Video Footage of Tear Gas Incident

Live and direct on, where else? YouTube. This footage was filmed at the November 7th demonstrations in front of the Jogorku Kenesh (Parliament), right across the street from my office at the American University. I was on the western side of the square, away from the action at the time, but as I said earlier, the flash grenades were no less shocking. Some of this footage was seen on the NTS channel's "Bez Kommentaree" or "Without Commentary" segments during the demonstrations. NTS is an independent russian language channel, essentially a re-translation of a popular Moscow channel, only available to cable subscribers in the north of the country. People in the rest of the country had little idea of what was really going on because they only have access to the government channel, which of course showed very different footage during the demonstrations, only favorable stuff of the Bakiev administration. NTS was shut down at various points during the demonstration, due to 'mysterious' circumstances. Independent stations here have a habit of suffering from mysterious break-ins and vandalism from hooded men. Anyway, on to the show....

"I'll tip my hat to the new constitution....

....Take a bow for the new revolution,
Smile and grin at the change all around,
Pick up my guitar and play,
Just like yesterday,
Then I'll get on my knees and pray,
We don't get fooled again."
- The Who


At 8.30 AM, Wednesday morning, an earthquake probably measuring between 4 and 5 on the richter scale shook this already nervous capitol city of Bishkek just a day after a week of street protests boiled over into a brutally brief confrontation with riot police. Unfortunately a few were hurt in the crackdown, one quite seriously, but considering that threats of violent outbursts by the opposition had been swirling around the city for the past six months, it's a miracle that this short spasm of rock-throwing and tear-gassing was all that materialized.

Moreover, perhaps this earthquake foreshadowed the event that would send tremors in the authoritarian halls of power throughout capitol cities of Central Asia. The government of Kyrgyzstan adopted one of the most progressive constitutions in the former Soviet Union, and for the first time the powers of the president of one of the post-Soviet countries were significantly weakend, while the power of the parliament was strengthened. The day President Bakiev approved the new constitution, President Islam Karimov, the ruthless dictator of Uzbekistan, offered his own amendments to the Uzbek constitution to supposedly give his 'rubber stamp' parliament more say in policy decisions. Few reasonable people take this gesture seriously, but it shows that undemocratic neighbors of Kyrgyzstan are watching events here closely. (Read Economist article on Central Asian reactions to events in Bishkek)

Much to the relief of residents of Bishkek, and perhaps the entire nation, threats of further violence and looting in the capitol abated as a compromise was reached on November 8th between Opposition and Pro-Bakiev/Government parliament members on the new constitution, which President Bakiev himself signed on November 9th. Fireworks and sparklers marked the celebration of the Opposition after confirmation of the compromise on the evening of the eighth. It seemed that all of their persistance, determination, organization and discipline to choose negotiation over violent confrontation paid off. As they dismantled their tents and yurts on Ala Too square, there was a general sense that democracy still had a chance in this country, that reform did not have to occur at the cost of further destabilization and even bloodshed.

And of course, the pro-Bakiev, pro-government camp also claimed victory since the tandem of President Bakiev and Prime Minister Kulov were able to retain their positions (Bakiev to serve out his term until 2010), albeit with diminished power. President Bakiev diplomatically framed it as a win-win situation for all parties: "The present document is a new step in the development of the Kyrgyz Republic's democracy and the perfecting of the constitutional foundations of our state, where there is a strong president, a strong parliament, a strong government, and a mature and responsible civil society."

On the evening of November 7th, October Revolution Day, after they 'defended the government' with the help of several hundred riot police and special forces officers, the hastily organized pro-Bakiev camp quickly took over the 'old square' between the parliament building and the massive Lenin statue (right across the street from our campus), establishing their own yurt village and sound system (which was far better than the opposition's, hmmmm...). They remained there even after the crisis subsided and celebrated for the next two days by blaring horrendous Kyrgyz pop music and sending up speaker after obnoxious speaker to decry the underhanded efforts of the scoundrel opposition and praise the patience and vision of their "Dear Leader," all within annoying proximity of my office window. The pro-Bakiev faithful were mostly made up of government employees who were forced to attend the rallies during the day, while the evening rallies were populated with drunken students from the Kyrgyz National University, who were forced to attend by their government-salaried teachers. Supposedly hundreds of Bakiev supporters from the southern city of Jalalabad, the president's hometown, flooded into the city to show their support as well, but mostly they milled about the downtown area in a drunken stupor looking to harrass young women and red bandana-wearing opposition supporters.

