Monday, May 17th, marked 40 days after the violent revolution on April 7th that claimed the lives of 81 people in Bishkek. In the Muslim faith, this 40-day time period is significant because it demarcates an end to the mourning period. On the days leading up to this 40-day anniversary, reports swirled around the country that potentially violent demonstrations would take place in Bishkek and other cities throughout Kyrgyzstan to avenge for lives lost on April 7th. At this time I had just recently arrived in Bishkek, and my organization imposed a “recommended” curfew of 7pm. So I didn’t get a chance to experience the Bishkek nightlife that weekend, but I did get a brief sense of how aid workers in war-torn countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan are forced to live. Restricting your movement is not fun, and being able to move about freely without threat of harm is something that most of us take for granted.
After all of the build-up leading up to May 17th, no violent demonstrations occurred on that day. Instead, many Kyrgyz peacefully gathered in Bishkek’s main square to memorialize the loss of loved ones. Life seemed to go on, like any other day. However, during this time there were violent incidents in the south of the country – the local governments of Osh and Jalabad were taken over by protestors, only to be quickly reclaimed by the ruling opposition party.
The question is – what is really going on in the south? I’m not entirely sure, but there has been a variety of speculation: Bakiev is paying people to support him in the south; Bakiev’s son, Maxim, is somehow involved and finagling the situation; and ethnic clashes between the Uzbeks and Kyrgyz are taking place. More to come…
Gate to Bishkek's White House
Megistan's Blog 