Blogging the democratic revolution
Editor Thomas Lifson at American Thinker points out that Herbert Meyer, a former Reagan administration intelligence official, has made some impressive forecasts about where to spot the next revolution, in an interview on Larry Kudlow’s show. He discussed his essay on the nature of revolutions, and told Kudlow, days ago, that Kyrgyzstan was next. He also had interesting observations about coming revolutions to watch for.
Kyrgyz President Akayev has reportedly fled to Russia after protesters stormed the presidential compound: One key opposition figure, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, was at the scene, and state TV appeared to be in opposition hands ???????? underscoring the impression that the hitherto fragmented opposition was consolidating control. Another leading opposition figure was said to have been freed from prison. Thick plumes of black smoke rose from two burning cars, apparently belonging to government officials, near the government headquarters several hours after the takeover. It was unclear how the cars were set ablaze. The tumultuous scene was the culmination of the first major…
But not by me. Nathan has put all of his posts on the ongoing developments in Kyrgyzstan into one easy roundup for your viewing pleasure. Once you read that, though, you might want to go to the main page because there will undoubtedly be more.
Continuing protests in southern Kyrgyzstan are giving rise to speculation that Russia might intervene militarily. Democracy Guy and Registan.net both correctly say, however, that the Russian military isn’t capable of an unwanted intervention (read: invasion), and the geo-political ramifications would be immense – certainly far more than the Kremlin wants to deal with right now. A peacekeeping mission, probably at the invitation of President Akayev, seems to be the only remaining option open to Russia if it wants to find some way of directly intervening in Kyrgyzstan, but that too is an option fraught with problems. Problems which I believe…
This from the BBC yesterday, on Russia finally having had enough with OSCE election observation missions. (thanks to Nathan for picking it up) Russia’s Foreign Ministry condemned the protests, blaming "extremists". "Extremist forces must not be allowed to use political instability to create a threat to the democratic foundations of the Kyrgyz statehood," it said in a statement. Russia also rebuked the Organization for Security and Cooperation Äin EuropeÅ (OSCE) for declaring that the elections had fallen short of democratic standards. It urged the body to be "more responsible" in its election monitoring conclusions "to prevent destructive elements from using…
The protests in Kyrgyzstan seem to be having some effect: OSH, Kyrgyzstan – President Askar Akayev ordered the Central Election Commission and Supreme Court on Monday to investigate alleged violations in the recent parliamentary vote that have triggered weeks of nationwide protests led by the opposition, the president’s office said. Akayev ordered the commission and court “to pay particular attention to those districts where election results provoked extreme public reaction … and tell people openly who is right and who is wrong,” Akayev’s office said in a statement. The president’s statement came as more than 17,000 people seized government buildings…
As always, Nathan has the scoop. Here’s the introduction to the post: EDM????????s report on the election is probably a good place to start. In sum, President Akayev has a huge majority in the new parliament, protests have spread, and an opposition congress has called for Akayev to resign. If that isn’t the lead in to an action movie, I don’t know what is. Check all three pages worth out. MORE: Another update.
I bet you’ve all seen that link at the top of the screen! Make sure to click it, and in particular, go directly here for the latest on round 2 of the Kyrgyzstan parliamentary elections at The Argus!
There are two people who you absolutely need to keep up with in order to keep up with the growing protests in Kyrgyzstan. Nathan has got the latest dispatches from the ground. Meanwhile, Gateway Pundit has some cool pictures for you to check out, though they are from January when the weather was much colder. Right now, the weather is around 46 degrees fahrenheit as I post this.
Nathan is collecting exclusive information and accounts. One such account is from a Kyrgyz employee working for an international NGO. Notice how big the protests are getting. The most dangerous situation is in Jalal-Abad. In Jalal-Abad, about 10,000 people are continuing blocking the oblast administration and protesting in Central park. Several opposition famous figures are meeting with them and from yeserday Bakiev, supported with others, has started initiating the idea of conducting presidential elections first, remove current government and after that do the rest of parliamentary elections. And this: Opposition parties and movements of Kyrgyzstan have united to form the…
Sorry guys, I’m still working on my research paper. In the meantime, check out The Argus for the latest on the protests underway in Kyrgyzstan on the run up to the re-run this Sunday.