So will the Kyrgyz nation get fooled again? Will these constitutional changes make a difference in improving the widespread dysfunction of the government and finally set the country on the path of stability and prosperity enjoyed by most of its neighbors. Were the leaders of the opposition truly fighting for real democratic change in this country, or were they conveniently banding together to simply usurp their slice of the power pie that was denied to them following the 2005 Tulip Revolution. While not everyone in the opposition movement has clean hands or intentions, several honest brokers seemed to shine through over the past week, including the leader of the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society, Edil Baisalov. He's been so outspoken about seeking transparency and reform in government that someone hired a hooded thug to drive a knife into his skull last April. Fortunately, the thug failed to kill Edil, and he lived on serve an instrumental role for the opposition, working tirelessly to keep everyone on message and non-violent.

But, the opposition refuses to stop pestering the government, even after the momentous adoption of the new constitution. Just yesterday they called for the resignation of Prime Minister Kulov, claiming that "his voluntary departure" would decrease the risk of a new political crisis arising. Though Kulov hails from the north of the country, where most of the opposition movement comes from, he has since fallen out of favor with them because of his tight alliance with the president. Of course, Kulov politely decline their offer to step down. In any event, I think it was remarkable that all this change occurred without a revolution, without real violence, without street justice. This all happened really because though freedom of expression exists here in theory, there is precious little space for public debate of these vital issues. So they took it to the streets. And compromise won. Perhaps we owe it to the relatively mellow nature of the Kyrgyz people (gross generalizaton), or perhaps democracy has a real chance here. I just hope they don't bring start blaring that god-awful music outside my office again; otherwise I'm going to pick up my guitar and play, as loud as I can.

A ray of hope?

Reform of the Kyrgyz constitution is at the heart of the current political crisis, and the recent agreement by the opposition and pro-Bakiev parliament members on a draft constitution is a potential breakthrough. With the first real outbreak of violence and subsequent security crackdown today, and reports of more supporters on both sides flooding into the city tonight, conditions were ripe for a bigger confrontation. This agreement to go over the new draft consitution, which significantly reduces the power of the presidency, just may keep tempers down for now. Read here for more information on this development

This character wins my demonstrator of the week award. Of course these big demonstrations can brink out the kooks, but this guy raised the bar for both sides. On the first day of demonstrations, he stood among the crowd outside the Parliament shouting to anyone who would listen: "I love Kyrgyzstan! I love Kyrgyz people! I love Kyrgyz girls! But I don't like Bakiev!" Some enterprising soul needs to put this slogan on t-shirts and sell it at the protests.

There's nothing like the smell of tear gas in the afternoon...

and there is nothing like standing 50 yards away from exploding concussion grenades to get your blood flowing.

See more photos here

Well, I was amazed it took this long for the tear gas and concussion grenades to come out. Five days of endless speeches, marches, taunts, threats, political maneuvering, defections, late night parliamentary sessions, and lots and lots of vodka. Demonstrations in front of the White House, where President Bakiev's administration works, in front of the parliament, up and down Chui Prospekt, in front of the state-run television station. For five days the city center has been in a kind of limbo. Normal life goes on uninterrupted just 3 blocks from Ala Too Square, but tensions remain high as the local citizens beseiged by these demonstrations hear rumor after rumor about 'real trouble' and another possible revolution. The big supermarkets and department stores close early, shops and restaurants board up their windows. Everyone fears the return of the gratuitous rioting that not only crippled the economy and decimated businesses in the city, many of which were owned by ousted President Askar Akayev's family, but also shocked many locals who couldn't believe that so many of their own neighbors would join the orgy of stealing.



