Postcard from Bishkek
Ian Claytor
---Republished from Open Central Asia Magazine----
The events of 6th and 7th of April in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, were nothing short of extraordinary. They brought with them great sadness, renewed hope, tragic destruction, victorious triumph and, above all, confusion about what to do next. Ian Claytor, General Director of the Celestial Mountains Companies in Kyrgyzstan, has lived in Bishkek for nearly 15 years, as a British expat. He has already seen one change of government that arose as a result of 2005’s Tulip Revolution when President Bakiev came to power as Kyrgystan’s second President, unseating President Akayev.
“If those events caught everyone by surprise,” starts Claytor in his first “postcard” from the country’s capital, “then this year it was even more unexpected. Looking back in hindsight, I suppose that we should have been better prepared and foreseen the possibility of what happened taking place – but, quite frankly, we were all caught “off-guard”, especially by the speed at which everything occurred.”
Claytor’s postcards sent back to friends, family and colleagues have proved succinct observations of events on the ground as he witnessed them unfold. With the situation changing almost from moment to moment and with a great deal of uncertainty in the air as rumour and counter-rumour circulated, he attempted to record what he experienced in the heat of the moment. Others have, undoubtedly, had different experiences and reported different impressions.
“You will have seen the news items,” Claytor continues, “about what one newspaper here is calling the “Easter Revolution”. It’s my second Revolution in five years and, there is a very strong sense of déjà vu about the events. They say that History has a habit of repeating itself and I suppose that what has happened here in Bishkek will only go to support this view. There are some differences between what happened in March 2005 and in April 2010, but the similarities are pretty striking. Amongst those differences are the speed of the events, the effect of the internet … and the death toll, over 80 people.”
The background to the events are well documented. President Bakiev came to power as the result of the “Tulip Revolution” in 2005. During this there was uproar and anger the population concerning authoritarianism, corruption, “empire building” and nepotism. It all came to a head in demonstrations in the capital when the White House, (the seat of the government) was stormed by crowds of protestors. President Akayev fled the country and the fragmented opposition found itself thrust into a position of having to try to forge a new government to fill the vacuum. Bakiev emerged as the compromise leader and, for a time at least, hopes for improvement were high.
Things did not, however, go smoothly. There were continuous protests over the five years of his presidency and he often made many of the same mistakes as his predecessor. His party won parliamentary elections and he got himself re-elected to office for another five years, but there were many criticisms about the conduct of these elections, both within the country and from abroad. In addition, a particular cause of concern amongst the population were the huge hikes in the price of energy as a result of deteriorating relations with the Russian government, four or five fold in some cases, but with little or no support for the poor, who represent most of the population.
“We knew of the planned protests,” the first postcard continues, “although the opposition played their cards close to their chests, releasing little concrete information, presumably to prevent their plans from being disrupted by the authorities. We also knew that Bakiev and his Prime Minister were strong authoritarian characters who had acted with firmness in the face of opposition.”
There is evidence that the authorities anticipated the events because there were huge transfers of funds out of the country just a few days before the trouble erupted. A number of government meetings were cancelled in advance because of news that there were to be mass demonstrations around the country, but few people anticipated the full extent of the way that events would turn out. These were not similar demonstrations to those that are continually seen in the West. No-one fully took into account the extent of the displeasure amongst the population against the regime, and their reaction to being shot at and people in the crowd being killed.
The protests actually began some before, with demonstrations against the energy price rises. However, they erupted on Tuesday, the 6th of April, in Talas. Government offices were taken by the crowd, then taken back by the authorities, then seized again, and then it spread.
“The first I heard of it was when I was in a meeting on Friday evening. One of my colleagues had received a phone call from his partners in Moscow asking what was happening. It was all over their news reports. He didn’t know anything about it, and the local TV stations didn’t seem to reporting it. During the meeting, another of my colleagues took a phone call and he told us of the deaths in Talas. I left that meeting with a sense of despondency, but even at that stage I didn’t really foresee history repeating itself in the way that it did.”
“So, the following morning things continued more or less as usual. Some people had started to take precautions and several shopkeepers started to clear their shelves in the morning. There were a lot of people on the streets, but everyone seemed to be going about their usual business. ”
With this Claytor strolled off to meet a friend for lunch. Before they had finished, however, the shutters were going up and the streets began to fill, showing signs of frantic activity. Throughout that morning there had simply been no signals of what was to happen.
“We saw how the crowds were amassed around the White House; how some of the police, having tried to control the crowd, were retreating with some of them falling and being caught and beaten by the protestors; “snipers” were seen firing from the roof of the White House; the gates of the building were rammed by vehicles. We heard the news about how Bakiev had disappeared and a new, interim, government had been set up.”
