Along the Silk Road - V. Politics and People

V
Politics and People

The Project, Manas and Central Asia, 2 X 2, Nooruz and the demonstration by “the opposition”, the Journalist, the Dentist, The Consultant

We never get involved in politics in these projects. After all, we are narrowly focused on rule of law and working with courts to insure that the citizens can live under rule of law rather than something more arbitrary. But that leads you back to politics you say. It is true there are no lines, but only a smudge trailing from dark to light with various shades of gray in between. Rule of Law by definition is a type of governance and also by definition a type of governance which excludes others such as monarchies and dictatorships for example. But when we arrive in a country to implement a rule of law project, certain decisions have already been made by people’s governments and we are simply insuring that the decisions are executed in a meaningful way. Or perhaps not so simply.

Although not synonymous with, but in implementation nearly so, rule of law presumes independence of the judiciary. If properly administered, independence of the judiciary can be achieved within an executive institution such as a Ministry of Justice, for example. But more often than not in this modern era, an independent judiciary presumes a separate branch of government administered and funded outside all executive and legislative institutions; similar to what we take for granted in the US. The European Union is not too subtle about its preferences in this regard for any states wanting admission into that select alliance. Even though their original members may not be so structured, the EU prefers states that have separated their judiciaries from their Ministries of Justice. This trend has bled into the former Soviet states and the Kyrgyz Republic is no exception.

In anticipation of significant funding from the US and for a variety of other good reasons, the Kyrgyz Republic separated its judiciary from its Ministry of Justice in early 2008. New judicial institutions were established and began operating in an unfamiliar but desirable environment. Enter our project.

The project which I managed in Kosovo had a slightly different experience due mainly to the point at which it entered on the scene. When we started in Kosovo the UN still controlled the judiciary and most of the government. As the project evolved, the Kosovars moved ever closer to self determination, at least as related to the United Nations control. As that inevitability approached the patriots of the fledgling republic began to debate among themselves, under the watchful eye of the UN and tender guidance of our project, how their judiciary would be structured. They selected a model that mimicked many emerging European nations where the judiciary is essentially an independent branch of government and separated from the Ministry of Justice, governed by a judicial council established for that purpose. It was an exciting time and an inimitable opportunity. I must confess in those days and as things unfolded, due to a variety of unpredictable circumstances, we did perhaps immerse ourselves a bit too far into what would otherwise be considered internal politics of the country-to-be. An overstep, perhaps, but I harbor no regrets and our result represented the will of those who would live with it, and not ours.

The Kyrgyz Republic has not been that situation. Decisions had already been made and implemented when we arrived. A number of laws and proclamations separated the judiciary with all of its related institutions from the Ministry of Justice. The new institutions and some of the old began operating with new and larger responsibilities. One of our goals is to provide assistance to these institutions as they move forward into these new and sometimes treacherous waters.

The "White House" presidential offices
It is inevitable that when institutions are separated from one body and placed independently, and when new institutions are created, the process is less than perfect. That was the experience here in the Kyrgyz Republic. The judiciary had been under the Ministry of Justice and was separated from it. That involved taking out several pieces of an existing institution and assembling them in some sort of logical arrangement to allow for the governance of courts to go forward seamlessly and efficiently. The several institutions in this case were the Court Department of the Ministry of Justice, the Judicial Training Center, and the Judicial Council.

Then another institution was added, the National Council for Justice Affairs. And, as in nearly all places, the Supreme Court looms large with undeniable influence in fact if not in law. When these bodies were reassembled outside of the executive controlled Ministry of Justice, and began operations, a number of problems arose.

The minutiae of the issues are subjects for reports and other types of treatises designed for audiences who actually have an interest in such mundane things. The details are buried in a number of legislative changes and presidential proclamations, not to mention a new constitution. In general terms, what we did glean from all of this was that there were not only gaps, inconsistencies and other normal consequences of reorganization of government, but also an incomplete separation of the judiciary from its parent executive branch. This may have been inadvertent, the result of concern that fledgling institutions would not know how to operate in a responsible manner, or simply a desire on the part of the executive to retain some control. In any event, our analysis disclosed these shortcomings and suggested that corrective measures be taken to completely sever the judiciary from the executive. The actions that we have taken are in an advisory capacity only, but to the extent we have been involved, it could be argued that we have engaged in politics. But we have not.

