My plans to watch the opening match of the World Cup at Metro Pub last night were derailed as we heard reports about increasing violence in the southern city of Osh. Although Bishkek remains quiet and peaceful, it was recommended that we stay in for the next couple of evenings to be on the safe side.
There are numerous news accounts of the violence and rioting taking place in Osh, but it is difficult to get a clear idea of what is really going on. Currently more than 60 are dead and more than 800 are injured, and many buildings have been burned and looted. Osh is Kyrgyzstan’s second largest city, and is home to more than 80 ethnic groups. It is located in the fertile Ferghana Valley, which also spills over into neighboring Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Historically, unrest and violence between ethnic Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks have plagued the Ferghana Valley. News sources claim ethnic tension as the root cause of the current violence, and there are accounts describing gangs of young ethnic Kyrgyz men attacking ethnic Uzbeks and terrorizing Uzbek neighborhoods in Osh. The government of Kyrgyzstan issued a state of emergency and has sent military support to the south, but I have heard that the situation still remains chaotic and volatile.
Why are ethnic tensions flaring up right now? It is hard to get unbiased, uncensored and reliable news throughout Kyrgyzstan, but there is speculation that Bakiev is paying young men to stir up trouble in the south. His goal is to perhaps demonstrate the futility and impotence of the interim government in dealing with this difficult situation. Bakiev, the ousted former president of Kyrgyzstan, hails from the south of the country and claims (from his presumably comfortable abode in Belarus) that he still has many supporters in the south. The current political instability and power vacuum only serve to further exacerbate preexisting tensions. Hopefully order will be restored quickly, and Roza Otunbayeva and the interim government will be able to maintain some semblance of control and legitimacy.
[…] June 15, 2010 at 1:24 pm (Uncategorized) https://megistan.wordpress.com/2010/06/12/instability/ […]