Much of the action was happening in the main Ala-Too square. As darkness drew in the crowds started to roam the streets. At first they were just boisterous, but as the night progressed they began to breaking windows, firing gunshots and looting shops and offices. Some stores managed to escape damage thanks to metal shutters installed post the 2005 revolution, but the looters were resolute and exploited any weakness. All the stores in the Narodniy chain were more or less destroyed and those that managed to escape destruction on the first night were to suffer their fate the next. Claytor watched all of this unfold from his office, which he’d already taken measures to secure. “At first it was mainly food and alcohol… it was only much later that we saw signs of fridges, televisions and the like being loaded into cars.”
By this stage it had become clear that Bakiev had fled to his home in Djalal Abad, in the South of the country. He started giving interviews and was clear that he did not want to resign, although for many it was hard to see how he could continue as President. Some foreign governments were quick to support the temporary incumbent opposition led by motherly figure, Roza Otunbaeva, others were more cautious. A Bakiev rally in the south did not gain any momentum. He continued to maintain that he was innocent of wrong doing and he laid the blame fairly and squarely on the shoulders of the “opposition”, but before long news filtered out that he had fled the country, supposedly seeking refuge in neighbouring Kazakhstan before heading to Byelorussia.
The interim government set to work with gusto, trying to present a united front. One of the biggest problems they faced was one of “legitimacy”. Bakiev was the lawfully elected President. Even though the international community had expressed concerns over the conduct of the election, no-one declared that they considered the results to have been invalid. Every decision the interim government made, every document they issued, every appointment they made, every signature and every stamp was open to question and dispute.
Nevertheless life slowly resumed in the capital. It had to go on.
“Banks have re-opened for business as normal … well, some banks at least, because five, that have connections with President Bakiev’s family were taken under special administration,” the postcards continue, taking a humorous break from the gravity of the situation. “Offices returned to work … well, some offices, because some were looted. Restaurants, Cafes, Bars are welcoming diners … well, some restaurants, cafes and bars. Some are operating shorter working hours because there are fewer clients. Schools and Universities are operating as usual … although some classes are denuded as some parents have kept their children at home. Public transport has begun operating … Buses, trams, trains, (what few there are in Kyrgyzstan) and taxis were all running normally … well, there are less busses on the street because nearly thirty were completely destroyed and almost ninety suffered serious damage in the events of April 7th. The borders are open … well, almost all of them. Three of our four neighbours, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan), closed their borders with Kyrgyzstan pretty sharply when the disturbances started, but now only the one with Kazakhstan remains closed, although they accepted a flight with Kurmanbek Bakiev on it.”
The big “clean-up” began and the detritus remaining after the rioting and looting was cleared away within days, although the city still bears signs of the damage incurred. Meanwhile aftershocks of the revolution have seen further violence and demonstrations. For the time-being it appears as though civil war has been avoided and the Foreign Office has removed its warning against all but essential travel to Kyrgyzstan. The uncertainty does leave a certain risk of instability returning, but the signs at present don’t appear to guarantee this.
What is going to happen? “This is perhaps the most difficult question. The future is open to all sorts of possibilities and no-one knows what will happen, but there are many people surmising and predicting a number of possible scenarios. Some of those scenarios are positive and full of hope for a brighter future. Others are more pessimistic, pointing to the possibility of further strife: ethnic, regional ... or other.”
The new authorities are still pursuing people involved in the previous regime. “Only a few arrests have been made, so far, but about twenty former Ministers have been questioned by the police. As a result of arrest warrants issued here for some prominent characters, notably Bakiev's son, Maxim, Interpol have apparently issued "red notices" so we could see an extradition attempt. Luschenko, President of Byelorussia, has once again, made it clear that he is not going to allow the extradition of Bakiev.”
In conclusion to the events that Claytor witnessed first-hand he is stoic. “It wasn't that bad! It was bad. It was unpleasant. The deaths were tragic. On the other hand it could have much, much worse.”
“It's hard to say that things are truly "back to normal", how can they be "normal" after such an event, especially so soon after the event? After the death of a loved one, the funeral, memorial service, requiem mass, etc. are all designed to help the living come to terms with their loss and get on with the rest of their lives. Life goes on, but people have to adjust to their new, changed circumstances. That's what is happening here.” Either way the reaction over the next few months are critical in determining whether the events and sacrifices of the “Easter Revolution” will prove worthwhile.
Bình luận