On a far broader scale, however, they call it geopolitics. It examines the political, economic and strategic significance of geography, where geography is defined in terms of the location, size, function, and relationships of places and resources. The geopolitics of this region are in one sense simply fascinating and another quite relevant to what the United States is doing or attempting to do in the world. When the Soviet Union broke up in the early nineties, all of the surrounding countries making up the union, the fifteen republics, all became independent. In Europe, the countries who affiliated themselves with the Soviet Union; Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungry and East Germany, all became part of the European Union and the NATO alliance. Even some of the former fifteen republics became EU and NATO members. The Russian sphere of influence was severely constricted. And in Central Asia the situation was little better. All of the “Stans” had become independent and, although still closely linked to Russia, began courting Western influences and money. More basically understood; Kazakhstan, has oil, Uzbekistan, gas, and Kyrgyzstan an airbase from which the US could supply the war in Afghanistan.

Europe would like to pipe the oil and gas from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to Europe. This would go through Georgia, another story with similar plot. Russia, on the other hand, would like to control all the oil and gas in the region. The US supports Europe in its effort since what is good for Europe is, in general terms, good for the US. Meanwhile Russia is feeling more and more vulnerable, especially on its western border with Europe and in delicate areas like Georgia and Ukraine. As the dust settled on Russia and they became oil rich and economically strong (recent reversal aside) they began to reassert themselves over their former sphere of influence. This reassertion has sometimes been with force. Georgia was the first major flex of muscle. The tarrying in Central America and Cuba was a clear “how do YOU like it” gesture toward the US.

Manas Air Base (Boston Globe photo)
Back in Central Asia, the Manas airbase represented a stick in Russia’s eye, Afghanistan notwithstanding. Russia also maintains an airbase here and does not pay the same level of rent as the US, but principles alone seemingly require this balance. The Kyrgyz Republic is poor and getting poorer with the global economic downturn. The President of Kyrgyzstan took a trip to Russia to negotiate both old and new loans. The Russians agreed to cancel the debt of the Republic and give them a very large new loan stretching several years into the future. As an aside during these negotiations, the Russians mentioned the irritation that the US airbase at Manas caused them. And so the announcement was made by the Kyrgyz President even before he left Moscow to return to Bishkek: The Manas US airbase would be closed in six months. A near unanimous vote of Parliament soon followed.

There is a bar near our apartment called the 2 x 2. It is one of several watering holes for expats. Many of the contractors working at the airbase and Canadians working at the gold mining operation frequent this establishment. A large rectangular bar dominates the room. Its corners are rounded facilitating continuous seating along its circumference. Booths line three walls; the front of the bar looks out through floor to ceiling glass onto the patio. The older overweight man with balding silver hair usually sits at one of the corners smoking a hookah with his drink. Glasses hang under the shelf that runs the course of the bar and holds the bottles of liquor an easy reach above for the barmaids dressed in a manner perceived to be appealing to the clientele. B. sits in his usual place to the left near the front. I often meet Randy, my friend from Iraq, there. The smoke rises to the tall ceiling and the juke box blares American songs. Most of the patrons are men in their late thirties to mid-forties, who, for a myriad of reasons known only to themselves, arrived in this remote corner of the planet. They all make good money and most have few obligations. The women are locals. Some are looking for a way out of this place; others are looking only to support themselves as best they can. Companionship for this group of freewheeling contractors is easily found, either temporary or of a more permanent nature.

I find the environment a good diversion and a place to get whatever scuttlebutt is available or of interest. Lately the talk revolves around the base closing. Decisions are many levels above this group, but when one’s livelihood is at stake, information tends to flow with a fair degree of accuracy. The scenarios offered are varied and many, but it seems there is a consensus that none of these workers are currently packing or looking too seriously for new contracts or a new place in some other part of the world. The possibilities run from negotiations continuing with the US to NATO taking over the operation. Time will disclose what the true state of affairs is. The official word remains that the base will close by end of summer.

