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Kyrgyzstan guide
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| Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan © Vyacheslav Oseledko |
An impoverished former Soviet Union republic, Kyrgyzstan lived up to its name as "an island of democracy in Central Asia" in the popular uprising in 2005 that ousted the corrupt government of ex-President Akaev. High hopes for positive change in the new Kyrgyz state have not yet come to fruition as president and parliament jostle over their respective powers while poverty indicators show little sign of improvement.
updated February 2007
Millennium Development Goals
Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked, mountainous country with a population of five million people and has been assessed as potentially reaching most of its targets for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. In one of the poorest former Soviet republics, 40% of the population lives below the poverty line, rising to 65% in rural areas. Large and continually growing inequality has been a worrying trend of the last decade, with rural-urban internal migration exacerbating the cycle of poverty. Infant mortality rates are 1.8 times greater in the poorest 20% of households than in the wealthiest 20% and child mortality is almost twice as great.
The government is committed to pro-poor economic growth and is known as the darling of Central Asia amongst donors. Significant success in macro-economic stability in recent years has been achieved by a reduction in state expenditures, including cuts in education, the public health sector and social services, which have been detrimental to sustainable long-term growth and combating poverty. School enrolment rates are believed to be falling and gender inequality is entrenched in the country's culture. These two issues are viewed as the greatest problems in achieving the MDGs.
Politics
The republic declared its sovereignty from the ex-Soviet Union on December 15th, 1990 followed by the declaration of independence on August 31st, 1991.
President Akaev led the nation from 1990 until the popular uprising in 2005 that forced him to resign and flee to Moscow. After a controversial and manipulative extension to his presidential term in 2000, it was unjust and fraudulent parliamentary elections in March 2005 which proved to be the tipping point for countrywide protests. After an unsettling period of chaos and anarchy in the capital, Bishkek, an interim government was formed. Kurmanbek Bakiev, a former prime minister sacked by Akaev after the bloody 2002 Aksy events, took charge in the aftermath of his rivals downfall and won a solid victory in the presidential elections that followed in July 2005.
Any honeymoon period in terms of public popularity for President Bakiev swiftly expired as frustration grew at his failure to honour promises to reform the constitution and stem crime and corruption which has become even worse than under the Akaev regime. Under pressure from mounting public protest in November 2006, Bakiev submitted a revised constitution that was acceptable to parliament. Critically, power to appoint a government will be taken away from the president and transferred to parliament.
Bakiev had perhaps presumed that there would be no change in government until elections due in 2010 but the cabinet resigned in January 2007 in an attempt to force earlier elections. A new compromise prime minister, Azim Isabekov, will be hampered by the move of former prime minister, Felix Kulov, to join the opposition coalition known as "For Reforms".
While civil society development was fairly vibrant in the 1990s, the situation has sharply deteriorated since 2000. Human Rights Watch protested about the former Akaev governments waning commitment to civil freedoms and, perhaps under Russian influence, the new government also shows signs of obstructing dialogue with civil society, political activists, and religious leaders.
Human Rights
In the 1990s, Kyrgyzstan was described as the island of democracy in a highly repressive region. Since presidential and parliamentary elections in 2000, however, the human rights record of the Kyrgyz government has steadily deteriorated. Human rights violations have been particularly evident for those wanting to participate in the political sphere. Critical journalists and their relatives have been targets of harassment by government authorities and independent media outlets have engaged in self-censorship avoiding open dialogue, particularly on the issue of corruption.
Despite a new law passed in 2003, there is continuous widespread ill-treatment and torture of those held in police custody. Religious persecution has been on the rise following 1999-2000 armed incursions into southern Kyrgyzstan by the Islamic Movement Uzbekistan (IMU). This region has also been unsettled by the influx of refugees from the 2005 massacre in Andijan in Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan accommodated about 500 Uzbek refugees but international opinion changed from admiration to outrage in 2006 when 5 individuals were returned to the security forces in Uzbekistan in a blatant violation of the 1951 Geneva Convention. Kyrgyzstan is dependent on Uzbekistan for gas supplies and the two countries appear to work together closely on security issues.
