GENERAL OVERVIEW

Ainura ELEBAEVA

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Ainura Elebaeva, D.Sc. (Philos.), professor, director of the Research Institute of Ethnology, International University of Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan)

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The stormy events of 24 March, 2005 were caused by a gradually mounting political crisis, rather than a sporadic outburst of popular discontent. It all started in 2000 when President Askar Akaev was elected to his third term, which the republic’s Constitutional Court preferred to count as his second term. The illegal nature of his presidency led to an ongoing political confrontation, the ebbs and flows of which were determined by what was going on in politics.

International developments added tension to the already tense domestic situation. In the fall of 2000, at the very beginning of the third term, an invasion of international terrorists from the Batken Region (in the country’s south) triggered a political crisis. The clashes showed that the armed forces of the Kyrgyz Republic were badly trained and unable to maintain their combat proficiency. The parliamentary discussions which followed caused a political confrontation between the head of state and the deputies who accused the president of violating the Constitution and abusing his powers regarding use of the army. The agreement permitting the United States to deploy its air force base at the Manas Airport following the 9/11 events in New York caused another storm in the Zhogorku Kenesh (parliament). The Kyrgyz-Chinese protocol on transferring the disputed Uzengu Kush territory to China ended in another large-scale political demarche: accused of betraying the country’s interests, the head of state barely escaped impeachment. The administration retaliated by arresting parliamentary deputy A. Beknazarov. This started another political crisis complete with gunfire at a peaceful demonstration in support of………………

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