Meanwhile, public opinion among the Kyrgyz people seems to be as varied as the rumors surrounding the closure. A sense of inevitability prevails. Most feel that the Government will do what it wants and the average person has little say. There is an opposition to the current administration, however. It is difficult to say how strong that opposition is, but rumors abounded from the time I got to Kyrgyzstan in August that by March there would be another revolution.

Kyrgyz Wrestling on Nooruz
Nooruz marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the year in the Iranian calendar. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox, which usually occurs on March 21 or the previous or following day depending on where it is observed. Many Central European countries, including Kyrgyzstan, observe this holiday. The 21st of March was a Saturday this year and the weekend in Bishkek was festive. Streets were blocked, traditional games were played in the square in front of Parliament, things such as Kyrgyz wrestling. School children sang for the gathered crowd and nighttime saw a wonderful fireworks display in the central square. We were able to watch from our apartment as the mortars exploded into red and green and white sparkling balls over the top of the White House.

Nooruz celebration. Selling baloons and cotton candy
Because Nooruz fell on a Saturday, we had Monday off in official recognition of the holiday. The 24th, Tuesday, was the anniversary of the 2005 revolution that placed the current President in office. That day was also an official holiday. The much anticipated demonstration by the opposition was scheduled for Friday the 27th. Our apartment is next to Gorky Park. Gorky Park is the officially designated place for demonstrations. Taking about half a block, the park has walks around its perimeter and two paths through the center in an “X” pattern with a statue of Gorky at the center of the “X”. Benches, trees, some flowers in summer, this park, like so many in Bishkek, is a place normally frequented by lovers who occupy the benches entwined in each other’s arms or who lay on the grass talking. My office is directly down the street that runs past the park. We had a good vantage to view the activities.

Demonstration by the "opposition" in Gorky Park
The demonstration was scheduled for ten in the morning. Police were everywhere and streets blocked well before that time. By noon, a sizeable but not large crowd had gathered in front of a trailer appropriately decorated and outfitted, including amplification equipment, as a stage for speakers. The speakers tried to energize the crowd with their rhetoric and they were able to garner a few cheers and applauses, which never quite reached the level of frenzy that they had hoped to whip the crowd into. Sharon was able to watch from our apartment. I decided that it would be better for me to walk home than to have her walk to my office for lunch as was normal.
My staff was reluctant to have me walk past the demonstration for fear that it may not be safe, but because the police and military (judging from the truck parked beside our offices, two blocks from the demonstration site), were out in force, I felt quite comfortable passing the rally. On my trip back to the office after lunch, the man who usually vends along the streets was carrying his tree of pink cotton candy cones into the park. This led me to believe that the violence predicted by some and feared buy others, was not going to happen. The next revolution would have to wait for another day. A second demonstration is scheduled for April 24. We will see if things have changed by then.

The journalists were there. As would be predicted, they covered that event extensively. What is not so predictable is the extent to which they are covering the work on judicial reform that we are doing. Some media attention to our work is always expected due to the nature of the work. This happened in Kosovo and in Bangladesh. Here it seems a bit more extensive. Part of it is due to our own efforts to keep the media, and thereby the public, informed about our activities. Newly independent, the judiciary at the levels where we work is very interested to change the pervasive perception that the judiciary is extremely corrupt. The media is also interested to learn if what we and our counterparts in the Kyrgyz judiciary are doing is or will be effective to eliminate this corruption or the perception of it. Our project had been mentioned or featured numerous times in local papers and web news outlets. I have been featured on one radio program (with translator) along with a Kyrgyz Supreme Court official, and have been in several news articles.

One of the members of the Bishkek media is a woman who is very highly regarded as a journalist. She has covered our activities for her paper, one of the most read in Kyrgyzstan. In addition, she has a weekly column featuring an “international” working in Kyrgyzstan. She focuses on the person and their impressions of the country etc., and not on the activities that the person is involved in. For whatever reason, she asked to interview me for such an article. What I found interesting is her reaction when I responded to her question regarding other lawyers or judges in my family. She seemed astonished that I was the only one among my parents and ten siblings who was a lawyer. I have experienced a cast type system in Bangladesh and am aware that the ability of people to go into any type of work with any degree of education they choose is not so easy in most places. She did not express it, but it was clear that she appreciated if not envied a culture where people have such opportunity and such freedom of choice. We should guard that with all our energy and resources, it is our real strength and what is at the very heart of our society. We take it for granted and that is our greatest threat.

