Election-Related Disturbances Hit Southern Kyrgyzstan

Fresh political protests occurred March 4 in southern Kyrgyzstan, as critics of President Askar Akayev's administration pressed their demands for fair elections.

Southern Kyrgyzstan, a hotbed of political opposition to Akayev, experienced numerous protests during the final weeks of the country's parliamentary election campaign. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The February 27 vote produced controversial results in several southern election districts, ensuring that political passions will continue to run high at least until March 13, when run-off elections are due to be held to determine 44 of parliament's 75 seats. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].

The most serious protest occurred in Jala-Abad, one of the largest cities in southern Kyrgyzstan, where hundreds of anti-government protesters occupied the regional administration building. Most of the protesters were supporters of a local candidate for parliament, Jusupbek Bakiyev, who is the brother of prominent opposition figure Kurmanbek Bakiyev. After seizing control of the government offices, the protesters demanded the resignations of Akayev and local officials, as well as the annulment of the February election results. Later on March 4, the protest appeared to be losing steam, as local officials signaled a desire to negotiate an end to the crisis, the AKIpress news agency reported. The agency characterized the general mood in Jala-Abad as "peaceful."

Roughly 50 kilometers west of Jala-Abad, a separate election-related protest occurred in the Nooken District, where approximately 3,000 supporters of Dooronbek Sadyrbayev, an opposition candidate for parliament, blocked a highway connecting the national capital, Bishkek, with Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan's largest city. The Nooken protesters, like those in Jala-Abad, called for the resignation of local officials and the annulment of the election results. Sadyrbayev is slated to stand against a pro-Akayev candidate, Jenishbek Eshenkulov, in one of the March 13 run-offs. Protesters believe Eshenkulov should be disqualified, alleging that he was the beneficiary of ballot-stuffing.

The protests came one day after an unidentified assailant lobbed a grenade at the Bishkek apartment of Roza Otunbayeva, leader of the Ata-Jurt movement and a leading Akayev critic. Otunbayeva was not in the dwelling at the time, and no one was hurt in the incident. Opposition leaders and government officials traded accusations concerning the attack. Akayev critics said the government was trying to intimidate the opposition, while a presidential spokesman portrayed the incident as "the beginning of an opposition show."

Opposition leaders participated in a March 3 civic forum in Bishkek, also attended by human rights activists and independent journalists. Many attendees accused officials of enforcing an "information blockade" against independent mass media outlets in an effort to limit criticism of government policies. The media crackdown has intensified during the weeks leading up to the parliamentary election, Akayev critics said.

Several forum participants also expressed concern about rising inter-ethnic tension. Southern Kyrgyzstan -- given the current high level of political discontent, as well as the fact that the region is home to a large Uzbek minority – is especially vulnerable to another bout of inter-ethnic unrest. In 1990, dozens of Kyrgyz and Uzbeks were killed in rioting in and around Osh.

Viktor Chernomorets, the co-chairman of the Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan, announced leaflets had been distributed recently in Bishkek stating that "Kyrgyzstan is for the Kyrgyz people." He called on authorities to take action to punish the culprits, and to prevent further attempts at stirring up inter-ethnic tension.

Also on March 3, Rolf Ekeus, the OSCE high commissioner on national minorities, arrived in Bishkek for a working visit. In an interview with the official Kabar news agency, Ekeus praised the Kyrgyz government for "taking very serious and important steps" in broadening the rights and opportunities of minority groups in the country.