At the end of this New York Times video, the reporter briefly mentions that an altercation in an Osh casino may have triggered the ensuing riots in the city. Really? A bar fight? Whatever the cause, the situation has spiraled out of control, and has spread to nearby Jalalabad. Roza Otunbayeva has asked Russia for military support to quell the chaos, but Russia does not seem to want to get involved and will make a decision on Monday. It’s interesting that Russia considers Kyrgyzstan within their “sphere of influence” for most matters, yet they are slow to respond to what Russian officials call an “internal matter” in Kyrgyzstan. Update: Apparently Russia is sending troops – to “reinforce the defense of Russian military facilities and ensure security of Russian military servicemen and their families.” Update again: Apparently Russia is just sending troops to reinforce their own military base – hundreds of miles from Osh.
An alarming similarity between the situation in the south and the April 7th revolution in Bishkek is the sheer youth of both movements. Accounts of the situation in Osh report gangs of young men as the key players in perpetuating the violence. As seen on YouTube, the April 7th revolution was also overwhelmingly comprised of young men (typically 20-somethings).
So what is the reason for all of these young men taking up arms and attacking their own countrymen? I certainly don’t have the answer, but I can speculate that there are a variety of factors in play. Ethnic tension has been cited as the primary motivating factor, but I think that careless journalists have ignored the greater complexity of the situation.
Under Bakiev’s regime, Kyrgyzstan became increasingly impoverished, as most of the country’s money was stolen and funneled to Bakiev’s family’s personal interests. Not surprisingly, there is a huge amount of distrust of the government, in addition to widespread poverty, a high level of unemployment, an ineffective education system and general disillusionment. Perhaps these young men want to be part of a larger movement, or perhaps they are merely acting out on impetuous, youthful impulses that have spiraled out of control. Or maybe it is simply that they are getting paid to stir up violence.
Interestingly, in a Lysistrata-esque moment, Roza Otunbayeva issued a statement requesting the women of Kyrgyzstan to persuade their men to stop acting out. I guess it can’t hurt to ask, and maybe this approach will prove more effective than the reluctant Russian army.
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