Gender Equality in the Bride Kidnapping Capitol of the World

Hillary Clinton may have cracked the glass ceiling, but Central Asian politician Roza Otunbayeva, the newly recognized leader of Kyrgyzstan, broke though.

Following April’s coup, Otunbayeva was officially recognized as the new Kyrgyzstani head of state by the US and other foreign diplomats. A few weeks ago, her predecessor, the deposed president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, left the country.

This was, by all accounts, an important and much-needed transfer of power. But it left us surprised — for a reason that hasn’t received much mention in regular outlets.

It wasn’t that someone beat the US to the punch in selecting a female leader, plenty of other countries have already done that. It was that the US was beaten to the punch by the world capitol of bride-napping, a place where more than half of all marriages began with abduction.

Bride kidnapping in Kyrgystan is a fairly well-documented in phenomenon. In 2005 the New York Times reported that it was by far the most common in the countryside and that some of the kidnappings were at least semi-voluntary, with 80 percent of kidnapped women eventually relenting and accepting their new husbands.

The practice is known as “ala kachuu,” which translates roughly as “grab and run,” writes the Times. It’s been rising steadily over the last 50 years and now comprises about one third of marriages. It accounts for about half of existing marriages.

The video below describes the process and films an actual kidnapping.

So how to explain Roza Otunbayeva? A powerful, respected female leader in a land where courtship sometimes means hiding out in the bushes with rope and a blind fold?

Ukraine Parliament Throws Punches, Eggs Over Russian Naval Base Lease

The Ukrainian parliament descended into chaos today, as a debate over the lease on a Russian Naval Base turned into a violent mêlée.

As gas from a smoke bomb seeped into the room, members brawled, throwing punches and, judging from the picture, hit each other with water bottles.  They also pelted the speaker with eggs, forcing aides to shield him with black umbrellas.

Why were the aides carrying identical umbrellas with them while it was 53 and sunny? They might have seen this fight coming, judging from the tape of another Ukrainian parliamentary proceeding from 2008. We’ll post the video of today’s fight when it’s available, meanwhile, find it here or take a look at this one from ’08:

Somewhat amazingly, despite the food fight, the voting continued and the measure passed. The BBC reports that 236 out of 450 members voted to extend Russia’s lease on the base in Sevastopol in exchange for cheap Russian gas. The base houses about 40 ships, more than 16,000 servicemen, and will remain in Ukraine until 2042 under the new regulation.

The move was further evidence of the strengthening of Russian-Ukrainian relations under Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. His predecessor, Viktor Yushchenko, was at times a fierce opponent of the Kremlin–a political stance that, apparently, still strongly resonates with about 214 members of the Ukrainian parliament.

Greek Debt Crisis Brings E.U. to Crossroads, Market Foresees Restructuring

Bad news for Greece. Yesterday's 2-year government bond yields jumped 2.55 percentage points to a record high 11 percent, forcing the country to look to the E.U. for credit.

Greece today tested the mettle of the European Union by asking it and the International Monetary Fund for a $60 billion loan.

If Greece is turned down, it’s likely to default on its 300-billion-euro debt—potentially imperiling large swaths of the European economy, international ties across the continent, and the future of the 11-year-old euro currency.

How likely it is that that will happen depends on whom you ask.

Politicians across Europe will are saying they’re ready to come to Greece’s aid. The bond market, conversely, says default may be impending. The cost of Greek debt today remained high, and the Financial Times reports that no one’s selling insurance on the bonds.

Greece’s plea to the E.U. today came on the heels of a massive spike in Greece’s 2-year government bond yields, or the interest it would have to pay on a 2-year loan. After information emerged on Greece’s large debt, yields broke records yesterday by rising to more than 11 percent (see chart). This makes it extremely difficult for Greece to borrow unless it gets money from alternate sources. After a statement today from the Greek president, those yields fell, but only to 9.41 percent.

How did Greece get here? Some economists point to the euro itself as a likely culprit.  Greece went overboard with the cheap loans it got as a E.U. member, according to Paul Krugman (His full column is here.), so much so that when they stopped coming it found itself addicted to weaning sources of credit and with its prices vastly inflated.

