Baktybek Abdrisaev and Alexey Semyonov: Kyrgyzstan's Tulip Revolution Wilts
[Mr. Abdrisaev is distinguished visiting professor of history and political science at Utah Valley University, and served as Kyrgyzstan's ambassador to the United States and Canada from 1997 to 2005. Mr. Semyonov is Vice President of the Andrei Sakharov Foundation.]
Today marks the fifth anniversary of Kyrgyzstan's "Tulip Revolution," an uprising against authoritarianism that brought hope of a better life to the Kyrgyz people and inspired democratic oppositions in neighboring countries. Yet as the years pass, it's becoming increasingly clear that Kyrgyzstan's elites are more interested in reshuffling power amongst themselves than devolving it to the people.
What a far cry from the enthusiasm felt in March 2005 when protestors stormed the Kyrgyz White House, inspired by the "color" revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine. Former strongman Askar Akayev was forced into exile after 14 years in power, and in July 2005, opposition leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev was elected president with 89% of the vote.
Yet today, life in Kyrgyzstan remains grim. Economic development has virtually stopped. The new constitution, passed in 2006, concentrated power in the hands of the president and transformed parliament into a mere rubber stamp. Murders of prominent politicians and journalists are now routine. Freedom House this year moved Kyrgyzstan from the category of a "partly free" to a "nonfree" nation. Last year Transparency International ranked Kyrgyzstan 166th among the 180 ranked nations, down from 157th in 2008....
Kyrgyzstan stands at a crossroads, ready to resume the reforms it started in the 1990s or posed to sink into the authoritarian sea of Central Asia. The U.S. can be on the right side of history by nudging Kyrgyzstan towards democracy. Inaction now may well prove fatal for any hope of democratic progress in Bishkek or beyond.
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Today marks the fifth anniversary of Kyrgyzstan's "Tulip Revolution," an uprising against authoritarianism that brought hope of a better life to the Kyrgyz people and inspired democratic oppositions in neighboring countries. Yet as the years pass, it's becoming increasingly clear that Kyrgyzstan's elites are more interested in reshuffling power amongst themselves than devolving it to the people.
What a far cry from the enthusiasm felt in March 2005 when protestors stormed the Kyrgyz White House, inspired by the "color" revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine. Former strongman Askar Akayev was forced into exile after 14 years in power, and in July 2005, opposition leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev was elected president with 89% of the vote.
Yet today, life in Kyrgyzstan remains grim. Economic development has virtually stopped. The new constitution, passed in 2006, concentrated power in the hands of the president and transformed parliament into a mere rubber stamp. Murders of prominent politicians and journalists are now routine. Freedom House this year moved Kyrgyzstan from the category of a "partly free" to a "nonfree" nation. Last year Transparency International ranked Kyrgyzstan 166th among the 180 ranked nations, down from 157th in 2008....
Kyrgyzstan stands at a crossroads, ready to resume the reforms it started in the 1990s or posed to sink into the authoritarian sea of Central Asia. The U.S. can be on the right side of history by nudging Kyrgyzstan towards democracy. Inaction now may well prove fatal for any hope of democratic progress in Bishkek or beyond.