got soums?

How did I spend my Memorial day you ask? I spent it driving around Tashkent trying to exchange dollars for Uzbek soums. I went to no fewer than 10 different exchange offices and banks (I lost count somewhere along the way). No soums anywhere. I did have one guy approach me on the street and offer to exchange money for some ridiculously low rate. For some reason no one has soums in Tashkent. Everyone I talk to is having trouble finding places to exchange money. I have yet to hear of anyone who has been successful in the past two days. Now not only is there nothing worth buying here, there is no way to buy it.


an endangered species - the 200 soum note

growing rift?

Three US Senators, lead by Republican Senator John McCain, came to Tashkent to press for an international investigation into the events that took place in Andijan. Instead of the usual high profile reception that high ranking US delegates used to get from Uzbek officials, this time the Senators were given the cold shoulder. Not a single official from the Uzbek government would meet with them. They were forced to hold their press conference in the basement of the US Embassy.

For more on the visit, check out Radio Free Europe or the San Jose Mercury News.

China and Uzbekistan joining forces against the USA (as Pravda puts it) also illustrates the growing rift between Washington and Tashkent. While the USA is growing increasing critical of the events in Andijan, hardline Chinese leader Hu Jintao has been very supportive of the way Karimov handled the situation. China wants regional stability above all else. Both sides believe in ensuring this by any means necessary.


Chinese leader Hu Jintao and Uzbek President Islam Karimov

Also of note is that the police have started rounding people up who are suspected of being part of the opposition.

Probably the most interesting piece I have seen on the whole situation was a recent op-ed article by Charles V. Pena of the Cato Institute called 'In Uzbekistan, Washington should side with no one'. I encourage people to read it and let me know what they think.

a new spin

Last night I was talking with the head of a local film studio in his office. It was just a casual conversation. The room was warm and lit by fluorescent lighting. A mosquito was buzzing around my head. One of his friends enters the room and offers a cigarette. I politely decline. Then he asks what I had heard about Andijan and the phone. I eventually realize he isn't saying phone, but fund when he adds the name Soros to the sentence. He asks me if I had heard that the Soros Fund had given money to the people in Andijan to protest. I said no, I hadn't heard.

I was a little confused by the question until I looked into it a little. Later I found out that it had been announced in the local press that Soros had funded the recent uprising. So I started looking more into the local press reports. It is interesting to see how the facts are presented. They took all of the international calls for investigations and turned them around by saying that the internal investigation was not complete and that OSCE and the UN are both here and "their colleagues can visit the site and speak with people." (full article) They are using the presence of these organizations in Uzbekistan to show their willingness to work with the international community and show they have nothing to hide. These organizations really can't do much here, though, and are basically being used as pawns in a game of political chess.

freaky?

Ok, so how exactly did UPS know to deliver a package addressed to my Ferghana address to the exact location I was at in Tashkent today?

Now that's what I call tracking technology!?

idiots

Why do I ask people to do anything here? I know better than to ask them to do their jobs, but for some reason I still try. Why is it with money matters it is always ok to be off by 500 or 1,000? If I decided to be off by 500 or 1,000 soums with paying them or buying something for them I think it would be a different story. But hey, for me it is ok because I am from another country and therefore I like to throw away money, get ripped off or have it stolen from me.

taking a break

After spending nearly 10 months in Central Asia (and factoring in a little regional unrest), it was time to get away. I decided to head west to Turkey to visit a friend. For 5 days last week I got to relax and enjoy all of those things I have learned to live without.

