Tashkent

Uzbekistan proposes returning Afghanistan’s gold and foreign exchange reserves to the Taliban. This was stated by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the summit of the Organization of Turkic States in the Azerbaijani city of Shusha.

In his opinion, returning the frozen assets to the current authorities will help ease the social situation in Afghanistan.

At present, Afghanistan’s gold and foreign exchange reserves amount to about $9.4 billion.

This is not Tashkent’s first call to return Afghan funds from foreign banks. Mirziyoyev made a similar proposal in 2021, speaking at the SCO summit in Dubai.

At that time, $7 billion of the Central Bank of Afghanistan was held in American financial institutions. However, Washington decided to keep the money in the banks.

The reasoning of the Uzbek leader is similar to the rhetoric of three years ago. In 2021, he noted that unfreezing the assets could alleviate the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. At the OTS summit, Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized that it would help ease the social situation in the country.

The President of Uzbekistan also added that Tashkent will continue to provide necessary assistance to the Afghan people:

In April 2024, 169 tons of food were delivered from Uzbekistan to the Balkh province;

In May, the region received 100 specially equipped tents and 96 water storage containers in addition to food.

Afghanistan is gradually becoming not only a recipient of humanitarian aid but also an economic partner of Uzbekistan. On July 8, it became known that Kabul and Tashkent extended the contract for the reconstruction of the Hayratan-Mazar-i-Sharif railway line for six months.

He noted that in Afghanistan, where millions of Turkic people live, the leader of Uzbekistan especially emphasized the importance of developing common and unified approaches to this issue by the member states of the organization.

“On its part, Uzbekistan will continue to provide necessary assistance to the Afghan people. We are convinced that the return of Afghanistan’s frozen financial assets abroad will help ease the social situation in this country,” emphasized Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Read: Uzbekistan to introduce new Education System

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Courtesy: Central Asian Light (Posted on July 9, 2024)

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Gaza

The Israeli army has looted money and gold artifacts from the Gaza Strip amounting to approximately $25 million, since the beginning of the aggression, according to the Gaza Government Media Office.

The office said in a statement that it had received “dozens of testimonies provided by residents of the Gaza Strip regarding the theft of money, gold, and artifacts estimated at 90 million shekels ($24.5 million) over the past 92 days by the Israeli occupation army.”

“Theft operations occurred in various ways, the first of which was at the checkpoints, such as Salah al-Din Street, where they stole from the displaced people who had moved from the northern Gaza Strip to the south, their bags containing their valuable possessions such as money, gold, and artifacts,” the Media Office said, according to the Anadolu News Agency.

Another method reportedly involved “burglaries of homes whose residents were asked to evacuate.”

Israeli occupation forces continue their raids and bombings on several areas across Gaza, leading to the death and wounding of scores of Palestinians, the majority of whom are children and women.https://t.co/DbrEJ2J3En pic.twitter.com/Rs4vcwgDOJ

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) January 7, 2024

“They (Israeli army) took souvenir photos and video clips for this crime, some of which were posted on their social media accounts, as happened in the town of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza,” the report added.

The Media Office reportedly pointed out that Israeli newspapers documented the crime, with the Yedioth Ahronoth describing it as a “systematic theft of the money of the Gazans.”

There has been no comment as of yet from Israeli authorities on the accusations, according to Anadolu.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 22,835 Palestinians have been killed, and 58,316 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

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Courtesy: The Palestine Chronicle (Posted on Jan 7, 2024)

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Tehran

Iran has been quietly ramping up its foreign purchases of gold, adding over 4.1 tons of standard gold ingots to the country’s coffers in the first five months of the Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22).

According to the data from the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, gold, worth over $265 million, accounted for more than one percent of all Iranian imports during the five month period.

Both the Iranian state and private citizens appear to have been turning to gold recently, with the World Gold Council reporting in May that demand for gold coins and bars by Iranians had jumped dramatically, with investment soaring to 13 tons over the first months of 2023 – 26 percent more than the 10 ton five-year quarterly average, as citizens searched for solid stores of values amid inflation and sanctions-related pressures.

Iranian Trade Promotion Organization Chief Mehdi Zeighami indicated that the bump in gold imports was related to eased- regulations by the state late last year related to the return of export proceeds, which has led companies engaging in exports to import gold to pay their hard currency liabilities to Iran’s Central Bank.