Potential solutions, Krugman writes, include tax hikes and “savage spending cuts” (Greece has already implemented severe austerity measures), pulling out of the euro and devaluing its currency (which would trigger “massive runs on the banking system”), or getting cash to stabilize the system from somewhere besides the market itself. Germany is a likely source, but the country faces vast political obstacles in guaranteeing Greece’s loans. So now Greece finds itself turning to the E.U. and the IMF, relying on the bonds of the E.U. and its commitment to ensuring the strength of its currency.

According to Bloomberg News, the euro traded at a one-year low yesterday, after slipping 7 percent this year as Greece dragged down investor confidence. It looked up, though, after Greece’s public plea today, rising to $1,3311 today from yesterday’s $1.3261.

Volcano’s Plumes Create Trouble for Iceland, U.S. Military, U.N., and Pets

Some of the people grounded by the unpronounceable Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull, finally took off today as flight bans across Europe were lifted.

The remaining effects of the volcano are varied. It could throw-off emissions testing and  delay legislation targeted at preventing global warming. It has prompted new UN flight regulations, and it could damage military jets. Stocks that had been dampened by the lack of air travel seem to be rebounding. And it also seems to have stranded some people’s pets in cargo bays around the world.

But, of course, Iceland will feel the impact more than anyone. The country is virtually covered in soot and heat from the volcano is melting glaciers and flooding bridges.  This comes on the heels of a financial collapse so complete that it actually prompted government officials to enact sunshine laws to lure investigative journalists—possibly the only people as bankrupt as it is. The bottom line is it’s been a tough couple of months for Iceland, though how bad it all really is still a matter of debate.

Click through the picture for a beautiful gallery of volcano photography.

Revolution or Realignment?

This excellent graphic examines what kind of political movement Kyrgyzstan’s recent revolution will likely bring to the country. The answer? About as much as your average midterm election in a one-sided year — but, thanks to the institutionalized rigging of the peaceful elections in Kyrgyzstan, bloodier.

The International Herald Tribune speculates on the country’s future, and why the revolt was necessary.

Poland’s Lost Government

The Economist and The New York Times have solid coverage of the plane crash in Russia that wiped out a large swath of the Polish government, including the at-times-controversial Polish President Lech Kaczynski, and many of his top aides.

INFO GRAPHIC BY THE NEW YORK TIMES

The geopolitical implications of the crash are still unclear. The promise of Russian P.M. Vladimir Putin to head up the investigation could serve to bolster Russia-Poland relations, according to some academics. Alternately, because the president was often unfriendly with Russia, the crash could strain the countries’ ties.

The plane, which had 97 people on board, fell near the Western Russian city of Smolensk on the way to commemorate the death of some 22,000 polish officers at the hands of the Soviet secret police.

Before the plane went down not far from where that massacre occurred 70 years earlier, the trip had been thought to mark a coming to terms between the two countries.

Now, what’s next for Russia and Poland is anyone’s guess.

Update: Anne Applebaum sees good things ahead for Poland/Russia. Read her Slate essay about Russia’s solid handling of the crash here.

A Rough Primer on the Revolt in Kyrgyzstan

The week’s big news is the toppling of the government in Kyrgyzstan, a country whose woes have been largely overshadowed the more high-profile messes in Afghanistan and the rest of the Middle East.

As Americans scramble to catch up on their knowledge of the former Soviet state, the country’s government has been deposed; the president has fled but refused to resign; 68 people have been killed and hundreds more wounded; and the opposition party has taken power, saying it will rule the country for six months until an election can be held—all within the space of 48 hours.

Here’s a rundown of the major players:

Roza Otunbayeva: Former foreign minister now leading the opposition groups, and thought to be acting as head of state. Ms. Otunbayeva was educated in Moscow, is a member of the Social Democratic Party, and was also active in the Kyrgyzstan’s Tulip Revolution in 2005, but was subsequently shut out of government.

On this week’s events: “You can call this revolution. You can call this a people’s revolt. Either way, it is our way of saying that we want justice and democracy.”

Kurmanbek Bakiyev: Was the president of Kyrgyzstan, but has now reportedly fled south of the country where he has family ties. Even in hiding with his government in shambles and his home ransacked, Mr. Bakiyev has remained defiant and has refused to resign.

One this week’s events: “I, as the guarantor of the Constitution of Kyrgyzstan, declare that in the case of further destabilization, all the responsibility will lie with the leaders of the opposition, who will be punished according to the fullest extent of the law.”