Some of the highlights:

• A sushi dinner with cold sake (oh, how I miss sushi)
• Lots of good food (and it wasn't smothered with oil!)
• Shopping in stores that have things worth buying (you have to love Zara)
• Seeing Episode III in an actual theater
• Riding in a non-Daewoo car
• Being able to use a credit card (after looking at my bill, not sure this is a highlight)
• Hearing real djs play real dance music
• Enjoying the ambiance of a rooftop bar until closing
• Believe it or not, going to the malls (which is something I used to avoid like the plague in America)
• Domino's Pizza (delivered in 30 minutes or less)
• Getting to hang out with my best friend and just chill

It had been almost 9 years since I was last in Turkey. Last time I spent the whole time in Istanbul and thought it was very different from the West. This time, I spent most of my time in Ankara and thought I was in the West. Even Istanbul seemed more Western. A lot seems to have changed, or maybe it is just my perception of things that has changed.

more on the unrest

I left the Valley in the early morning on May 14. I have been working out of Tashkent. There is a stepped up police presence and a strange uneasiness here. There have been a few minor demonstrations around town, but nothing major. The fact that there are demonstrations is something new though. They seem to be taking place out in front of embassies and the like. People I've talked to in Ferghana say that things are still very quiet.

The press seems like it is being manipulated by both sides because of the blockade of information. I find it curious that all of the numbers that are reported by the various media outlets seem to come from one source... who just happens to be one of the leaders of the opposition. Some of the events that were reported to have happened in other towns don't seem to have actually happened. Truth probably lies somewhere in the middle between the government reports and opposition claims - but in all honesty, no one, aside from those who were there, will ever know the truth (and even then it will be clouded by perspective).

The government here is taking a lot of heat, but they aren't the only guilty party. Those who incited the violence were well organized and demonstrated they were willing to use deadly force to achieve their means. The used 'innocent' civilians as pawns in their deadly game; knowing full well what would happen (like anyone who lives here should). I understand that the organizers (or people claiming to be) have said this is only the beginning and that they will create living hell in the Valley if their demands are not met.

I hear many pieces of information everyday, but I choose to keep it off here for one reason or another. The situation here is very complicated at the moment. Often by the time I sort out and process what I've heard, I'm just too tired to write about it.

update on andijan

Over the course of the day I have heard all kinds of information from all kinds of sources. Things are still quiet in Ferghana. Some of the NGOs have pulled their expat staff from the Valley. Some are still free to travel around the Valley. Some say the mountain pass to Tashkent is closed. Some say it is open. Some say flights are cancelled. The airport says otherwise. I heard a report the 50,000 people had massed in the center of Andijan and have to say that the figure sounds greatly exaggerated because it would be the bulk of the adult population there. The most consistent number I hear is about 2,000. One report claims the rebels say they will fight to the death. Another report says the city is encircled by troops who are waiting for nightfall to put down the uprising. Currently most media outlets are being limited in what they can report and Russian stations are being blocked.


(a theatre burns in Andijan - photo from BBC News)




(a man with an automatic weapon waits - photo from BBC News)

For some more pictures of the events, go here.

As for me, I will head to Tashkent soon just to be on the safe side.

As for the man shot dead in front of the Israeli Embassy in Tashkent this morning... well, he was just a homeless Russian man who became the victim of a tense situation.

In other completely non-related and irrelevant news... The store I shop at regularly got a shipment of Red Bull today! This is the first time I have seen it in Uzbekistan. Only 3,000 soums (about $2.75) will buy you a nice cool one.

is it spreading? or is all hell breaking loose?

I come into work this morning to hear the news that people are rioting in Andijan (a city about a 1 hour drive from where I live). I was told that the local government offices had been ceased. The city is very close to the Kyrgyz border so my first thought is that maybe the recent events in Kyrgystan are spreading here. Then I start reading the news and it sounds far worse...

According to BBC News, about 100 men armed with automatic weapons shot there way into a prison and freed thousands of convicts. Several guards were killed in the shooting. Additionally, an army garrison was attacked and the soldiers fled into hiding. Ferghana.ru reports that this morning random gun battles are still taking place and that both the city and regional government offices are under the control of a, as yet, unidentified group. It is also mentioned that several buildings are on fire.

The Ferghana Valley has always been one of the most volatile areas in the region, so who knows where this will go. At present, things in Ferghana City are quiet. Word reached Ferghana fast, though, and people are definitely aware of what is taking place.

LATEST:
Just received a phone call that informed me a suicide bomber was shot dead in front of the Israeli Embassy in Tashkent before setting off their bomb.