Babushkas for Peace shout for stability, unity and the preservation of the government as they stroll past opposition supporters in the Old Square and then by the American University. Word was this 'grassroots' movement was paid to come up from Osh to urge the citizens not to cause 'instability.' But really, you don't want to mess with these ladies, they are tough.
Anti-president supporters of Felix Kulov's "United Front" movement stage a hunger strike in the Old Square in front of the parliament. Good ol' Lenin looks on from his perch in the background.Well, it's springtime in Kyrgyzstan, so of course it's time for more... anti-president rallies! (see photos here) On the eve of the planned April 11th demonstrations, all seems eerily quiet in town. Nary a soul on the street. Well, it is 2 a.m., but it seems unusually calm, perhaps the calm before the storm. All our neighbors' cars have disappeared from the courtyard, meaning they drove them to secured lots out of fear of vandalism. All the tv channels have been shut off and replaced 'Poltergeist' static. And the Promzona Rock Club was near empty, even for Tuesday Jazz night. Even the shelves of the local "magazin" (corner store) were running low on vodka. Yes, revolution is in the air again, or at least rumors of one. During the academic senate meeting at the university, the decision was made to shut down the school for the next 3 days. Our vice president was told by opposition movement leaders he could expect 60-80 yurts to be set up by anti-Bakiev supporters on the square in front of the university by Wednesday, and for 50-100,000 people take to the streets of Bishkek. And up to 20,000 pro-Bakiev supporters were supposedly on their way up from the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad, both strongholds of support for the beleaguered President Bakiev. While the opposition, now led by scorned former Prime Minister Felix Kulov, has more or less united at the last minute to take the streets and call for real constitutional reform and an early presidential election, the president's administration is none the wiser after November's rallies and has rallied (see "coerced participation") thousands of their own to defend 'stability' and 'national unity' and block any moves by the opposition to initiate a repeat of the 2005 Tulip Revolution and force Bakiev out of the Bielee Dom (White House). The language on both sides has been more strident than in rallies past, and even an attempt by Bakiev to split the opposition by signing up one their leaders, Almaz Atambaev, to be the new prime minister has failed prevent the main opposition movements from uniting to once again put pressure on Bakiev to accede to their demands. While the nation was hopeful after an agreement on a new constitution was reached at the end of the November rallies, Bakiev pulled a fast one and rewrote the changes in his favor while the parliament was out of action before the end of December. Then he managed to get his pesky Prime Minister Felix Kulov out of office so a more acquiescent 'insider' could take his place. Ever since Kulov has been scheming to lead a new united front against the government. Only public credibility rating has taken a beating since he failed to do anything to stamp out corruption and the excesses of the Bakiev administration while he was in power. It's just another chapter in the incestuous saga of the Kyrgyz political soap opera, and while most still yearn for true democratic reforms, they are also sick of hearing the same garbage come out of the same mouths with little concern for the welfare of the country. Well, stay tuned... the fun begins Wednesday when rampant speculation about the violent potential of this political volcano gets validated or not.
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