Barack Obama: The United States does not seem to be directly involved in any way with the upheaval, and reports indicate that it is not the result of anti-American sentiment.

The unrest could deal a blow to U.S. interests, though, as America’s only air base in lies at Kyrgyzstan’s northern border. The air base was of immense strategic importance because of its proximity to Afghanistan, where the administration is ramping up its war effort and is increasingly at odds with President Hamid Karzai.

The situation is further complicated by the Russian government’s suggestion that it would push the new Kyrgyz government to close the base—a setback which could effectively negate the progress in U.S.-Russian relations made with today’s START treaty signing.

Huffington Post U.S. interests in Kyrgyzstan: “A revolution in Kyrgyzstan, with all the other headaches surrounding his AfPak strategy, was approximately the last thing Barack Obama needed. He barely kept the Manas air base open last year, increasing U.S. payments to the Kyrgyz government. Now the price will only go up, if indeed there is a deal to be made with the new government when it fully emerges. And we’ll see if the country’s new leadership will go along with a second U.S. base there, just announced in the last month, a rather hazy anti-terrorism center.”

Kyrgyzstan: The small, former-Soviet-controlled country has a war-torn past and a history of playing the pawn in bigger games. This is the latest in a series of unstable governments the country has weathered.

World Politics Review stub on the country: “As of 2009, Kyrgyzstan ranked 145 on the IMF’s list of countries by GDP, just above Kenya and a few spots below Pakistan. Though the largely agriculturally based economy is supplemented by generous mineral deposits, it is lacking in energy resources such as natural gas and petroleum, unlike its wealthy neighbor Kazakhstan to the north. Despite its empty energy coffers, Kyrgyzstan is still valuable to outsiders.”

Sources: Reuters, The New York Times, and the Hufffington Post, and World Politics Review

For more in-depth information read these excellent articles from the Atlantic:

• Kyrgyzstan as a Delayed Colored Revolution?
• More on Kyrgyzstan as a Non-Colored Revolution (which provides context to the attempted Green Revolution in Iran)
• My View From the Revolution

Pakistan Coverage: CNN vs. Al Jazeera

In the previous blog post we mentioned the subdued response of the Pakistani media to the attacks in Peshawar. It’s now also worth mentioning the subdued response of the American media — which seems to have quickly moved on from news of the bombings to news of iPad sales.

Here are stills from CNN’s and Al Jazeera’s’ websites taken at the same time yesterday afternoon, they’ve been making the rounds on some blogs and on Twitter:

Ironically, CNN has come under fire recently for boring Americans with too much news.

HT @donnf via @wilw

News Roundup: Renewed Violence in Pakistan, At Least 50 Dead

Video has been released of the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Pakistan that killed seven people and injured at least 20 others. The Times reports that suicide bombers used a truck bomb, machine guns and rocket launchers, but were ultimately unsuccessful in breaching the outer wall of the consulate — causing civilian casualties while harming no Americans.

The raid came on the heels of another suicide bombing that killed at least 43 people outside of the Pakistani city of Peshawar. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for both attacks, according to BBC reports.

The day’s carnage was a harsh reminder of the Taliban’s presence in Pakistan, which had not seen an attack on a U.S. facility in four years. A Taliban spokesman promised to “carry out more such attacks.” He told the AFP: “We will target any place where there are Americans.”

The event shook up the White House, with the press secretary strongly condemning the violence and expressing “great concern.” In Pakistan, though, the attacks were just another symptom of a problem that’s become a part of daily life. From The Lede:

Readers who watch the footage from Pakistani television above may notice one sign of how routine bombings have become in the country. At one stage, as images of the latest attack were broadcast, the crawl at the bottom of the screen gave updates on a celebrity drama, the planned marriage of a Pakistani cricket star, Shoaib Malik, to an Indian tennis player, Sania Mirza.

Love and the India-Pakistan Border

In honor of Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and Pakistani cricket captain Shoaib Malik, who have announced plans to get married despite the rift between their two countries, we’re posting this fairly amazing video of the changing of the guard at the India-Pakistan border.

If you only watch one snooty British newscast featuring throwback facial hair, foot-high headdresses, and semiautomatic machine guns this year, make it this one.

Find it here.