Image: Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan

07 May 2024
Central Asia, Justice, Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Justice, Uzbekistan Local Politics

Uzbekistan’s Supreme Court Vacates Convictions of 198 Victims of Stalinist Repressions

On May 6, the criminal trial panel of the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan considered 11 criminal cases involving 198 people who were unjustly punished by court verdicts over the period of 1930–1938, according to the press services of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Among those acquitted are high-ranking officials who held positions in the judicial system. Most of them were sentenced to death or long-term imprisonment with confiscation of property according to verdicts handed down by the Criminal Trial Committee of the Supreme Court of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on June 21, 1930.

The vacating of those convictions was carried out according to a decree issued by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev dated October 8, 2020, titled “On further study of the legacy of repression victims and additional measures to perpetuate their memory.” In order to ensure the implementation of the decree, a working group at the republican level was established to further study the legacy of repression victims, as well as organizing and coordinating the work of perpetuating their memory.

After the approval of that “road map” for clearing the names of the victims of repression and perpetuating their memory, the scope of research on identifying victims was expanded, and officials were given the opportunity to use the departmental archives of ministries and agencies.
Over the course of its efforts, the working group identified 1,031 people who were repressed during the Soviet-era, who subsequently had their convictions vacated.

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@iStock

07 May 2024
Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan International Affairs, Business & Economy, Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy

New UN Program to Help Kyrgyz Apiaries Develop Export of Honey

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Kyrgyzstan, in cooperation with the Training and Advisory Services Center (TES-Center) Foundation, is launching an initiative to strengthen the value chain of natural honey for export, according to a report on the official UNDP website.

The project will be funded by the Government of Finland and implemented in the Osh, Naryn, and Issyk-Kul regions. The authors of the initiative believe that Kyrgyzstan has significant potential for the production and export of honey. However, this requires a coordinated effort.

“We support beekeepers in increasing their productivity and competitiveness of their natural honey, taking into account the introduction of innovative and resource-efficient green technologies, which will stimulate [sustainable] exports and the creation of new green jobs. The program is also aimed at integrating small farmers into the process of value addition,” said Aisuluu Mambetkazieva, the UNDP Trade Facilitation Project Coordinator.

The project will support beekeepers and their apiaries, exporters, service operators, and the local authorities. Special attention will be paid to the inclusion of women and people with disabilities, as well as environmental sustainability in the sector.

The project is expected to generate at least 120 jobs, including those for women, in rural areas. The project will also provide capacity building for honey processing and export enterprises. Participants will be trained in the use of online marketplaces and e-commerce platforms.

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@iStock

07 May 2024
Central Asia, Justice, Tajikistan International Affairs, International Affairs, Tajikistan

Central Asian Entrepreneurs in Russia Shutting Down Hospitality Businesses Due to Xenophobia, Police Inspections

As previously reported by TCA, cafes and restaurants in Russia run by business owners from Central Asia have begun to close en masse. Following the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow on March 22, for which several Tajik nationals have been detained and charged as the perpetrators, preexisting anti-migrant sentiment in Russia has intensified. Since that time, 75% of cafes and restaurants run by Central Asian migrants in Moscow alone have shut, with their owners citing xenophobia and harassment by the police.

According to the Current Time news portal, police have sharply stepped up checks on newcomers, mostly Central Asians, over the past month. Raids against migrants are going on all over the country. Many migrants have already left Russia because of this – or refused to visit public places, including cafes.

Café and restaurant owners have therefore suffered losses, and many have been forced to cease operations altogether. Police inspections of cafes and restaurants frequented by migrants have also increased – which is also not good for business.

Migrants from other countries who work in the hospitality industry in Russia have also stated that increased xenophobia and raids after the terrorist attack have hit the restaurant business particularly hard. Those pressures – coupled with painfully high Russian inflation for food, goods, labor, and more  – have made operations in the hospitality sector unprofitable for many whose livelihoods depend on it.

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gov.kg

07 May 2024
Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan Environment, Kyrgyzstan Life & Culture, Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy, Kyrgyzstan Home

Kumtor Gold Boosts Kyrgyzstan Economy

On May 7, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic Akylbek Japarov inspected the Kumtor gold mine in the permafrost zone of the Issyk-Kul region.

Sitting 4,000 meters above sea level, the mine serves one of the world’s ten largest gold deposits and prior to being nationalized in 2021, was owned by Canadian company, Centerra Gold.

The mine now has over 3,000 employees, 99.9% of whom are local specialists, and more than 800 specialist vehicles, machinery and equipment to ensure uninterrupted production.

