Kyrgyzstan: Bakiyev Confronts Political Crisis

Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian state that experienced the Tulip Revolution in 2005, is once again going through a bout of political instability, one with uncertain ramifications for President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's administration.

Unrest erupted on April 6 in the northwestern Kyrgyz town of Talas, where protesters attempted to storm a government building, eyewitnesses told EurasiaNet.org. One participant claimed that protesters detained the regional governor, but such assertions could not be independently confirmed. Other unconfirmed reports said the protestors attempted to appoint their own governor.

One witness in Talas, a member of the Ak Shumkar (White Falcon) opposition party, claimed 4,000 protestors had taken control of the provincial administrative headquarters, and were moving towards the local administration building as of 6 pm local time. Other eyewitnesses told EurasiaNet.org the number of demonstrators was closer to 1,000.

"The police are shooting with rubber bullets and tear gas. They are shooting in the sky as well. One guy got shot in his leg; his bone was destroyed. He is in the hospital now," a protestor told EurasiaNet.org.

Later, at 7:20 pm another eyewitness reported that speakers in Talas' central square were addressing a crowd using a jury-rigged speaker system: "Right now there is a woman talking, and her words echo the language of 2005 for [former president Askat] Akayev, but now it's for Bakiyev. They are shouting 'Down with Bakiyev,'" the witness said, comparing the April 6 events to the popular uprising in 2005 that forced Akayev from power in 2005. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

In the evening, rumors began circulating that two planeloads of special security troops had been dispatched by the government and were preparing to move into the town center. One witness said that, despite the possibility of a clash, the crowd of protesters in Talas was growing. Many intended to stay in the square overnight.

Earlier, an Interior Ministry spokesman asserted that the government remained firmly in control of developments in Talas. "Nobody stormed anything, there was a crowd of drunk people who entered the provincial local government building and they left the building right away," the spokesman told EurasiaNet.org at 5pm. "Now, everything is under control of the law enforcement bodies."

The Talas protest appears to be rooted in popular discontent over recent state-mandated hikes in the cost of heating and electricity. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. However, two recent developments may well have emboldened protesters to take to the streets: the first was a national gathering, or kurultai, held in Bishkek in late March, that turned out to be a political miscalculation for Bakiyev. The president had intended the gathering to serve as a demonstration of his political strength, but, instead, participants aired criticisms of his administration's policies. Second, and more importantly, Bakiyev has come under a withering barrage of criticism from Russia. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Overnight on April 6-7, a sense of political uncertainty hovered over the country. Although a heavy security presence could not be detected in Bishkek, the capital, as night fell, police and Interior Ministry forces were reportedly beefing up their presence in provincial centers around the country. Meanwhile, opposition leaders pledged to carry out demonstrations nationwide on April 7, protesting not only the recent price hikes, but also alleged widespread government corruption.

Heightening the sense of uncertainty, Bishkek reported trouble accessing the Internet late on April 6. Earlier in the evening, many news websites were being blocked, and a generally pro-governmental television channel, Kanal 5, went off the air. A popular Kyrgyz blogging platform, diesel.elcat.kg, also appeared blocked. In addition, cell phone communications between Bishkek and Talas also seemed to be blocked.