Don’t give up on Kyrgyzstan just yet! Gateway Pundit initially brought the story to our attention. “The authorities are losing control of the situation. Current developments in southern Kyrgyzstan, where a rally has been going on since March 4, suggest that not only the opposition, but also the people want change in the authorities,” said Otunbayeva. “The opposition has ample strength and opportunity to assume leadership of the popular movement. But we want to tackle these problems legally,” she said. … The Kyrgyz parliament is preparing to gather for an emergency session on March 10, Zeina Kurmanov, leader of the…
Three thousand protestors in Jalalabad have seized a government building and are demanding next week’s parliamentary election runoffs be free and transparent. More than half of the seats in parliament were forced into the runoffs, so this is big.
Gateway Pundit has been following elections in Kyrgyzstan as well, and note unrest in the south over fraud, along with violations of people being bought off. Make sure to read it over. In addition to that, a grenade was aimed at an opposition leader, but it did not succeed. But read this: BISHKEK, March 3 (Reuters) – Assailants threw a grenade into the empty apartment of a prominent Kyrgyz opposition leader on Thursday, causing no casualties, in an attack both opposition and authorities accused each other of staging. The blast occurred days after the first of two rounds of a…
Senator John McCain, my senator in Arizona, issued a statement on the recent elections in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. And it was the right oneto make.
Nathan has a bunch of follow up news to the recent election there. Some are saying that democracy is on the march there as well!
Kyrgyzstan is facing a run-off after a majority of seats failed to acquire an absolute majority of the votes: MOSCOW. Feb. 28. — A majority of the seats in Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentary elections Sunday were forced into a second round of voting when the contests failed to produce absolute majorities for candidates, according to preliminary results released Monday in the capital, Bishkek. That leaves the Central Asian republic to face another period of high political tension around the March 13 runoffs. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said Monday the vote “fell short” of international standards for democratic elections,…
I emailed Nathan over at The Argus what he thought about the lack of protests, or anything for that matter, in regards to the Tajik elections. Here is his insight: I think the thing is that Kyrgyzstan is kind of deceptive. Akayev has run the place more or less like a normal country, and people have gotten a taste for the comparative freedom they’ve enjoyed. It’s hard to describe, but the country struck me as incredible after I’d been in Uzbekistan for about a year. People are laid back, all kinds of products are available, and you can get margaritas!…
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has a great primer on the events there. Here is the first, second, and third parts in the series. Make sure to check out the RFE/RL feature page on the election. Nathan also has a huge roundup. This article explains procedure for monitors, and while the headline says there are no violations, this says differently: BISHKEK. Feb 27 (Interfax) – A Kyrgyz opposition leader said violations have been reported in Sunday????????s parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan. ???????Reports have been arriving since the morning about flagrant violations of election regulations and about the use of administrative pressure during…
Nathan has got today’s roundup posted. Along with some cool buttons I’m going to ad to the side bar.
Nathan has got the news roundup for all of you. The parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan are on February 27. Luckily, that is a Sunday, which means I will have plenty of time to be posting on it as well. If there’s anything the tin-pot despots there know, it is when to pick a good day for rigged elections! I don’t even think I have to say that Russia is backing the current regime. UPDATE: More on the Rainbow of Revolutions from Aussiegirl. Here’s my favorite quote from the article she posted: Moscow has been careful to appear impartial this time,…
Nathan’s weekend edition is up, and PORA is tranforming itself into a permanent think-tank. Vladyslav Kaskiv is one of the leaders of the Pora movement, whose demonstrations ???????? often laced with biting humor ???????? became a memorable feature of those exuberant winter days. Pora drew its inspiration from pro-democracy youth movements in Serbia and Georgia that also helped topple authoritarian regimes. Kaskiv told RFE/RL he and his colleagues planned to institutionalize their experience by setting up an international center in Kyiv to offer assistance and practical advice to democracy advocates throughout the region. ???????We are now in a very active…
Nathan has got today’s update up with what’s going on there. And apparently Uzbekistan is developing a parliamentary opposition: Asliddin Rustamov, leader of the parliamentary faction of the People????????s Democratic Party, said at a press conference here on Wednesday that their faction regarded itself as the left wing of the political forces, represented in parliament, which has a different opinion on some aspects of the reforms implemented in Uzbekistan. Specifically, it believes that their social effectiveness should be improved. The faction ???????will consistently express and defend the interests of working people and of the vulnerable sections of the population. It…
Today’s — er, yesterday’s update is online. You may have noticed my nap ran a little long, so I’m not really sure what day it is yet.
Nathan has got his Valentine’s Day Edition (well, maybe not) of Election and Democracy Watch up. Check it out.