With reference to the significant developments to the site since nationalisation,  the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of the state’s role in maintaining its efficient operation.

Last year, the mine generated 17.2 billion soms (over $194 million) in taxes and social payments – equivalent to roughly one-third of Kyrgyzstan’s state budget.

Japarov also inspected Kumtor’s underground gold mining project, which launched in February, will enable the further extraction of about 115 tons of gold.

At Kumtor’s open-pit mine, it currently takes one ton of processed ore and over 40 tons of extracted waste rock to produce 5-7 grams of gold. Underground mining has the potential to double that yield with less damage to the environment than its open-pit equivalent.

Further to the prime minister’s visit, it was reported that from 2026, mining will begin on ore waste stored at the Kumtor mine tailings and according to estimates, will produce an additional 120 tons of gold.

In 2023, the Kumtor mine produced 13,567 tons of gold, with a total revenue of $848 million, and net profit of $302.5 million.

 

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@nemolchikz

07 May 2024
Central Asia, Home, Justice, Kazakhstan Justice, Kazakhstan Life & Culture, Kazakhstan, Features

Kazakh Embassy Counselor in UAE Recalled After Domestic Violence Allegations

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan has recalled an Embassy Counselor from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saken Mamash, after the publication of a video message by his wife, Karina Mamash, who alleged ongoing domestic violence, according to a report in Kursiv.kz. “We urgently recalled this employee to Kazakhstan. Further, his case will be dealt with by law enforcement agencies,” said an official representative of the ministry.

Karina Mamash’s appeal was published on an Instagram page run the public foundation, “NeMolchi” (Don’t Remain Silent”). In the video, Mamash accuses her husband of years of violence, and expresses fear for her own safety and the safety of their children.

“My name is Karina Mamash Gosmanovna. My husband, counselor to the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the UAE, yesterday beat me and my sister, who came to visit me on the 3rd [of May]. I demand help from our state. I am tired of being silent. I am tired of tolerating. For ten years he has been raping me, beating me. I am in danger, and my children are in danger around him. I demand help from our state. Help me,” she said, attaching photos of herself and her sister with bruises on their faces to the post. Karina Mamash also insisted that her husband be “stripped of his status as a diplomat and put in jail for all the abuse.”

Domestic violence has become a key topic of discussion in Kazakhstan amid the high-profile case of Kuandyk Bishimbayev for allegedly killing his common-law wife, Saltanat Nukenova. On April 15, President Tokayev signed into law amendments and additions passed by Kazakhstan’s parliament ensuring the rights of women and the safety of children. The initiative represents a first in the CIS in terms of how far it goes to provide protection for women and children in the country.

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Photo: instagram save bishkek trolleybus

07 May 2024
Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan Environment, Kyrgyzstan Life & Culture, Kyrgyzstan Local Politics

Campaign to Save Bishkek’s Trolleybuses

A campaign has been launched to prevent plans by the municipality of Bishkek to replace its trolleybuses with electric buses.

According to a statement issued by the Bishkek municipality, “the issue of transferring trolleybuses along with their contact network and traction substations to the cities of Osh, Kara-Balta and Tokmok for their further operation there, is under consideration”.

A key objection raised by the Save Bishkek Trolleybus campaign is that since the five proposed electric bus routes will simply replicate the existing trolleybus routes, the city will lose its existing network of environmentally- friendly public transport that introduced in the Soviet era, has been operating for many decades.

The Save Bishkek Trolleybus has now launched an online petition to preserve its favoured mode of transport.

According to the group behind the new initiative, the reason for abandoning the trolleybus network relates to the fact that one of the conditions of funding by the Asian Development Bank for electric public transport in Bishkek , was the replacement of trolleybus depots with new depots and substations to recharge electric buses.

Kadyrbek Atambayev, leader of the Social Democratic faction in Bishkek’s City Council, argues that Bishkek’s trolleybus system should be developed, not eliminated.

Regarding cost, he emphasizes that electric buses are four times more expensive than trolleybuses. The price of 100-120 electric buses along with charging stations is $50 million, while in 2017, 52 trolleybuses were purchased for 7 million euros.

He also drew attention to the fact that operating batteries during Bishkek’s cold winters would increase energy consumption and reduce the efficiency of electric buses.

In his opinion, the liquidation of the trolleybus system would mean not only the loss of a convenient and affordable mode of public transport, but also the loss of a significant part of Bishkek’s cultural heritage.

 

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