Of course many feel it was just payback for Akayev's own decade long orgy of stealing the country's resources, including money paid by the Pentagon for the use of the Ganci air base during the war in Afghanistan. And now Bakiev has continued the post-soviet tradition of taking power and stuffing your pockets and those of your family/clan. His son took over the same businesses Akayev's son used to run, and when the public cried foul on Maxim Bakiev, his father just sent him to Latvia, where he supposedly sits on $25 million. That's a big allowance for his son. The cost of living in Riga must astronomical. In addition to his own corrupt ways, Bakiev has failed to really crack down on corruption in general, which has really spiraled out of control since he took power. Some regions of the country are run by a kind of private government, where a rich clan leader might run it like his own fiefdom. Some say that Bakiev really has little control over much of the country because its really just made up of regional fiefdoms, with heroin trafficking from Afghanistan providing a nice boost to the fiefdoms of the south. He has also failed to undertake any real governmental reforms he promised, and little has been done to tackle persistent poverty and unemployment throughout much of the country. Independent media has been harrassed and even shut down at times. After the 2005 Revolution, hopes were high that Kyrgyzstan would finally take serious steps to become a true democracy. The disappointment of people here is so thick it oozes, and it has frozen many people back into a pessimistic, fatalistic mindframe. But maybe these demonstrations have woken enough people up.



Certainly the teargas and concussion grenades were a wake up call. All along Bakiev said he was prepared to restore order with force. He was even quoted as saying he'd take up a sub machine gun himself if he had to. And as long as the Ministry of the Interior was on his side, showing their muscle by mobilizing riot police and special forces every day next to Ala Too square, the opposition movement had to make damn sure their tactics didn't provoke any violent reactions. To their credit, security forces have stood down most of the time, biding their time in the shade of the park, playing cards, smoking cigarettes, and apparently making a bit of a mess. A colleague of mine had to walk through to park to get to the university on Monday, and she said the stench was unbearable. It wasn't just horse shit either. And many of these military guys are just young recruits in mismatching uniforms and some in tennis shoes, they were not the rabid, steroid-pumped riot police used in the U.S. These Kyrgyz cadets didn't want trouble. On the first day of the demonstrations outside the parliament building, two little delinquents tossed a couple black cat firecrackers at some of the riot policemen, who happened to look like just teenagers themselves. The loud cracks shook everyone elses nerves at the time, but the policemen just remained calm and tried to ignore it. I couldn't believe how stoic these guys were. What would it take to provoke these guys?



Today we found out. I joined a large procession of several thousand opposition demonstrators walking from the White House down to the Parliament building, where a few hundred Bakiev supporters were waiting on the front steps, waving flags and shouting pro-Bakiev slogans behind the safety of the security services. After five days of relative peace, it was easy to tell that this show-down would significantly raise the stakes. As I entered the fray of people in front of the Parliament, the scene took on the feel of a warped kind of football pep rally between two rival high schools, seeing who could shout their cheers with the most spirit. "Ba-ki-ev! Ba-ki-ev!" "Bakiev Ketsin! (Bakiev get out!)" Spirit is an understatement in this case. It was just a matter of time before the hyped-up hooligans in each crowd stopped throwing middle fingers at each other and began to throw bottles, rocks and sticks. Without waiting for a full-scale melee, security services launched their grenades toward the direction of the opposition rock-throwers. BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! Hundreds of riot police then gave chase with batons and shields toward the retreating opposition crowd as gas spewing cannisters arced into the air, right in front of the American University. My office! I think it's the first time I've watched a riot in front of my workplace. Well, at least its some kind of publicity for the university. "Come to the American University of Central Asia. On the front lines of democracy. Bring your gas mask." Fortunately, the sweep was short-lived and only a dozen or so were hurt as it unfolded. Prevailing winds also blew the tear gas the other way, and a tense order was restored.