Health
Kyrgyzstan experienced a sharp decline in health status indicators in the early 1990s; since 1995 there has been slow but gradual improvement. In 1996, with the support of the aid community, the government has undertaken a major health reform program Manas aimed at re-orienting the health system towards primary family care and away from its previous specialized, hospital care basis. Despite some progress being made, mortality rates from circulatory system diseases, the leading cause of death in Kyrgyzstan, remain above 1990 levels. Kyrgyzstan has one of the highest levels of respiratory disease mortality amongst the CIS countries. Syphilis and tuberculosis cases have dramatically increased, possibly through implementation of the WHO-recommended Directly Observed Therapy Short-course (DOTS) strategy.
Malaria was eradicated in 1959 but returned in 1996 as autochthonous (non-imported cases). In 2002, the situation worsened when a malaria outbreak occurred in Batken, the southwestern area bordering Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and more than 2000 autochthonous malaria cases were registered. Since 1998, a number of outbreaks of typhoid fever have been recorded, the majority of them in the south.
Intravenous drug use is a major form of HIV transmission in Kyrgyzstan. The number of registered drug addicts has increased steadily during the 1990s, mirrored by the trend in HIV-positive cases. The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the Kyrgyz Republic is close to 1,000, though unofficial estimates put the number at least 10 times higher. More than half of officially reported cases occur in southern Kyrgyzstan Osh and Kara Suu the region on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border on the route for drug trafficking from Afghanistan.
Conflict
Sharp declines in the socio-economic status of the majority of the population, high inequality between rural and urban areas, and between the north and the south, as well as lack of access to natural resources, contributed to the popular unrest that forced Akaev to resign. The International Crisis Group (ICG) warns the new government against the risk of becoming a failed state through the current fragile situation of irreversible crime and permanent low-level violence.
The underfinanced Kyrgyz national army, and the 1999 and 2000 incursions by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) into southern Batken province, reveal the high level of vulnerability of the borders. Ensuing tensions between Bishkek and Tashkent over border security, Uzbekistans isolationist policies and the regions increasing level of insecurity, ensure that conflict prevention programs remain high on the international actors agenda. The September 11th events in New York led to a strategic US military presence in Kyrgyzstan, creating a difficult situation for both governments over appropriate financial terms for the airbase.
Information and Media
Media has enjoyed relative freedom in Kyrgyzstan in the past decade. Independent media outlets exist and an internationally-funded independent printing press, which opened in 2003, provides an alternative platform for those with opposing views to publish articles critical of the state. However, the redistribution of resources and power in the wake of the 2005 revolution has had a negative impact on the functioning of media, such as a famous independent media outlet Piramida.
There are no apparent restrictions to access of information via the internet. Many public access centers having been set up and supported by the aid community and internet cafes are thriving around the country. The main barrier to internet access is the poor socio-economic situation of the population.
Economy
In the last decade, Kyrgyzstan has been at the forefront amongst the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in implementing macro-economic reforms, as advised by international financial institutions. Public investment has been cut continuously, leaving minimum safety nets for the population. However, this deference to the neoliberal economic model ground to a halt in February 2007 when the government surprisingly rejected the IMF's offer to join the HIPC debt initiative. An active campaign by civil society successfully argued that the loss of sovereignty inherent in the conditions for membership was too high a price for Kyrgyzstan to pay for the opportunity to cancel up to 70% of the $2 billion debt.
The countrys small base for agricultural and industrial production, its dependency on gold production, unfavorable geographic location and neighbouring Uzbekistans economic isolationism combine to make the Kyrgyzstan economy highly
vulnerable to external shocks. Excessive government regulation of small and medium enterprises does not allow for sustainable private business development. Recent uncertainty over redistribution of assets together with murders of high-profile businessmen has worsened conditions for the countrys business community. In addition, recent political instability and uncertainties have negatively affected the economy, adding to the sense of public disenchantment with the new government.
Kyrgyzstan became a full member of World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1998. However, formal and informal restrictions for the movement of Kyrgyz goods through Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistans unwillingness to engage in regional cooperation remain obstacles to Kyrgyzstans economic growth. Aid accounts for nearly 17% of GDP and overseas remittances make a similar contribution.
