EurasiaNet.org
Kyrgyzstan: Radioactive Coal Scandal Eclipses Older Radioactive Woes
(Feb 6)
Kyrgyzstan's opposition politicians are outraged. Late last year hundreds of tons of coal with higher than normal levels of radioactivity found their way from a mine in Kazakhstan to the electricity and heating plant in Bishkek. When the media and public demanded the coal be removed from the city, it was reportedly transferred to the boiler rooms of 14 schools, a kindergarten and an orphanage.
The opposition politicos have seized the story, bellowing that generations of children will be contaminated. They propose theories that are impossible to verify, and offer all sorts of unsubstantiated statistics on how radioactive the coal is. According to the Emergencies Situations Ministry, the coal is emitting background radiation three to five times higher than normal.
Is the coal dangerous? Possibly. But considering Kyrgyzstan’s legacy of mismanaging radioactive waste, the arguments ring a little hollow.
In former Soviet uranium mining towns dotting mountainous Kyrgyzstan, impoveris...
In Baku, Eurovision Supervisor Talks Of Human Rights, Hopes For Event
(Feb 5)
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Preparations for the 57th Eurovision Song Contest have reached a fever pitch in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku.
Finishing touches are being put on the venue, local streets are undergoing a scrupulous cleanup, and the city has become the focus of numerous pop songs celebrating its charms.
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Georgian Captain Recounts Somali Hostage Ordeal: 'They Treated Us Mercilessly'
(Feb 4)
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BATUMI, Georgia -- After nearly a year and a half at sea as a hostage held by Somali pirates, Memed Zakaradze is relieved to know his grandchildren in this Georgian port city still recognize him.
"They've grown up in my absence," the 63-year-old Zakaradze says ruefully. "But they still remember me."
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Turkmenistan: Government Critic Targeted with “Godfather” Technique
(Feb 4)
Turkmenistan may already have a reputation for the surreal, but as presidential elections approach, one of the last remaining government critics is being harassed by someone with an occultist fantasy and/or a fondness for Francis Ford Coppola.
Shortly after speaking with Radio Liberty’s Turkmen service about the February 12 elections -- which feature seven docile challengers to the certain winner, incumbent President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov -- Natalia Shabunts reportedly found a severed sheep head on the doorstep of her home in Ashgabat. Earlier in the week, someone drew a cross out of white powder on her doormat.
Activists have no doubt the bizarre measures are intended to frighten Shabunts.
“Both incidents appear aimed at intimidating Shabunts, who has not refrained from criticizing the Turkmen authorities on democracy and human rights issues in her own name, despite the risks it entails for a Turkmenistan-based activist,” said a statement emailed February 3 by the Brussel...
Kyrgyzstan: “Where is Equality? Where is Justice?” – Imprisoned Rights Activist
(Feb 3)
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Wrapped in a quilted robe, a thick file of papers about his case resting on the table in front of him, Azimjan Askarov is unequivocal when it comes to assigning blame for his imprisonment.
“People would often ask me, ‘Aren’t you afraid of the police?’ And I’d say, ‘Why? I work on the basis of the law. What’s there to be afraid of?’ But in the end they did what they wanted,” he said.
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Nabucco Pipeline: Finita la Comedia?
(Feb 3)
Though the Nabucco pipeline project did have a promising libretto, some energy analysts believe it may never see its name in lights. On the lookout for lower-priced production values, some pipeline stakeholders increasingly seem inclined to replace the energy opera with an operetta. In a January 31 column for Turkey's Hürriyet Daily News, Barcin Yinanç argued that the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP), to stretch from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria, is the new and "abridged" Nabucco. “Abridged...indeed is the right term since while Nabucco was supposed to carry 31 billion cubic meters [of natural gas], the amount that will be carried to Europe [via TANAP] is limited to six billion cubic meters,” wrote Yinanç. A political accord between Baku and Ankara about the pipeline, which will rely on existing Turkish infrastructure, seems to give it another edge over Nabucco, some say. By comparison, Nabucco's main promoter, the EU, has been slow in securing non-Azerbaijani sources for the...
Turkey: For Historic Istanbul Terminal, Has the Development Train Left the Station?
(Feb 3)
In the previous post, I linked to a recent National Public Radio piece about Istanbul's rapid development and how that growth is causing concerns among preservationists worried about seeing the city's historical structures vanish or "transformed" into something unrecognizable.
One of the spots the story focuses on is the historic Haydarpasa railway station on Istanbul's Asian side, in operation since 1909 but now closed for two years while work is done on a high-speed train line from Istanbul to Ankara. Preservationists and other critics of the project worry that the closing will be more than temporary and is just a ruse for turning the station -- a coveted piece of urban real estate -- into yet another shopping mall. These worries are not unfounded. As a recent article in Today's Zaman put it: "The most important feature of the renovated railway station will be its transformation into a sort of cultural center where people will be able to mingle, visit and shop."
An article in to...
Russia To Host NATO Afghan Transit Hub?
(Feb 3)
NATO and Russia are working on an agreement to set up a multi-modal transport hub in Ulyanovsk, in Russia's Volga region, to assist the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan, reports the Russian newspaper Kommersant, citing Russian diplomats. Via Johnson's Russia List:
Talks on establishing a NATO logistics base in central Russia started one-and-a-half years ago. A source from the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the United States proposed a Russian city where "cargo from Afghanistan could be airlifted and then forwarded by rail to Latvia or Estonia." After discussing several locations, both parties agreed to set up the hub in Ulyanovsk because its airport is best suited to the task in that region due to the proximity of railway lines.
Russian Railways and Volga-Dnieper Airlines, which are already involved in delivering NATO cargo from Afghanistan to Europe, are expected to benefit, as the project will increase cargo traffic considerably.
The report adds that Russian Prim...
The Story of the Turkish Fast Food that Conquered Germany
(Feb 3)
When Germany started bringing over Turkish guest workers in the 1960's, little did the country's leaders realize that it was also importing what was to become Germany's top-selling fast food: doner. Indeed, in many German cities, doner is as much part of the culinary landscape as bratwurst and other sausages.
In a an interesting article, the Boston Globe traces doner's rise from a quick meal for nostalgic Turkish guest workers to a fast food juggernaut. From the Globe:
In Berlin in the early 1970s, Turkish “guest workers,’’ who had come to Germany during the prosperous era a decade before and were trying to make ends meet, had the idea to pack the crispy, succulent meat slices into a warm, thick loaf of Turkish bread. The sandwich evolved to include chopped tomatoes, onions, cabbage, and cucumber slices, topped with a large ladle of sauce, usually a garlicky yogurt sauce or a mildly spicy tomato sauce. The result is a tasty, robust, and quick sandwich that Germans of all ethnicitie...
Mongolia: Ballet, a Soviet Legacy Continues To Thrive in Ulaanbaatar
(Feb 3)
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When a new performance opens at the Mongolian State Academic Theater for Opera and Ballet, the hall sells out quickly. The country, which, according to some estimates, possesses as much as $1 trillion-worth of mineral reserves, can afford it.
Editor's Note:
Pearly Jacob is a freelance journalist based in Ulaanbaatar.
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