“Imports of gold ingot are economical for businesses and we have tried to diversify methods used for repatriation of hard currency,” Zeighami explained, Sputnik reported.

The measures are a boon to the Iranian state, which has worked carefully to build up gold reserves and expand domestic extraction activities. This week, Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade Department of Exploration Affairs director general Ebrahim Ali Molabeigi announced that the country discovered some 79 tons of untapped gold reserves worth $355 million in 2022 alone.

Iran has successfully used gold to deal with sanctions, using it in trade to avoid using dollars or becoming ensnared in Western financial institutions subjected to US and European sanctions and secondary restrictions. The country now has an estimated 340 tons in proven gold reserves, although exact data on gold held by the Central Bank are unknown.

Gold’s attractiveness as a store of value has climbed steadily over the decades, reaching close to $2,000 an ounce in public trading this week, amid inflation and uncertainty about the value of the dollar and other paper money, and the growing popularity of gold in countries’ international reserves after witnessing how reserves held in Western currencies can be frozen or transformed from a financial instrument into a weapon.

Speculation about the possible use of a gold-backed token of exchange by the BRICS bloc has served to further pique investor and government interest in the precious metal.

Earlier this year, Russian officials revealed that Moscow and Tehran were considering the use of a gold-backed ‘Persian Gulf token’ stablecoin. Financial experts said that idea, if realized could cause a potential “tectonic shift” in international finance, with serious implications not only for the dollar but for other fiat currencies around the world, since they could serve as “a very appealing safe haven alternative that cannot be weaponized against the owners and users of such tokens.”

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Courtesy: Mehr News Agency (Posted on September 3, 2023)

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Bishkek

During the first half of 2023, Kumtor Gold Company of Kyrgyzstan sold 5,499 kilograms of gold, generating a revenue of 341.3 million US dollars, surpassing the planned target of 287.1 million US dollars.

The President of Kumtor Gold Company, Almaz Baryktabasov, presented these figures during a report on the company’s activities to the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, Akylbek Zhaparov.

Out of the revenue, payments to development funds amounted to 5.3 million US dollars, and contributions to social development reached 800 thousand US dollars. The net profit for the first half of the current year stood at 101.2 million US dollars, as reported by A. Baryktabasov.

Prime Minister Zhaparov emphasized that Kumtor is not only one of Kyrgyzstan’s main projects but also a national asset that now benefits the country’s people.

He highlighted that the company’s management is responsible not only for the operational cycle of the enterprise but also for preserving the country’s heritage. Special attention needs to be given to the quality of the company’s management and ensuring industrial safety during mining operations at the mine. The President of the country has set tasks for the company’s management that must be accomplished.

It may be recalled that Kyrgyzstan had acquired full ownership of the Kumtor gold mine, one of the largest gold mines in Central Asia, after it reached an agreement with a Canadian mining company in April 2022.

Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov had announced in a televised address that the country has reached the deal with Canadian mining firm Centerra Gold following a year of legal wrangling, reports Turkish news agency Anadolu.

“Through this agreement, we have been able to ensure a full and irrevocable handover of our greatest national treasure, the Kumtor gold mine, to Kyrgyzstan,” Japarov said.

The Kumtor mine would be fully owned by Kyrgyzstan, according to the president, who also said that “Kumtor Gold Company is 100% owned by our country.”

“Looking ahead to the next 10 years, experts estimate Kumtor mine will produce at least $5 billion dollars from the 160-200 tons of gold expected to be mined,” he said.

This is the money that will go directly into the national budget, he said.

The Kumtor gold mine, located in the Issyk-Kul region of northwestern Kyrgyzstan, contributes significantly to the country’s economy and employs nearly 4000 people, accounting for more than 12% of the country’s gross domestic product.

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Courtesy: Central Asian Light (Posted on July 20, 2023) and Anadolu Agency (Posted on April 6, 2022)

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What is the world’s deadliest weapon? It doesn’t looks like a nuclear bomb. That is the US dollar. Not just Pakistan, the whole world is a slave to the US dollar. For USA the dollar is not only a medium of trade, it is a tool, a weapon which controls the world. For the past few months you must have read news that Pakistani rupee is falling and the dollar is getting strong. What is different between USD and Pakistani rupee? Both are piece of paper. But Pakistani rupee has no value outside the Pakistan and the world is dependent to US dollar, because the US dollar is a world currency which can be easily traded for other currencies outside the country as well.