Environment
The most acute environmental problem for Kyrgyzstan is the Soviet-era legacy of uranium exploration. As of 1999, there were 36 uranium tailings sites and 25 uranium mining dump sites in the country. Many of these are located in areas highly prone to earthquakes and landslides; some of them at close proximity to river basins which are the sources of potable and irrigation water for Kyrgyzstan and Central Asian region. There are more than 230 mining facilities which produce more than 600 million cubic meters of the toxic waste annually. Outdated technology and inadequate environmental regulation are
damaging the overall environment. The inefficient use of natural resources, particularly cattle breeding and forestry activities, hasten the degradation of natural ecosystems. Inappropriate farming practices make the highly contested arable land (only 7% of the total land area) prone to degradation and salinity.
In all, the Kyrgyz government has ratified 9 international environmental agreements in the areas of biodiversity conservation, climate change and desertification and is a supporter of the Kyoto initiative on the establishment of the global CO2 market.
The OneWorld Kyrgyzstan Guide was first published in 2004 with a text written by Volunteer Editor Angelina Karavaeva
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| Kyrgyzstan mountains © Vyacheslav Oseledko |
The government is committed to pro-poor economic growth and is known as the darling of Central Asia amongst donors. Significant success in macro-economic stability in recent years has been achieved by a reduction in state expenditures, including cuts in education, the public health sector and social services, which have been detrimental to sustainable long-term growth and combating poverty. School enrolment rates are believed to be falling and gender inequality is entrenched in the country's culture. These two issues are viewed as the greatest problems in achieving the MDGs.
Politics
The republic declared its sovereignty from the ex-Soviet Union on December 15th, 1990 followed by the declaration of independence on August 31st, 1991.
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| Kyrgyz opposition protestors in Bishkek © Eurasianet (Open Society Institute) |
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| President Bakiev © Christian Science Monitor |
Bakiev had perhaps presumed that there would be no change in government until elections due in 2010 but the cabinet resigned in January 2007 in an attempt to force earlier elections. A new compromise prime minister, Azim Isabekov, will be hampered by the move of former prime minister, Felix Kulov, to join the opposition coalition known as "For Reforms".
While civil society development was fairly vibrant in the 1990s, the situation has sharply deteriorated since 2000. Human Rights Watch protested about the former Akaev governments waning commitment to civil freedoms and, perhaps under Russian influence, the new government also shows signs of obstructing dialogue with civil society, political activists, and religious leaders.
Human Rights
In the 1990s, Kyrgyzstan was described as the island of democracy in a highly repressive region. Since presidential and parliamentary elections in 2000, however, the human rights record of the Kyrgyz government has steadily deteriorated. Human rights violations have been particularly evident for those wanting to participate in the political sphere. Critical journalists and their relatives have been targets of harassment by government authorities and independent media outlets have engaged in self-censorship avoiding open dialogue, particularly on the issue of corruption.
Despite a new law passed in 2003, there is continuous widespread ill-treatment and torture of those held in police custody. Religious persecution has been on the rise following 1999-2000 armed incursions into southern Kyrgyzstan by the Islamic Movement Uzbekistan (IMU). This region has also been unsettled by the influx of refugees from the 2005 massacre in Andijan in Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan accommodated about 500 Uzbek refugees but international opinion changed from admiration to outrage in 2006 when 5 individuals were returned to the security forces in Uzbekistan in a blatant violation of the 1951 Geneva Convention. Kyrgyzstan is dependent on Uzbekistan for gas supplies and the two countries appear to work together closely on security issues.
Health
Kyrgyzstan experienced a sharp decline in health status indicators in the early 1990s; since 1995 there has been slow but gradual improvement. In 1996, with the support of the aid community, the government has undertaken a major health reform program Manas aimed at re-orienting the health system towards primary family care and away from its previous specialized, hospital care basis. Despite some progress being made, mortality rates from circulatory system diseases, the leading cause of death in Kyrgyzstan, remain above 1990 levels. Kyrgyzstan has one of the highest levels of respiratory disease mortality amongst the CIS countries. Syphilis and tuberculosis cases have dramatically increased, possibly through implementation of the WHO-recommended Directly Observed Therapy Short-course (DOTS) strategy.
