He concluded, I think it will strengthen democracy and help make civil society more cohesive. Yryskeldi Kadykeev is an IWPR contributor in Bishkek. Tolkunbek Turdubaev, a BBC correspondent in Bishkek, also contributed to this report. KYRGYZ PARTIES SAY RULE CHANGE UNDERMINES ELECTION A new requirement set by election officials could make it almost impossible for parties to win seats in parliament. By Yryskeldi Kadykeev in Bishkek Opposition politicians and human rights groups in Kyrgyzstan say a rule change by the electoral authorities will make it virtually impossible for them to win seats in the December 16 parliamentary election. The parties were already unhappy that the new constitution and electoral code approved in an October 16 referendum set two different thresholds that they must meet if they are to win seats under the new proportional representation system. First, they must get five per cent of the total national electorate, estimated at 2.7 million people. Second, they must also get 0.5 per cent of the vote in each of Kyrgyzstans regions. This latter provision was written into the rules to prevent parties based on local or ethnic interests from making it into the national legislature. However, on November 19, the Central Electoral Commission came out with a ruling that completely rewrote the regional threshold. Instead of 0.5 per cent of the electoral roll for each region individually, which would be proportional to the size of the local population, the CEC said that in each region, parties must win 0.5 per cent of the total national electoral roll. This is a fixed figure which works out at 13,500 people. The rule change may seem a mere technicality, but it could make it well-nigh impossible for even a strong party to win the required number of votes in every one of Kyrgyzstans seven regions, plus the big cities of Bishkek and Osh. In a large region like Jalalabad, for example, the hurdle should still be easy enough to meet. But take a sparsely-populated region like Talas, for example, where there are 121,000 people on the electoral roll. According to the Electoral Code, parties had to get 0.5 per cent of that total. At just over 600 people, that should present little problem, even if many of the listed voters are away working in Russia or are too apathetic to go to the polls. The CECs new ruling, however, requires that each party so far 12 have been formally registered by the CEC gets 13,500 votes in Talas, over 11 per cent of the listed total. Constitutional lawyer Gulnara Iskakova argues that this is an unworkable system. Regions have different numbers of voters. How does this threshold relate to the regions? I think the upcoming election will be undemocratic and will not provide the parties with an equal starting-point, she said. The CECs ruling sparked a furious response from parties which felt the ground was being cut from under them. On November 21, ten political parties wrote a letter addressed to President Bakiev in which they said the new regional requirement contradicts the constitution, creates artificial obstacles and violates the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens. The parties urged Bakiev to clarify the situation. However, the presidents press office said he would not be meeting party leaders as this seemed unnecessary. Omurbek Tekebaev, the leader of the opposition Ata-Meken one of the parties which signed the letter warns that so many parties could fall at the new hurdle that many of parliaments 90 seats could be left empty. Theres a danger that none of the parties will win in the first round. That is seriously irresponsible, as it means we would risk being left without a parliament .the election would be annulled. This is dangerous, he said, noting that President Bakiev ordered parliaments dissolution after announcing the snap election in October, and a poor showing in December could mean a re-run would not take place until spring. Tekebaev warned of the dangers to the democratic process of striking out a party which had won 30 or 40 per cent of the vote nationally, but had failed the 0.5 per cent mark in one region. The CEC would annul this victory, and the result would be that the views of a large slice of the population would be ignored The election result might not be recognised by the majority of the population, he said. When he proposed a new constitution and called the December election, president Bakiev was clearly trying to draw a line under the political instability and argument much of it centring on the constitution that has dogged his rule virtually ever since he came to power in the March 2005 revolution. Some analysts are now warning that if the regional threshold is not sorted out, the issue could lead to a period of renewed uncertainty and instability. Political scientist Nur Omarov is concerned that if Bakiev cannot produce a convincing explanation for the regional barrier, the legitimacy of the December election result could be placed in doubt. Contradictory interpretations of this rule will create scope for litigation and undermine the legitimacy of this election, he said. The Civil Committee for Voters Rights Protection, which was recently formed to promote fair elections, sees the threshold as a major barrier to Kyrgyzstans parties. In a statement issued on October 20, the committee said, The rule is premature, and may greatly limit access to power for political parties that have great potential and outstanding leaders, and which could make a real contribution to the development of Kyrgyzstan. Because the CEC ruling would deprive people of an equal say in the decision-making process, the committee warned. We believe there is a real danger of new conflicts among this countrys population. In October, Bakiev set up a new group called the Ak Jol Peoples Party which he clearly envisages as a future ruling party. With the presidents backing, Ak Jol should be uniquely placed to pick up 13,500 votes in each of the nine electoral provinces. However, the partys deputy chair Elmira Ibraimova has filed a legal petition requesting the CEC to renounce its re-interpretation of the regional requirement. At the same time, Adakhan Madumarov, another leading figure in Ak Jol who has stepped down as State Secretary to run in the election, insists the regional barrier is not in breach of the constitution. If any party is worried that it wont get the necessary amount of votes to break this half per cent barrier, then it doesnt have the right to claim to be a national political party and form a cabinet of ministers. This rule has been introduced to get political parties to unite on the basis of their convictions and programmes. I dont see this half per cent barrier as a major tragedy, Madumarov told IWPR. CEC member Aigul Ryskulova said the aim of the newly-interpreted threshold barrier is to rule out the many tiny parties and encourage the stronger ones to field candidates. We can already see that some oppositional parties have merged. Proportional representation is a more voter-friendly system. It will lead to the creation of several large, strong parties that will represent the interests of most important sections of society, she said. Parties have to move away from regionalism, and