But how did Benjamin’s photo become the world’s reserve currency? Till 1914, before the First World War, most of the world’s currencies were linked to gold. That means whatever paper money were printed by central banks were backed by physical gold in the treasury. Gold was every currency’s backup. Then the countries in Europe exhausted their gold reserves in the war. Without gold their currencies didn’t have any value. At that time 70% of the world’s gold reserves were concentrated with one country United States of America. There was an agreement signed in 1944 which is called the Bretton Woods agreement. Under this agreement it was decided that since the US dollar is stable so everyone can link their currency to US dollar. This way the US Dollar became the world’s backup. Today all central banks keep 59% of their reserves in US dollar.

Journey from backup currency to a weapon

In 1971, President Nixon abolished the gold standard that gave USA complete freedom to control the US dollar. That means gold went out of our hierarchy and the US dollar came right on top of everyone. International trade is done in US dollars, loan payments happen in US dollars, and the dollar is controlled by the US Federal Reserve. They have the control how US dollar will be used. This dollar is used as a weapon. Through sanctions the US can control which country can pay using the US dollar and which country can’t pay using US dollar. This is what US did with Russia after Russia invaded Ukraine. US imposed sanctions on Russia. Means Russia was stopped from trading with all those countries which accept payment only in US dollar.

Would you like to live in a society like this where your chairman can enter in your house and take decisions for you? Of course not. In my house, rules should be mine, but unfortunately we live in such a world where the US Federal Reserve’s policies dictate policies to many other counties. The US dollar gives the US extra territorial reach. The US is able to dictate people’s behavior, the future of companies and the transactions of a country.

Can we challenge the US Dollar?

To replace US dollar along with a strong economy, we will have to find a currency which majority of the countries trust. While conducting trade these countries should use that currency and pay of their loans in that currency. Believe in this story that this piece of paper has some value. The Chinese Yuan has tried to be the reserve currency but China is a dictatorship and it is not transparent. China is aggressive nation which can go to any limits to achieve its goals.

Aitzaz Hussain Jamali

Nawabshah Sindh

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Aisha Saeed

In life most people get themselves explored by the series of events that happen in their life which carry a great deal of modification to their life and perspective about surroundings. As it is said life is the best teacher and time is the best healer. Coincidently I have witnessed a kind, gentle and child-like pure hearted person thrashed by the harshness of life but never think of giving up, losing hope, or surrendering to the infirmities of life. He, once after crossing all the hardships time and again when finds himself again at crossroads, keeping all her strength assembled takes a unique decision of adopting which is absolutely disliked by him as his profession; but the same fortune repeated while his new venture was likely to sink even before floating but this time a miraculous help arrived.

You see, when a person is honest with all of her intentions Allah’s help showers upon and blesses/protects with all corners. The passion for doing something in life, helping and making ease in others’ life never let him calm down even the huge powerful waves could not make him drown resulting in someone hold his hand and asking to walk along and to unwind his mystifying state of mind, he whispered ‘You are my gold’ and said let me tell you a story.

There was a solicitor; he had a son whom he wanted to be more successful than him but his son was only daydreaming about luxurious life effortlessly. His father held his hand and asked him to engage in his profession, trolling up and down, keeping a wish for royal life, and arguing time and again about the same with his father, he kept on working. On a dry day after working long hours; scrupulously with teary eyes he made the same arguments with his father and said what we are waiting for! The work we are doing can be accomplished with lesser efforts and will be more rewarding than others are doing, and this will make my life happier by having all the stuff I ever desired for. The father politely said, “I still advise you to focus all of your attention on the art of advocacy and the luxuries you are seeking will come towards you.” He wiped his son’s tears and put a hand on his shoulder, “Pay heed to these words and follows all of my instructions”. Father said affectionately, ‘do you know why goldsmith burns gold on fire and strikes with hammer; to give it a better shape and shine which multiplies its worth’ and my son, ‘You are my gold’.

One day you will be the best of all. Then, the son worked hard day and night keeping these golden words in his mind. After years the words of the father and the wishes of the son came true.

A clean heart, a mind full of good intentions, and each soulful action are enough to get all you have ever wished for, be contented with whatever you possess, and be grateful for every kindness. Keep striving to reach the sky and inspire many along the way.

