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3.27.2005 ||> Kyrgyz FAQ part 2: Players and Haters
Some more answers as an addition to the Tulip Revolution FAQ posted the day before yesterday on what is going on in Kyrgyzstan:
Who are the major leaders in the Kyrgyzstan revolution/revolt/coup?
Askar Akayev has been the president of Kyrgyzstan since 1991. In the beginning of his tenure, he was held up as a democratic light in a sea of dictatorships. However, he settled in to corruption. When rumors abounded that he was seeking to extend his term past the limits set by the constitution, protestors took to the streets demanding his resignation. He has since fled the country and is residing in Moscow. However, he still maintains that he is the president of Kyrgyzstan and is merely taking a short vacation.
Kurmanbek Bakiev: He was the governor of the northern Chu region which is also the former president?s homeland. In 2001, he was forced to tender his resignation as Kyrgyz Prime Minister after some deadly protests in the south. Now, at 56, he is the interim president. He is also popular with intellectuals and the Russians in the country.
Roza Otunbayeva: This 54 year old former ambassador has her following with the intellectuals. She was just recently made the interim foreign minister. When asked by the BBC whether or not she would run for president, she said "I will not think about it."
Azimbek Beknazarov is the new interim general prosecutor. A lawyer, he started as an investigator in a rural prosecutor's office and made a career as a judge in the capital Bishkek. When he was a former MP, he implied that President Akayev be impeached over a land issue and was put in jail on trumped up charges. He was reportedly beaten repeatedly while in jail.
Felix Kulov was rescued from jail by protestors on their way to ousting the president. He has since been put in charge of security, which involves clamping down on the looting that has engulfed Bishkek. Unfortunately in the past couple of days, there have been rumors as to whether or not he?s killed people to keep the peace. He has also said that he will go back to jail after the revolution to serve out the rest of his time, but that remains to be seen.
Ismail Isakov was appointed interim defense minister. The former general and Member of Parliament is a long-time opponent of former President Akayev.
Myktybek Abdyldayev, named interim interior minister, was the general prosecutor until Akayev dismissed him on Wednesday, the day before the opposition swept to power.
Keneshbek Dushebayev, a former head of police in the capital Bishkek and interior minister in the Akayev regime, he was leading protests against Akayev's ousting on Saturday.
What countries would possibly want their fingers in the pie?
Russia would really like to have controlling interests in all the former soviet republics. However, after playing a bad hand during the revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine, the Russians have been keeping the cards close to their chest. They say they were in talks with the opposition leaders, and yet they are welcoming the former president in their capital. Playing both sides could be useful and keep them away from the crow that they've eaten before.
China is the biggest country next to Kyrgyzstan and has been having its own problems as of late with the Xinjiang province of which Kyrgyzstan borders. The Chinese really want stability as it doesn't do to give ideas to an already alienated population.
The other "stans" such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have made statements which assert that nothing the Kyrgyz do reflects on them. However, they are not going to take a revolution on their own territory lying down and may engage in preventive measures.
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