that is why 0.5 per cent is needed. Ryskulova said that if Kyrgyzstans Supreme Court was asked to make a ruling on the matter and decided that the original interpretation of how the 0.5 per cent quota should work based on regional electoral rolls - the CEC would fall into line. However, she said, the system would work even if further rounds of voting had to be held to fill parliaments seats. If no party crosses the threshold, there will be repeat elections. It wont be a catastrophe, she said. We would like it to be completed in one round, with a few big parties getting into the parliament. But this is a big political race with a big prize the right of the majority party to nominate a prime minister and form a government. So the requirements are high as well. Yryskeldi Kadykeev is an IWPR contributor in Bishkek. TENSIONS OVER FOREIGN WORKERS IN TAJIKISTAN Tajiks are going to have to get used to workers coming from abroad if they want inward investment. By Asliddin Dostiev in Kulyab and Ruhshona Najimiddinova in Dushanbe A recent brawl between local people and incoming Chinese workers suggests that the authorities in Tajikistan will have to keep an eye on the tensions that may arise out of increasing economic investment. Analysts say the November 11 incident, when several people were injured after a fight broke out between Tajiks in the southern city of Kulyab and a squad of Chinese labourers, highlights the teething problems associated with foreign-funded construction projects where investors may want to bring in their own workers. They argue that the authorities should take practical steps to help migrant workers and the local community get along with each other. Siyovush Ishokov, 17, was injured when a fight broke out between around 40 Chinese construction workers and 50 Tajik men and adolescents in Kulyab. Ishokov told IWPR that that it all began when one of a group of teenagers gathered outside a mobile phone shop threw a stone at a truck full of Chinese labourers which had stopped close by. According to Iskhokov, dozens of Chinese got out and set upon bystanders with their tools including steel bars and hammers. Around Chinese men began beating up a boy who must have been ten or 11 years old. I tried to help him, but I got hit by numerous blows from steel bars. They beat me until I was unconscious. Kakhor Murodov, a doctor in the regional hospital, told IWPR that Ishokov was admitted with multiple injuries. Ishokov said that although at least ten other Tajiks were wounded in the fighting, they did not go to hospital because they wanted to avoid getting into trouble with the police. One Chinese man who was taken to hospital had to undergo minor surgery. Like the Tajiks, many other Chinese are thought to have declined hospital treatment to avoid unpleasantness with the police or with their employers. According to media reports, tensions remained high following the incident and security was increased in the town. Murodov said it was not the first time there had been a fight between Chinese workers and the locals. A few months ago, some Chinese and local boys from Mumirak, a village in the Muminobad district, had been treated at a local hospital following a fight. Some of those interviewed for this report suggested that such incidents go unreported because neither side wants to make further trouble for themselves. Chinese embassy staff in Dushanbe told IWPR they were unaware of the violence in Kulyab and were unable to comment. A representative of the Tajik interior ministry who asked to remain anonymous told IWPR that there had been a marked increase in fights between locals and migrants as Chinese investment grew. Tajikistan is one of the poorest post-Soviet countries and is struggling to attract foreign investment to turn its economy around. Dushanbe is keen to attract investors from its giant eastern neighbour, and about 150 joint ventures are already operating. Last year, China loaned Tajikistan 640 million US dollars to lay power lines and rebuild a road from Dushanbe to Uzbekistan. Increased levels of economic cooperation have brought an influx of Chinese workers. According to the Tajik labour ministry, 1,000 of them were officially registered this year. The workers involved in the brawl in Kulyab were part of a team of 300 labourers drafted in to build a high-voltage electricity transmission line from Lolazor to Khatlon. Tajikistan has had few immigrants in recent years, and is more noted for the seasonal exodus of its own working-age population, hundreds of thousands of whom go off every year to Russia and increasingly Kazakstan to earn money they could never hope to get at home. Observers are concerned that the unfamiliar phenomenon of incoming migrant labour could create further tensions if locals feel that the new arrivals are taking jobs that rightly belong to them. Ghafur Rasulov, head of media relations at the Ministry for Economic Development and Trade, noted that many Chinese investors insist on providing their own labour and the Tajik authorities are powerless to change this. This is stipulated by the agreements, so we cant do anything about it, he said. The Tajik labour ministry has lobbied for a requirement that 70 per cent of any foreign companys employees must be local people. However, Anvar Boboev, deputy director of the Agency for Social Protection and Migration, said the government is in no position to dictate terms to investors. We can determine quotas for foreign workers, but we cant impose strict barriers as they do in Kazakstan or Russia, because those countries are [more] attractive, said Boboev. If we imposed barriers, wed scare away investors. Political scientist Rashid Abdullo said he understands why Chinese companies want to employ their own workers, as it works out cheaper and more efficient for them. As investment flows increase, there will inevitably be more of these foreign workers, not least because there is not enough suitably qualified labour in Tajikistan. Locals say animosity towards migrant workers is particularly high in areas of the country where unemployment is high the southeastern area around Kulyab is a good example of this and stems from a perception that the Chinese workers are stealing local jobs. Zafar Mahmudov, a Dushanbe resident who works for an international organisation, said ethnic tensions often arise because locals look down on the incomers, thinking that they depend on us, so were better than them. A sociologist with a Dushanbe-based research centre noted that migrant workers tend to congregate in the same area and are often at a loose end when the working day is done. Add to this the psychological strain of being away from home and family, she said, and these workers are liable to be easily provoked. I can only advise dispersing them in small groups, so that these conflicts are less in evidence, she said. Put a large number of men in one place with no leisure facilities and of course youre going to have problems. Asliddin Dostiev is a correspondent for the Khatlon Press news agency in Kulyab. Ruhshona Najimiddinova is an independent journalist in Dushanbe. **** 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. 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