(Photo courtesy of kyrgyzreport.com)

Eyes were opened by this maneuver, and as a new human wall of security services began pushing toward the opposition side, opposition operatives quickly warned us to turn back to the square and avoid more confrontation. Slowly, methodically, the tide of police pushed the opposition all the way back to Ala-Too Square as Bakiev supporters back at the parliament congratulated themselves for standing down the enemy. Of course the opposition wasted no time taking their own stage at the south end of the square, where hundreds have been camping out since last Thursday nearly 100 red tents and a dozen yurts. The opposition rally began anew with greater urgency as the full security force sat on the edge of the square, awaiting their orders to clear Ala Too square once and for all. For a moment it felt like there would be a reprieve as the security forces stood down and began to relax on the north end of the square.



Just then a Kyrgyz man approached me and asked if I would interview him. I guess he assumed I was a journalist. He probably assumed that any westerner dumb enough to troll around there must be a journalist. His name was Almaz, and he was visibly shaken by the whole confrontation half an hour earlier. He said he's a lawyer, but could only find work as a translator. He was extremely disappointed with Bakiev and said he was ready to "shed my own blood" to help bring real democracy to Kyrgyzstan. He said his friends in Naryn, Issyk Kul, and Chui Oblasts were all ready to do the same. And if the rest of the country knew what was going on in Bishkek, he's sure they would all come to help get rid of Bakiev. Unfortunately, most of the country only has access to the state television channel, which constantly airs pro-Bakiev programming and news. Even the independent Russian channel NTS, which only can be watched around Bishkek, was taken off the air after a mysterious fire. Almaz didn't want it to come to bloodshed, but he was certain that if Bakiev was allowed to protect the vast powers of the presidency, the next president to come along would surely be a worse kind of dictator, along the lines of Karimov in Uzbekistan. He really felt like this was the time for change. It would not come fast, but it would take time and sacrifice. He drew upon the example of Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement in the fifties and sixties. That struggle took years, with many hardships endured, but they prevailed because they never lost sight of the prize. Almaz then spoke of his own struggle as a converted Christian in a Muslim country. In his home province of Naryn, some militant muslims began harrassing him and fellow parishoners in the church he founded there. The harrassment and threats, from neighbors and even some family members, became too much and he had to move to Bishkek.



His religion clearly kept him grounded, especially when thinking about the struggle of creating democracy in Kyrgyzstan. He admitted that neither side were ideal, scoundrels and good people existed in both camps. One dubious factor in the opposition demonstrations has been the widely known practice of paying villagers to come into the city and join the protests. I've heard several times that families were given 500 soms ($12.50), and young men who normally work in the fields were offered a daily wage up to a dollar more than their usual wages to come camp out in the square. Almaz also said a friend of his was asked by a Bakiev supporter earlier in the day to join the pro-Bakiev rally in front of the parliament building and make a ten minute speech extoling the virtues of the president. And if he agreed, he would get 200 soms ($5.00). Almaz shook his head and said, "look, I have steady work translating, I make decent money. I can feed myself and I can afford to come out here on my own. A lot of people simply need to find a way to eat. 200 soms is a lot for these guys. I'd do it if I was in his shoes." I asked if his friend took the offer, and he said yes. But despite all these pay-offs and shady resumes of politicians on both sides, he believes there are enough people on the opposition side who truly want democracy for this country that he's willing to risk it all to join the fight. "I saw on the news this year a pro-democracy activist from one of the Caucausus countries saying that he wants his country to have a revolution like the Kyrgyz," Almaz remarked. "It made me feel really proud to hear that. You know, we can be one of the only real democracies in the former Soviet Union." As darkness began to fall I felt it was time to leave. It was going to be a long, possibly violent night, and it was their fight. It was reported that a thousand Bakiev supporters were coming up to Bishkek from Bakiev's home oblast of Jalalabad, which would certainly add to the threat of violence, especially as the empty vodka bottles piled up. I promised to call Almaz the next day to see if he was ok.

The November Opposition Demonstrations in Bishkek: November Revolution on October Revolution Day?

The November 6th rally outside the 'White House,' the executive office building that was stormed during the revolution of '05.

