Turmoil in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia is in a state of turmoil. Amidst scenes of mass protests against President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s rule, an opposition coalition has taken over the reins with former diplomat Roza Otunbayeva as its leader. The nation-wide protests claimed 68 people lives as the protestors clashed with the security forces on Thursday.
Bakiyev (60) has refused to quit. He is said to have fled to the southern city of Osh. He himself came to power in a similar popular uprising five years ago, known as Tulip Revolution. He was unpopular as a ruler. Cronyism and corruption charges are regularly levelled against him. And was demonised as autocratic and repressive ruler.
Otunbayeva, who served as foreign minister in Bakiyev government, said the interim government controlled the whole country, except for toppled president’s power base of Osh and Jalalabad in the south, and had the backing of the armed forces and border guards.
She is widely viewed as a clean figure. She is also arguably the country’s most experienced political figure, having served as ambassador to the US and the UK
Kyrgyzstan is a predominantly Muslim country, but just as in Soviet times, it remains secular with little fear of the spread of Islamic fundamentalism as in other mostly Muslim regions of the former Soviet Union.
One of the first acts of pro-Moscow Otunbayeva was to call for closure of the US base at Manas near the capital. The base is used for transhipment of essential supplies to American and NATO troops in Afghanistan. The unpopularity of Bakiyev rubbed on the Americans and the perception spread that Washington was dealing with him ignoring the struggle people have been waging for democracy.
Here in is a message to the Obama administration. Its policy of supporting security at the expense of democracy will prove costly. And it is bound to complicate President Obama’s plan to send 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan as part of a larger NATO build-up there. In March, 50,000 U.S. and allied forces heading to and from Afghanistan transited through the Manas air base, more than three times the monthly average last year.
Tension has been brewing for months in Kyrgyzstan; latest price rise provided the spark for protests in the provincial city of Talas on Tuesday. Soon it spread to capital Bishkek and other parts of the country. By Wednesday night, protesters seized the presidential administration on Wednesday night and announced on state radio that they had formed a provisional government with former foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva at its head.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has denied Moscow’s involvement in the unrest. ‘Neither Russia nor your humble servant (Putin) have any links’ to the events in Kyrgyzstan, Putin told reporters during a joint press conference with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk in Smolensk, western Russia.
But Omurbek Tekebayev, an opposition leader who has taken charge of constitutional matters in the new government, said Russia played its role in ousting Bakiyev. ‘You’ve seen the level of Russia’s joy when they saw Bakiyev gone,” he said.
Former Soviet Republics like Belarus, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Georgia have been witnesses to crackdowns, arrests and revolutions as a variant of Soviet authoritarianism dominates the transition to social democracy continues. Events in Kyrgyzstan fall into the same pattern.
Bakiyev (60) has refused to quit. He is said to have fled to the southern city of Osh. He himself came to power in a similar popular uprising five years ago, known as Tulip Revolution. He was unpopular as a ruler. Cronyism and corruption charges are regularly levelled against him. And was demonised as autocratic and repressive ruler.
Otunbayeva, who served as foreign minister in Bakiyev government, said the interim government controlled the whole country, except for toppled president’s power base of Osh and Jalalabad in the south, and had the backing of the armed forces and border guards.
She is widely viewed as a clean figure. She is also arguably the country’s most experienced political figure, having served as ambassador to the US and the UK
Kyrgyzstan is a predominantly Muslim country, but just as in Soviet times, it remains secular with little fear of the spread of Islamic fundamentalism as in other mostly Muslim regions of the former Soviet Union.
One of the first acts of pro-Moscow Otunbayeva was to call for closure of the US base at Manas near the capital. The base is used for transhipment of essential supplies to American and NATO troops in Afghanistan. The unpopularity of Bakiyev rubbed on the Americans and the perception spread that Washington was dealing with him ignoring the struggle people have been waging for democracy.
Here in is a message to the Obama administration. Its policy of supporting security at the expense of democracy will prove costly. And it is bound to complicate President Obama’s plan to send 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan as part of a larger NATO build-up there. In March, 50,000 U.S. and allied forces heading to and from Afghanistan transited through the Manas air base, more than three times the monthly average last year.
Tension has been brewing for months in Kyrgyzstan; latest price rise provided the spark for protests in the provincial city of Talas on Tuesday. Soon it spread to capital Bishkek and other parts of the country. By Wednesday night, protesters seized the presidential administration on Wednesday night and announced on state radio that they had formed a provisional government with former foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva at its head.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has denied Moscow’s involvement in the unrest. ‘Neither Russia nor your humble servant (Putin) have any links’ to the events in Kyrgyzstan, Putin told reporters during a joint press conference with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk in Smolensk, western Russia.
But Omurbek Tekebayev, an opposition leader who has taken charge of constitutional matters in the new government, said Russia played its role in ousting Bakiyev. ‘You’ve seen the level of Russia’s joy when they saw Bakiyev gone,” he said.
Former Soviet Republics like Belarus, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Georgia have been witnesses to crackdowns, arrests and revolutions as a variant of Soviet authoritarianism dominates the transition to social democracy continues. Events in Kyrgyzstan fall into the same pattern.
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