Malaria was eradicated in 1959 but returned in 1996 as autochthonous (non-imported cases). In 2002, the situation worsened when a malaria outbreak occurred in Batken, the southwestern area bordering Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and more than 2000 autochthonous malaria cases were registered. Since 1998, a number of outbreaks of typhoid fever have been recorded, the majority of them in the south.
Intravenous drug use is a major form of HIV transmission in Kyrgyzstan. The number of registered drug addicts has increased steadily during the 1990s, mirrored by the trend in HIV-positive cases. The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the Kyrgyz Republic is close to 1,000, though unofficial estimates put the number at least 10 times higher. More than half of officially reported cases occur in southern Kyrgyzstan Osh and Kara Suu the region on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border on the route for drug trafficking from Afghanistan.
Conflict
Sharp declines in the socio-economic status of the majority of the population, high inequality between rural and urban areas, and between the north and the south, as well as lack of access to natural resources, contributed to the popular unrest that forced Akaev to resign. The International Crisis Group (ICG) warns the new government against the risk of becoming a failed state through the current fragile situation of irreversible crime and permanent low-level violence.
The underfinanced Kyrgyz national army, and the 1999 and 2000 incursions by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) into southern Batken province, reveal the high level of vulnerability of the borders. Ensuing tensions between Bishkek and Tashkent over border security, Uzbekistans isolationist policies and the regions increasing level of insecurity, ensure that conflict prevention programs remain high on the international actors agenda. The September 11th events in New York led to a strategic US military presence in Kyrgyzstan, creating a difficult situation for both governments over appropriate financial terms for the airbase.
Information and Media
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| Parade, Bishkek © Vyacheslav Oseledko |
There are no apparent restrictions to access of information via the internet. Many public access centers having been set up and supported by the aid community and internet cafes are thriving around the country. The main barrier to internet access is the poor socio-economic situation of the population.
Economy
In the last decade, Kyrgyzstan has been at the forefront amongst the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in implementing macro-economic reforms, as advised by international financial institutions. Public investment has been cut continuously, leaving minimum safety nets for the population. However, this deference to the neoliberal economic model ground to a halt in February 2007 when the government surprisingly rejected the IMF's offer to join the HIPC debt initiative. An active campaign by civil society successfully argued that the loss of sovereignty inherent in the conditions for membership was too high a price for Kyrgyzstan to pay for the opportunity to cancel up to 70% of the $2 billion debt.
The countrys small base for agricultural and industrial production, its dependency on gold production, unfavorable geographic location and neighbouring Uzbekistans economic isolationism combine to make the Kyrgyzstan economy highly
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| Young boy, Kyrgyzstan © Angelina Karavaeva |
Kyrgyzstan became a full member of World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1998. However, formal and informal restrictions for the movement of Kyrgyz goods through Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistans unwillingness to engage in regional cooperation remain obstacles to Kyrgyzstans economic growth. Aid accounts for nearly 17% of GDP and overseas remittances make a similar contribution.
Environment
The most acute environmental problem for Kyrgyzstan is the Soviet-era legacy of uranium exploration. As of 1999, there were 36 uranium tailings sites and 25 uranium mining dump sites in the country. Many of these are located in areas highly prone to earthquakes and landslides; some of them at close proximity to river basins which are the sources of potable and irrigation water for Kyrgyzstan and Central Asian region. There are more than 230 mining facilities which produce more than 600 million cubic meters of the toxic waste annually. Outdated technology and inadequate environmental regulation are
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| © Vyacheslav Oseledko |
In all, the Kyrgyz government has ratified 9 international environmental agreements in the areas of biodiversity conservation, climate change and desertification and is a supporter of the Kyoto initiative on the establishment of the global CO2 market.
The OneWorld Kyrgyzstan Guide was first published in 2004 with a text written by Volunteer Editor Angelina Karavaeva
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