Reporting Central Asia No. 565 Part Two
WELCOME TO IWPR'S REPORTING CENTRAL ASIA, No. 565 Part Two, February 7, 2009 KAZAK TOWNS EMPTY FOLLOWING MASS JOB CUTS Experts warn of widespread migration as company closures force residents to relocate. By Olga Shevchenko in Almaty (RCA No. 566, 07-Feb-09) ARMY TO SOAK UP KAZAKSTAN'S UNEMPLOYED After years of honing Kazak armed forces, they are now being asked to conscript young men just to take them off the streets. By Olga Shevchenko in Almaty (RCA No. 565, 07-Feb-09) IWPR RESOURCES ** NEW PROJECT: CENTRAL ASIA RADIO: http://iwpr.net/centralasiaradio IWPRs weekly radio programmes for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan provide analysis and comment on current political and social themes in each country. 2008 WINNERS OF THE KURT SCHORK AWARDS: http://iwpr.net/kurtschork CENTRAL ASIA PROGRAMME HOME: http://iwpr.net/centralasia IWPR COMMENT: http://iwpr.net/comment SAHAR JOURNALISTS ASSISTANCE FUND: http://iwpr.net/sahar www.iwpr.net REPORTING CENTRAL ASIA RSS: http://www.iwpr.net/en/rca/rss.xml RECEIVE FROM IWPR: Readers are urged to subscribe to IWPR's full range of free electronic publications at: http://iwpr.net/subscribe GIVE TO IWPR: IWPR is wholly dependent upon grants and donations. For more information about how you can support IWPR go to: http://iwpr.net/donate www.iwpr.net KAZAK TOWNS EMPTY FOLLOWING MASS JOB CUTS Experts warn of widespread migration as company closures force residents to relocate. By Olga Shevchenko in Almaty The industrial crisis unfolding in Kazakstan could leave a trail of ghost towns in its wake as thousands of laid-off workers head to the big cities in search of work. Analysts believe the authorities should offer more support to the thousands of former workers affected by the collapse of a string of large enterprises, and some warn that growing discontent among the unemployed could be harnessed by anti-government groups. When the Goldy wine and vodka plant in the village of Turgen in southeastern Kazakstan ran into difficulties and had to lay off staff, married couple Aliya and Aydar Zhanybekov had to leave for the former capital Almaty to find new positions. Aliya and her husband decided to leave their two children with her elderly mother during the week, returning only at weekends. She now works as a shop assistant, while her husband has found an opening as a workman. There are no jobs in Turgen, and our small homestead cannot produce enough food for all of us, she explained. We have to work hard for little money, but these are the only jobs we have. Aydar said that they were not the only ones affected by job cuts at the villages only large enterprise. Many of our friends are also in Almaty looking for jobs some have moved to other villages, or have gone abroad. What else can we do? We are trying to survive, he said. Of all the Central Asian countries, Kazakstan has perhaps proven most vulnerable to the global economic crisis. The countrys oil reserves and advanced banking system, once great strengths, have become weaknesses. Kazak banks borrowed heavily from international lenders, and have had to drastically curtail lending over the last year, with serious implications for businesses and the construction industry. Last week the government nationalised BTA Bank the countrys largest and Alliance Bank. Meanwhile, plummeting prices for oil and metals have placed a strain on the countrys main export industries. Official estimates say that thousands have been affected by the closure of businesses across the country. There are 25 enterprises employing 7,229 people which have ceased operations, said Labour and Social Welfare Minister Berdibek Saparbaev at a January 13 government meeting, according to a KazTAG news agency report. Two hundred and thirty-four companies have cut their working hours. These enterprises employ 72,196 people, of whom 28,818 were asked to take unpaid leave, and other workers have gone onto shorter working hours. Analysts believe the real number of closures could be even higher. Nowhere is this more keenly felt than those towns and villages with just one major employer. In the village of Ayaguz in East Kazakstan province, 1,000 residents have been made redundant after the main local business, paint plant Alinex, closed. Locals say that because neighbouring towns are experiencing similar problems, there is nowhere in the area to go and look for work. There are four people in my family, and I am the only bread winner. There are very few jobs in our town, said local man Aydos Zakirov. We are thinking about leaving this place, but even if we sell all our property, we wont have enough money to buy a house in Almaty. We