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Aisha Saeed – Advocate High Court, a Student of Law & Former Lecturer at University of Karachi

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Globally, indigenous women-led resistance movements are effectively stopping or slowing local environmental destruction that threatens our whole planet. This is happening in spite of gross underrepresentation of women in decision-making roles at international and environmental organizations

By Kavita Ramdas and Laura Garcia

For Indigenous Mollo people on Indonesia’s Timor Island, the forests, mountains, and water are not just their surroundings; they are as essential to their lives as food and air. These same forests and mountains are also rich in oil, gas, gold, and marble.

But for those who call the island home, these natural resources are more a curse than a blessing. Rather than benefiting from the richness of their own land, the Mollo must watch as 15 different mining operations remove the resources from their ancestral lands, mostly without their consent or financial remuneration.

In 1996, for example, the construction of two new marble mines threatened 16,000 hectares (more than 40,000 acres) of forest, where local women foraged for food, dyes, and medicine essential to their livelihood. In response, Aleta Baun, affectionately known as “Mama” Aleta, began to organize protests against the mining.

Led by Mama Aleta, more than 150 women blocked the entrance of the mine for an entire year. They formed an organization, Pokja OAT—funded by Global Greengrants Fund, an Open Society partner and grant-maker focused on supporting grassroots environmental and social justice organizations around the globe—to fight back against the companies’ destruction of the ecosystem.

Mama Aleta’s work leading Pokja OAT exemplifies the leadership of women in grassroots environmental movements who operate in defiance of persistent discrimination and obstacles. By 2007, Mama Aleta and anti-mining activists had mobilized the local Amanuban and Amanatun tribes, and eventually forced all mining companies to leave the area.

The extraction of natural resources and global dependence on fossil fuels is a huge contributor to climate change. In the case of Timor Island, the construction of large-scale mines has the potential to devastate the forests, which serve as not only important carbon sinks, but also as means of survival for the local Indigenous communities who have lived in harmony with the environment for centuries.

Over the past four decades, climate activists have spent significant time trying to convince decision makers—who were largely focused on the science and technological solutions—that climate change disproportionately affects women and Indigenous peoples. Meanwhile, the focus could also have been about how people like Mama Aleta are making the most significant contributions to climate activism, and not just about the disproportionate effects that climate has on marginalized populations.

Globally, women-led resistance movements are effectively stopping or slowing local environmental destruction that threatens our whole planet. This is happening in spite of gross underrepresentation of women in decision-making roles at international and environmental organizations, and the huge obstacles that leaders like Mama Aleta must overcome to have their voices heard.

For example, only 13.8 percent of landowners globally are women, which is a huge barrier for any decisions made about the sustainable use and management of resources; women make up less than 25 percent of roles in parliaments around the world, and hold only 12 percent of the highest government positions in environment-related sectors worldwide. Moreover, less than 0.2 percent of all foundation funding goes to support women-led environmental organizations.

Without the full participation of women and girls in climate decision-making we are losing crucial brainpower that we need to solve the world’s most complex problems. We need to reimagine what systemic and transformative change is needed to meet the scale of the climate crisis and to address historical oppressions that are also excluding people from participating in the solutions.

Just one year after the victory in Timor Island, new mining companies had already encroached on parts of the forest, and the conflict continued. Indigenous leaders were arrested, beaten, and threatened—including Mama Aleta.

The pressure on Indigenous people and the forests of West Timor remains today. Pokja OAT is now mapping 130 villages in the territory and pursuing legal and parliamentary avenues to assert a stronger legal claim to tribal forests. For her sustained efforts in defending the forest, Mama Aleta won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2013.

As the fight to save our planet continues, it is clear that stronger climate justice movements will require us to focus our support on people, like Mama Aleta, who are challenging the hegemonic agendas, creating alternative solutions in their own lives and communities, and helping us think differently. We need a just transition, and solutions that benefit humanity as a whole—not just a select few. Until we are ready to fully embrace the fact that we are all in this together, solutions will not be attainable because we need to gather all human wisdom to tackle the most challenging problem we face today.

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Courtesy: Open Society Foundation. This article was published on January 19, 2021

About the Authors

Kavita N. Ramdas is director of the Open Society Women’s Rights Program.

Laura Garcia is the president and CEO of Global Greengrants Fund.

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