Well, all is relatively safe and sane here in Bishkek, though it looks like things may come to a head on the 80th anniversary of the October Revolution. President Bakiev and Prime Minister are losing support fast, but you can bet they won't go easy with their corrupt fingers in so many pies here. Rumors are rampant in this country, but one has it that Bakiev siphons off $15 million a month from the country to feed his bulging bank accounts. That's a hard gig to give up, even if that's somewhat overstated. Anyway, my efforts to frantically write up the recent events of the past week were mistakenly erased. So as I rewrite everything, you can get up to speed on the demonstrations by checking out these sites:

a great blog on central asian affairs by an american in Almaty:
http://www.roberts-report.com/

my photo site:
http://public.fotki.com/barentg/november-2nd-opposi/

radio free europe's newsline:
http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2-tca.asp?po=y

akipress in english, the local 'reuters'
http://www.akipress.com/

a frequently updated blog by some local guys:
http://www.kyrgyzreport.com/

more great photos:
here

Raftin' the Chui

Here's a great shot of us rockin' down the Chui River about 90 minutes east of Bishkek back in early September. Tuya and I went with several colleagues of mine from the American University. We set off in our 'marschrutka,' a rickety and over-stuffed Volkswagon Vanagon owned by the Silk Road Water Center, a Bishkek-based expedition company. We bounced down the road toward Issyk Kul and veered off to the left across the Chui River to follow the Chong Kemin tributary. This gets us into gorgeous country after sputtering for ninety minutes through an unsettling stretch of road. While it's one of the best stretches of what could pass for highway in Kyrgyzstan,it is still an obstacle course of suspension crushing potholes and bumps, nevermind the family-packed Ladas swerving from lane to lane at 30mph as you try to pass. Thank god I was facing backwards in the van; i could just look at the concerned look on my friends in the back seat instead. All the while we passed by former collective farms and strange, isolated casino resorts with names like 'Gavaii' (Russian translation of Hawaii), complete with giant fake palm trees in the parking lot and Ethiopian waiters (another story sometime...). The journey was soothed by the views of the always stunning spine of the Ala-Too Range running parallel to us on the south side. But as we chugged on up through the windy canyons carved out by the Chui and Chong Kemin rivers, I'm taken back to southern Idaho, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington. Dry scrubby foothills shrink the sky as we drive deeper into the canyon. The merciless churning white of the rapids beside the road gave us a glimpse of our near future, and it gave my pulse a little boost; it had been a while since I'd surrendered to the whims of a river like that. The comfortable dry heat certainly made me feel at home, and certainly made things toasty as we tried on our stinky wet suits on the side of the road. Wet suits? We don't need no stinkin' wet suits, it's summer! Such was the sentiment of a few in our crew, but apparently the glacier-fed Chong Kemin river doesn't care what season it is, it will stop your heart in five minutes any time of year. My confidence in our guide crew's professionalism grew when they insisted we all wear the wetsuits AND the helmets (thought they were still optional in this part of the world), but that quickly faded when our guide forgot to bring the neoprine booties. After five minutes of spewing red-blooded curses in Russian at his crew, the lead man jumped back in the van and screamed back to the supply pick-up point 20 minutes toward Bishkek. Oh, and that sure looked like a lot of duct tape on the bottom of that raft.... maybe we should have gone for a nice safe hike instead... Well, soon enough we found ourselves firmly straddling the sides of the raft and sliding toward a frothy oblivion. Though it was Tuya's first time white-water rafting, she gamely took the plunge, and a few sets of rapids later she was paddling like a pro. While we rarely confronted anything topping a class 3.5 rapid, and had only one mass bailout in a hole involving one of the guides and the UW professors George and his wife Diane (how they both kept their glasses on astounded us), I was really impressed with the consistent action we faced for the entire two plus hour ride. The river drops elevation very fast, which must make it a brute in the late spring and early summer. Still glowing in the wake of the high thrills per hour ratio of the whole experience, I promised myself to return in the late spring to see how the Chui can really rage. Though we saw no kayakers, it's apparently one of the nicest runs in the former Soviet Union and a training ground for some of the top paddlers in the region. Several other rivers in Kyrgyzstan are supposed to dwarf the Chui in freakiness as well, so come on out all you whitewater addicts, paddle-heaven in Central Asia awaits... though we may need our own car next time. Just 10 minutes from Bishkek on the return drive, our poor, overworked van died.