Reporting Central Asia No. 565
WELCOME TO IWPR'S REPORTING CENTRAL ASIA, No. 565, February 5, 2009 KYRGYZSTAN: HOW IMMINENT IS US BASE CLOSURE? Kyrgyz authorities appear determined to end American military presence in their country, but there may still be room for negotiation. By Anara Yusupova in Bishkek (RCA No. 561, 5-Feb-09) TAJIK, KYRGYZ CONCERN AT MOSCOWS NEW ENERGY POLICY Relations could undergo radical shift as Russia begins taking a stand on regional energy and water issues. By Estelle Erimova and Asyl Osmonalieva in Bishkek and Mukammal Odinaeva in Dushanbe (RCA No. 565, 04-Feb-09) IWPR RESOURCES ** NEW PROJECT: CENTRAL ASIA RADIO: http://iwpr.net/centralasiaradio IWPRs weekly radio programmes for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan provide analysis and comment on current political and social themes in each country. 2008 WINNERS OF THE KURT SCHORK AWARDS: http://iwpr.net/kurtschork CENTRAL ASIA PROGRAMME HOME: http://iwpr.net/centralasia IWPR COMMENT: http://iwpr.net/comment SAHAR JOURNALISTS ASSISTANCE FUND: http://iwpr.net/sahar www.iwpr.net REPORTING CENTRAL ASIA RSS: http://www.iwpr.net/en/rca/rss.xml RECEIVE FROM IWPR: Readers are urged to subscribe to IWPR's full range of free electronic publications at: http://iwpr.net/subscribe GIVE TO IWPR: IWPR is wholly dependent upon grants and donations. For more information about how you can support IWPR go to: http://iwpr.net/donate www.iwpr.net KYRGYZSTAN: HOW IMMINENT IS US BASE CLOSURE? Kyrgyz authorities appear determined to end American military presence in their country, but there may still be room for negotiation. By Anara Yusupova in Bishkek (RCA No. 561, 5-Feb-09) As the shock of Kyrgyzstans announcement that the United States airbase near the capital Bishkek is to close down subsides, some analysts are doubtful that a rapid withdrawal of American forces is imminent. Opponents of President Kurmanbek Bakiev accuse him of trading the US military presence in return for financial support from Russia. However, others say the decision is nowhere near as clear-cut as Bakievs headline-making statement suggests. Rumours of the closure had been circulating since January, but the final announcement came while Bakiev was in Moscow on February 3, attending a joint summit of two post-Soviet blocs, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation and the Eurasian Economic Community. During his visit, Bakiev secured a 300 million US dollar loan to be used to support Kyrgyzstans hard-pressed government budget, plus a pledge of 1.7 billion dollars in investments in the countrys energy industry. In addition, Moscow agreed to write off 180 million dollars of Kyrgyz debt in return for a 48 per cent stake in a defence-industry factory plant that produces components for torpedoes, and offered an additional financial assistance worth 150 million dollars. The US-led Coalition in Afghanistan acquired the lease of the base, located at Bishkeks Manas airport, in 2001 to provide logistical air support for its military operations. The base provides air refuelling and other services for operations in Afghanistan, and is used a stopping-off point for freight and personnel transporters. There are over 1,000 US personnel at the base, servicing nine military transports and refuelling planes. The Americans plan to double their troop commitment in Afghanistan to 60,000 this year, but land supply routes from Pakistan have increasingly come under attack from the Taleban. Many analysts suspect that the decision to close the base is closely linked to Kyrgyzstans desire to seek economic support from Moscow, which has never been happy with a western military presence in a region it regards as its own back yard. However, Bakievs explanation focused on the persistent disagreements over how much the Americans should pay in rent and other fees. Eight years have now passed, the Kyrgyz leader said at a joint press conference with Medvedev. We have had repeated discussions with the US on the question of economic compensation for the presence of the base in Kyrgyzstan, but we have failed to reach an understanding. By contrast, the text of the bill submitted to parliament the following day, February 4, suggested that the regional security concerns which originally made the base necessary had now receded. Over this period the threat has diminished, said the bill, which also cited concerns raised by people living near the Manas facility about the environmental impact of frequent military flights and frictions caused by a number of incidents involving US military personnel, including one in which a Kyrgyzstan national working as a driver was shot dead at the base. The Russian leadership immediately
