Alexey Semyonov and Baktybek Abdrisaev: Another Chance for Democracy in Kyrgyzstan
[Alexey Semyonov is vice president of the Andrei Sakharov Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes democratic development in the former Soviet Union. Baktybek Abdrisaev, a visiting professor of history and political science at Utah Valley University, was Kyrgyzstan’s ambassador to the United States and Canada from 1997 to 2005. This column first appeared in the Washington Post.]
Events in Kyrgyzstan have once again seized headlines. Five years ago, in March 2005, the Tulip Revolution blossomed: Crowds upset by a falsified election stormed the main government building in Bishkek, the capital, and chased out President Askar Akayev. Last week, after widespread riots in which security forces opened fire on opposition protesters, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev escaped the capital in a plane. A temporary people’s government announced that it has taken power, with former Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva in charge.
For Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous nation that prided itself on being an “island of democracy” in Central Asia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, events represent a second chance to get on track. This opportunity comes at a heavy cost -- hundreds have been injured and at least 75 people killed -- and these sacrifices will be in vain if another revolt is provoked in a few years by the same plagues of corruption and despotism. But it is significant that of the former Soviet republics, Kyrgyzstan is the only nation that has forced regime change. The people are clearly willing to fight for their rights. The test now is whether the country can also provide for peaceful transitions.
Otunbayeva is an erudite and experienced diplomat and parliamentarian who has the credibility and track record to lead the country. Her first task is to prove that she and her emergency cabinet can get the violence under control. Looters have run rampant through Bishkek’s grocery stores and malls. Armed mobs have stolen guns from police....
Rarely do countries get the chance to remake themselves so quickly. Governments change, but problems often remain. The new Kyrgyz leadership has a chance to address the country’s pressing problems, and the United States could improve its Kyrgyz policy in the process.
Read entire article at The Capital Times (WI)
Events in Kyrgyzstan have once again seized headlines. Five years ago, in March 2005, the Tulip Revolution blossomed: Crowds upset by a falsified election stormed the main government building in Bishkek, the capital, and chased out President Askar Akayev. Last week, after widespread riots in which security forces opened fire on opposition protesters, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev escaped the capital in a plane. A temporary people’s government announced that it has taken power, with former Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva in charge.
For Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous nation that prided itself on being an “island of democracy” in Central Asia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, events represent a second chance to get on track. This opportunity comes at a heavy cost -- hundreds have been injured and at least 75 people killed -- and these sacrifices will be in vain if another revolt is provoked in a few years by the same plagues of corruption and despotism. But it is significant that of the former Soviet republics, Kyrgyzstan is the only nation that has forced regime change. The people are clearly willing to fight for their rights. The test now is whether the country can also provide for peaceful transitions.
Otunbayeva is an erudite and experienced diplomat and parliamentarian who has the credibility and track record to lead the country. Her first task is to prove that she and her emergency cabinet can get the violence under control. Looters have run rampant through Bishkek’s grocery stores and malls. Armed mobs have stolen guns from police....
Rarely do countries get the chance to remake themselves so quickly. Governments change, but problems often remain. The new Kyrgyz leadership has a chance to address the country’s pressing problems, and the United States could improve its Kyrgyz policy in the process.