What Osh Stands to Lose If Sulayman-Too Loses UNESCO Status

The mayor of Osh, Kyrgyzstan, Жанарбек Акаев, has proposed officially requesting UNESCO to remove the Sulayman-Too mountain from its World Heritage list. Mayor Акаев stated that the mountain's international status impedes the realization of various investment, tourism, and infrastructure projects, as they require extensive coordination and permits from UNESCO.

As an example, Акаев cited a project by entrepreneur Нариман Тюлеев to build a shopping and entertainment complex, 'Sulaiman Mall,' near the mountain, which includes plans for a funicular to the summit. According to the mayor, UNESCO has not approved this project. Additionally, the city faces restrictions in developing the area around the mountain, including creating pedestrian and cycling paths, landscaping, and establishing recreational zones without UNESCO's consent.

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Let the international community and organizations criticize the Osh mayor's office, but perhaps we should leave UNESCO. We are, of course, also ensuring that construction is not chaotic.

"Let the international community and organizations criticize the Osh mayor's office, but perhaps we should leave UNESCO. We are, of course, also ensuring that construction is not chaotic," Акаев said. This is not the first time proposals to alter the mountain's status have surfaced; previous mayors of Osh have made similar suggestions, even sending letters to the presidential administration.

Хайрулло Ибайдуллаев, deputy director general of the Sulayman-Too National Historical-Archaeological Museum Complex, noted that UNESCO commissions have previously studied the issue and concluded that retaining Sulayman-Too on the World Heritage List is the most beneficial decision for Kyrgyzstan. Historian Байболот Абытов recalled that the idea of a cable car to Sulayman-Too was discussed 13-15 years ago, with a local entrepreneur also proposing a funicular at that time. Experts emphasize that no country has ever voluntarily requested the removal of its heritage site from the UNESCO list, viewing such a move as a reflection of a nation's attitude towards its own history.

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In the history of UNESCO, there has not been a single case where a state itself applied for the exclusion of its object from the World Heritage List. Kyrgyzstan does not exist separately from the rest of the world; we have international relations and the world community. If a country itself refuses a world heritage object, it also becomes an indicator of its attitude towards its own history. Every country strives to be proud of its historical heritage, and in the end, it turns out that we are abandoning it ourselves.