I went to the dentist. Well, I broke another tooth. This seems to be a ritual of some sort for me. I broke one in O’Hare airport on my way back to Kosovo. I broke one in Iraq a week before my departure and I broke one here. This one was not like the others that could be temporarily filed down and used until a better fix at home could be arranged. There was not much left and it was all filling. I had already been to the public dental clinic where free treatment on a first come first served basis is delivered in a room filled with about ten dentist chairs vintage 1955. Each person’s agony is shared with the others. I had gone on that occasion to determine what was causing my prior root canal and crown to be so sensitive to temperature. As did the dentist in Key West, the dentist at the clinic told me that the tooth seemed fine. She looked at an x-ray I had taken at a private clinic across the street from the public clinic. The quality of the picture was better at the private clinic I was told by the public clinic dentist.

It was the tooth next to the tooth I had been complaining about that broke of a sudden. That, as it turned out, was the problem tooth. The pain seemed to come from the tooth next door – the one with the crown. Ironically, a few days before I broke the tooth, Julia said that she had a tooth that bothered her and her dentist suggested that it may be another tooth and took a broader x-ray. In her case it was in fact determined that a neighboring tooth was really the problem. For me it was information discovered too late.

Hollywood Smile Dental Clinic
Julia, our finance officer, is a wonderful person and takes extremely good care of me. She says that she would want to be similarly treated in a strange land if she were ever to travel. She uses a private clinic called “Hollywood Smile.” The sparkling toothy smiling woman on the banner sign eliminates the need to read Cyrillic or Russian. The dentist, as was the case in both the public clinic and the private clinic where I had the x-ray taken, was a woman. This dentist was Julia’s dentist. She told me that the remaining small portion of tooth which remained had a crack and would inevitably break in a short time. I had already contacted Bill in Iraq, by e-mail, about his dentist in Bangkok, but even that trip appeared to be out of the question. Bill had several root canals and an implant done there. While in Bangladesh I had experience, you will recall, with the medical treatment in Bangkok and knew it to be of a high quality. This time I had little choice. Both Julia and the dentist detected my apprehension. I received multiple assurances that the procedure would be Western quality. I agreed to have the work done and paid the roughly one-hundred-fifty dollars to cover the root canal and crown. Appointments were made for the week following.

Julia did not want to bear full responsibility for translating for the dentist, not being that secure in her English, so we took Ermek one of our translators along. Ermek has been with me for all other medical and dental visits here in Bishkek. I had a two hour appointment. The dentist went about her work in a very professional manner, albeit in a chair from the 50s. She continually assured me that everything was sterile and the procedures proper. Clearly she was apprehensive working on an equally apprehensive American. She completed her work; it was painless and included a metal post and extremely well constructed temporary tooth. She was ready to send me to the woman dentist in the next room who would make the crown. She handed me the mirror and said with pride knowing that she had done an excellent job, “you see, we can do good work also.” Reassured because the ordeal was mostly over, I felt a bit embarrassed that I had, although not expressly so, questioned her abilities. It must be difficult to be here as a native to this land knowing that the developed world has perceptions that place you in an inferior position regarding your knowledge and abilities. It is also difficult being here as an American, used to the highest quality of care on earth and not knowing what to expect in these less than fully developed places.

Rick was due to arrive Easter Day, at three in the morning. At three in the afternoon I got a call from him. He seemed chipper, but he was calling from the airport where he had been detained since three in the morning. It seems that he did not have a clear page remaining in his passport on which to insert a Kyrgyzstan visa. I contacted the Embassy and within two hours received a call indicating that in all likelihood Rick would be spending the night at the airport until Monday morning when the consular section could get to the airport with extra pages for his passport. The consular representative indicated that the Kyrgyz Border police had confirmed Rick’s presence but they did not seem overly, if at all, concerned about this inconvenience. It turned out that Rick was treated badly, having been left in a cold room on a metal bench without food or water for over twelve hours. It was thirty hours from his arrival until he was finally allowed into the country and out of the airport. He got a good night’s sleep at the hotel and left the next morning, angry, dejected, and physically ill. Sometimes and in some places it is difficult just being an American.

Until Next Connection
Dan