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Revolution with a
difference
By Gulnoza
Saidazimova
PRAGUE - Kyrgyzstan may have
lost its claim to the next "velvet" revolution
after violence erupted in the southern cities of
Jalalabad and Osh.
In Jalalabad, on
Sunday, protesters demanding the resignation of
President Askar Akayev threw Molotov cocktails
into a crowd. They set fire to a local
administration building. In Osh, the following
day, a crowd chanting "Akayev must go" set fire to
a billboard with Akayev's picture on it.
The violence ended relatively quickly, but
several people were injured.
This is just
one of the differences between what is happening
in Kyrgyzstan and the peaceful revolutions in
Ukraine and Georgia.
The Kyrgyz opposition
says they are now in control of the situation in
areas where they have power. One of the opposition
leaders, Emil Aliev of the Ar-Namys (Dignity)
party, told RFE/RL by telephone that their
priority was to maintain order.
"We are in
control of this process," he said. "And as soon as
we began receiving reports, not even facts, of the
possibility of [looting and violence], we sent
orders to every region. We talked to our activists
and called on the people to refrain from looting
and violence."
This is disputed by the
presidential administration. A spokesman, Abdil
Segizbaev, said the opposition was not in control
of the protests. He said they amount to "a putsch
and a coup".
One problem is that the
Kyrgyz opposition so far lacks a charismatic
national leader like Ukraine's Viktor Yushchenko
or Georgia's Mikheil Saakashvili to give the
movement unity and coherence.
A
journalist, Alisher Saipov, who witnessed the
events in Osh, said there was little coordination
among opposition groups as they took over an
administrative building there.
"Yes, this
is absolutely clear [that there is no unity among
the opposition]," Saipov said. "Let's take my
personal observations as an example. Omurbek
Tekebaev, one of the opposition leaders, told me
that he would like the president to stay in power
until his term ends and, thus, he demonstrated he
had some personal problems with ex-prime minister
Kurmanbek Bakiev [who is the most likely candidate
for the presidency]. I had an impression that the
opposition members throw stones at each other.
Many people say that Roza Otunbaeva, who became a
driving force of the Kyrgyz opposition according
to President Akayev, plays just a consultant's
role."
Aliev conceded there have been some
organizational problems, but he said coordination
among the groups is getting better. "In the
beginning, there were successful attempts [by the
opposition] to coordinate these events. Then other
people started joining in spontaneously, people
who also had various demands, including political
ones," he said. "Now, we are trying to coordinate
all those actions."
One important unknown
factor is how Russia will react. The Kremlin
played an important role in averting violence in
Georgia by convincing president Eduard
Shevardnadze to resign in the face of the Rose
Revolution.
In Ukraine, Russia actively
sided with government candidate Viktor Yanukovych.
But when Yanukovych was defeated, the Kremlin was
humiliated.
Perhaps reacting to Ukraine,
the Kremlin is appearing more cautious in
Kyrgyzstan. Russian President Vladimir Putin
offered what was viewed as a mild endorsement of
Akayev in January, promising to visit Kyrgyzstan
this summer. Kremlin officials, however, also held
meetings with prominent Kyrgyz opposition figures,
including Otunbaeva.
Akayev was rumored to
have traveled to Moscow on Sunday, but this has
not been confirmed.
This week, there were
calls from some within Russia to become more
involved. Dmitriy Rogozin, the head of the Rodina
faction in the Russian State Duma, said Russia may
have to intervene with physical force to avoid
bloodshed.
Ishengul Boljurova of the
People's Movement of Kyrgyzstan, speaking to
RFE/RL from Bishkek, said she is concerned by
these kinds of statements. "We call on Russia to
have a less biased and more careful approach
toward Kyrgyzstan," she said.
Kurmanbek
Bakiev issued an appeal to Putin to help stabilize
the situation in Kyrgyzstan, saying it is becoming
a threat to regional stability.
The
Ukraine protests lasted weeks and weeks. The
Kyrgyz movement, by comparison, is still
relatively young.
Copyright (c) 2005,
RFE/RL Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW,
Washington DC 20036 |
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