Asia

KYRGYZSTAN Civil society at its weakest point in Bishkek

In Azattyk, Max Gdeorg Meier, coordinator of the Seidel Foundation, who spent 22 years in Kyrgyzstan promoting cooperation between Germany and the post-Soviet country, is critical. The Kyrgyz people have never liked absolutist and oppressive governments, but growing authoritarianism and the law on “non-commercial organisations” are putting everything in its place.

Bishkek () – In a conversation with Azattyk, Max Georg Maier, coordinator of the German foundation named after the Bavarian Prime Minister of the 1960s, Hanns Seidel, reviewed his 20 years of activity in favour of Kyrgyzstan. Well known among the country’s citizens for his kalpak, the typical Kyrgyz headdress, he spoke about Kyrgyz culture and popular consciousness in times of great change.

Maier notes that “the Kyrgyz people are particularly attached to nature, family and elders,” which, even when they return to Germany, leads them to have a special respect for plants and animals, especially horses. In her experience, she has been able to observe the transitions of the past decades, after gaining independence at the end of the Soviet empire. Comparing the experience of the two German states, West and East, she notes that “even with all the support, there are still problems, and no one has given the Kyrgyz people as much help as we have given the East Germans.”

The end of the USSR had paralysed all production processes, industries and factories had ground to a halt, and unemployment was widespread at all levels, but many solutions were found, albeit with great effort, not least because “the Kyrgyz are very flexible, it is one of their best qualities,” says the German expert. This year, Maier concludes his activity in Kyrgyzstan, returning to his homeland after 22 years, during which he immersed himself in local values ​​and culture. He is grateful for the “great welcome” he has received and praises the great energy of the Kyrgyz people, which was stifled in the Soviet era.

The basis of all activities is the family culture, which helps to cope with any difficulties, and there have been ups and downs in local politics as well. For five years there was a parliamentary system, later replaced by the presidential system, which emphasises the need for “a strong president and at the same time a strong parliament”, and institutions must be supported by “strong social organisations and a strong business sector”, says Maier. He criticised the law “on non-commercial organisations”, the local variant of the Russian-inspired measures against “foreign agents”, and therefore also appealed to the authorities in Bishkek, because “this law lowers Kyrgyzstan’s rating”.

The law was passed after long debates, and the German trader highlights two aspects: the technical one, which recalls the first similar version from 1999, and the numerous subsequent changes, which have closely affected the activities of the Hanns Seidel fund itself, which is forced to submit new reports and balance sheets almost every month, which creates enormous bureaucratic difficulties. “I think there are too many regulations for the activities of foreigners in Kyrgyzstan, a new change was not necessary,” explains Maier.

An even more fundamental question concerns the conditions under which foundations such as Maier’s were opened in Bishkek, and not in Tashkent or Astana: Kyrgyzstan presented itself as “an island of democracy in Central Asia”, a more liberal country that attracted many Western associations. Recent events “have darkened the image of the country”, which now also presents itself as an authoritarian state, not so different from neighbouring Tajikistan, while “if you look at history, the Kyrgyz people have never liked absolutist and oppressive governments”.

Everything is now back on the table, and the many companies with foreign relations are waiting to see what will happen. Maier is confident in the “strength of Kyrgyz civil society”, even if it seems “rather tired and tested” at the moment, as evidenced by the low voter turnout in the last elections. In the meantime, he is returning to Germany with his Turkish wife and their 200 kalpaks, “symbols of independence, great culture and harmony with nature”, confident in the positive future of the Kyrgyz people.



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