Comments on: All Eyes on Kyrgyzstan

By: Registan.net

Registan.net — Mon, 28 Feb 2005 20:56:36 +0000

[...] d wave or a fourth of its own, may the tide continue rising. Much more here here. Though Kyrgyzstan’s MSN meant it for one person in particular, it could be said of many leaders in many places: � [...]

By: RighteousBiche

RighteousBiche — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 14:07:57 +0000

There’s an excellent article in Le Monde. Don’t have the link yet, though.

By: Milblog

Milblog — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 13:30:46 +0000

The Revolution is Spreading…

Registan.net has an EXCEEDINGLY good roundup of the news from Kyrgyzstan, which apparently is undergoing preparations for their own election. That includes silencing radio stations, and making sure power gets cut off to opposition newspapers and printe…

By: Publius Pundit - Blogging the democratic revolution

Publius Pundit - Blogging the democratic revolution — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 02:21:09 +0000

[...] events there. Here is the first, second, and third parts in the series. Nathan also has a huge roundup. Kyrgyzstan is experiencing an unprecedented upsurge in civil activism: A sudden upsurge of civic [...]

By: Christoph

Christoph — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 02:09:13 +0000

Here’s a little snapshot from the Swedish press. They seem unusually up-to-date.

- From ‘Aftonbladet’ (Evening Paper)

“Sundays elections in Kyrgysztan cannot be held in the whole country, said the election commission late Saturday evening. Because of the demonstrations blocking whole roads in the Tonsk region of the east thereby causing great difficulty to the election preparations, the election itself must be postponed for two weeks, said the commission through the press agency AKI. The Tonsk citizens will probably have to wait until the 13th of March to vote, writes TT.”

http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/telegram/0,1082,64916414_852__,00.html

- From ‘Dagens Nyheter’

“The former Soviet republics Tajikistan and Kyrgysztan are holding elections this Sunday. A revolution in the fashion of Georgia and Ukraine is not expected in the two Central Asian states. The regime’s hold on power is still too strong. Still, the elections are followed closely by the rest of the world- not the least in Moscow and Washington. Both states are strategically involved in close proximity to China and the still unstable Afghanistan. The US became involved in Kyrgyzstan in 2001 with their war against the Taleban by opening a air force base in Manas, the first in the Russian sphere of influence…”

http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=148&a=384178&previousRenderType=2

Christoph Ferstad
http://www.thinking-east.net

By: Ben

Ben — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 22:23:15 +0000

To confirm the increased media interest in the Kyrgyz elections, a little roundup from the German-speaking press:

- The Saturday print edition of Austrian’s ‘Kurier’ has an upbeat report:
“The protests grow on a daily basis in Bishkek, and have now reached other cities of the poor mountainous country”
http://www.kurier.at/ausland/906376.php

- The left-leaning TAZ has a rather pessimistic outlook:
“Despite protests in the run up to the elections, analysts do not see the administration as being in real danger”
http://www.taz.de/pt/2005/02/26/a0160.nf/text.ges,1

- The Austrian ‘Standard’ reports on growing protests
“Dshaparow called on his followers to vote against all other candidates in their constituencies. ‘My disqualification will cause more trouble for the authorities’, says Dshaparow. ‘They have lost the trust of the people.’
http://derstandard.at/?url=/?id=1965501

- The ex-communist East-German paper ‘Neues Deutschland’ has a well researched article:
“Interestingly, Russian foreign minster Ivanov did not only welcome Akayev in Moscow, but also ex-prime minister Kurmanbek Bakiev, who will run for presidency in October.”
http://www.nd-online.de/artikel.asp?AID=68082&IDC=2

- The business daily ‘Handelsblatt’ puts the Kyrgyz and the Tajik poll into a wider context:
“Revolutions in the CIS startle Kremlin” .. and “Roses, Tulips, Carnations, all flowers wither” (well, it rhymes in German)
http://www.handelsblatt.com/pshb?fn=tt&sfn=go&id=955882

Ben
http://www.thinking-east.net