THE 2005 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN KYRGYZSTAN AND COLLAPSE OF THE AKAEV REGIME

Abstract

Experts’ forecasts about the Rose revolution spreading across the post-Soviet expanse proved true. After Georgia and Ukraine, it was Kyrgyzstan, known among politicians as “an island of democracy” in Central Asia, that got a taste of the revolution. In contrast to its Georgian and Ukrainian colleagues, the Kyrgyz opposition failed to keep the democratic revolution within peaceful limits, mainly because official Bishkek persisted in its desire to ignore the opposition as an alternative force and a partner in negotiations to reach a compromise. The opposition, which expected to come to power by peaceful means, was not anticipating violence and the three-day plundering of the capital.

It should be said that Akaev’s third presidential term (officially counted as second) was a difficult one from the very beginning. It was as if fate tried to warn him against clinging to power; it hinted that the time had come to retire; that the nation was sick and tired of the demagogy, corruption, arrogance, and stupidity of the ruling circles; of the poverty and lack of rights of the ordinary people; and of the insolence and criminal machinations of Akaev’s family. His third term started with a raid by international terrorists into Kyrgyzstan in the fall of 2000; the nation lost many lives and discovered that its army was not battle-worthy and ought to be completely modernized, retrained, and rearmed. Discussions in the parliament developed into a three-day-long scandal and led the country to the brink of crisis: the opposition deputies accused the head of state of violating the constitution and abusing power by using the army against the international terrorists. 

 The events of 9/11 in New York led to deployment of an American counterterrorist air base at the Manas airfield at Bishkek. Ratification of the treaty caused another storm in the parliament and was accompanied by spontaneous rallies and numerous anti-American statements by the leftist opposition leaders.

Early in the spring of 2002, the parliament spent three weeks discussing ratification of the Kyrgyz Chinese additional protocol about the transfer to China of disputed Uzenguu-Kush territory controlled in the past by the Soviet Union and then the Kyrgyz Republic. The opposition turned this fairly routine procedure into a large-scale demarche against the official authorities and accused the president of betraying the republic’s interests. All this was accompanied by threats of impeachment. The authorities retaliated with harsh administrative measures which gave rise to a grave political crisis. Azimbek Beknazarov, one of the opposition deputies, was arrested; the scandal that followed ended with fire being opened on a peaceful demonstration in the Aksy District in the south; five were killed. Kurmanbek Bakiev’s cabinet had to resign.