Blogging the democratic revolution
Nathan is staying on the situation with the Kyrgyz Election Watch. Make sure to keep checking for more information. Seems like the government is playing the “civil war” card. That, of course, being a card they made up.
Nathan has posted a roundup of news concerning Central Asia. I’m such a whore for these kinds of things.
Almost missed this other post by Nathan. Looks like he is keeping up with elections in Kyrgyzstan. More power to him; I certainly have to sleep at times! Lots of links and quotes and commentary. Check it out. I’ll try to find more information in the coming days as well. UPDATE: Russia obviously has a large interest in maintaining the status quo. Good article for some good information, though.
Nathan writes on the upsurge of protests from democratic movements in Central Asia, much greater than they were just a year ago. It’s really good.
Nathan posts about the “not-so-veiled threats against NGOs” in Uzbekistan. I guess that is because they do engage in some pro-democracy, er, activities; but I’m obviously against blocking them out for that very reason. But it always makes me come to the conclusion that doing this will only further speed up the current regime’s downfall. Also posted is an interview with “President” Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan
Nathan from The Argus has got some great commentary regarding the Bush inauguration speech. I don????????t know how to say it other than to once again say that democratization isn????????t new. Talking about it is. Doing it is bipartisan. Publicly supporting it seems to be something the right is much more concerned about. And why do I don the ideologue????????s gloves, something I rarely do here? Because praktike points to this Senate plan as an alternative to Bush????????s foreign policy vision. All I can really say in praise is that it is gloriously imprecise, tells a wonderful fairy-tale in the…
Transitions online has an interview with Islam Karimov, “President” of Uzbekistan entitled Not In My Country. Man, even the title describes the authoritarian attitude. Nezavisimaya Gazeta: But in theory “velvet” turnovers may be too mild and the country will find itself in the grips of a civil war… Islam Karimov: Everything depends on the preparations. Take Ukraine, for example, where preparations for the recent election began in 1995. Consider how many non-governmental organizations exist there and on whose money they exist, and everything will become instantly clear. By the way, we are tracking all funds and grants nowadays. We want…
Eurasianet has another article called Nipping orange roses in the bud — post-Soviet elites against revolution. This comes as no surprise, because they are understandably running scared. But by making drastic decisions, however, they are creating an unsustainable environment for their own rule. You know how they say, “Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.” Well, while I would never consider someone who is pro-democracy an enemy, their best bet for keeping power is to negate the opposition’s argument by opening up on the civil liberties platform. The court ruling to dissolve Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK), a…
The Argus has a huge roundup of news from all over Central Asia.