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Aksy

Aksy

Aksy is a small town in southern Kyrgyzstan which gained notoriety in 2002 when police and militia fired into a crowd of unarmed demonstrators, killing five. The demonstrations were triggered by a political dispute between a local member of the national parliament, Azimbek Beknazarov, and Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev over an agreement with China that ceded some territory in the high Tien Shan range to China. Beknazarov remained an implacable political enemy of Akayev. In the wake of the March 2005 Tulip Revolution which sent Akayev into exile in Russia, he was appointed Prosecutor General of the Kyrgyz Republic and waged a determined campaign against Akayev and his family, seeking the return of much of the fortune amassed by the former president's family and a repeal of Akayev's immunity for life. He resigned his position in September 2005 under a cloud of suspicion concerning alleged secret deals of money for premature closure of investigations into other misdeeds. Category:Cities in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz: Кыргызстан, variously transliterated), formally the Kyrgyz Republic, and sometimes known as Kirghizia, is a country in Central Asia. Landlocked and mountainous, it borders China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Its capital is Bishkek. Once a republic of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan has been independent since 1991. Remaining reasonably stable throughout most of the 1990s, the country's young democracy showed relative promise under the leadership of former President Askar Akayev, but moved towards autocracy and authoritarianism. Following a somewhat unexpected revolution after the parliamentary elections in March 2005 and President Akayev's resignation on April 4, 2005, opposition leaders formed a coalition and a new government was formed under President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and Prime Minister Feliks Kulov. Political stability appears to be elusive, however, as various groups and factions allegedly linked to organized crime are jockeying for power. Three of the 75 members of Parliament elected in March 2005 have been assassinated since then; all three are reputed to have been directly involved in illegal business.

History

Main article: History of Kyrgyzstan According to recent findings of Kyrgyz and Chinese historians, Kyrgyz history dates back to 201 BC. The earliest ancestors of the Kyrgyz people, who are believed to be of Turkic-Mongoloid descent, lived in the northeastern part of what is currently Mongolia. Later, some of their tribes migrated to the region that is currently southern Siberia and settled along the Yenisei River, where they lived from the 6th until the 8th centuries. They spread across what is now the Tuva region of the Russian Federation, remaining in that area until the rise of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, when the Kyrgyz began migrating south. In the 12th century, Islam became the predominant religion in the region. Most Kyrgyz are Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi school. During the 15th-16th centuries, the Kyrgyz people settled in the territory currently known as the Kyrgyz Republic. In the early 19th century, the southern territory of the Kyrgyz Republic came under the control of the Khanate of Kokand, but the territory was occupied and formally annexed by the Russian Empire in 1876. The Russian takeover instigated numerous revolts against tsarist authority, and many Kyrgyz opted to move into the Pamir Mountains or to Afghanistan. The ruthless suppression of the 1916 rebellion in Central Asia, triggered by the Russian imposition of the military draft on the Kyrgyz and other Central Asian peoples, caused many Kyrgyz to flee to China. Soviet power was initially established in the region in 1918, and in 1924, the Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast was created within the Russian SFSR. (The term Kara-Kirghiz was used until the mid-1920s by the Russians to distinguish them from the Kazakhs, who were also referred to as Kirghiz.) In 1926, it became the Kirghiz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. On December 5, 1936, the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) was established as a full Union Republic of the U.S.S.R. During the 1920s, the Kyrgyz Republic saw considerable cultural, educational, and social change. Economic and social development also was notable. Literacy increased, and a standard literary language was introduced. The Kyrgyz language belongs to the Southern Turkic group of languages. In 1924, an Arabic-based Kyrgyz alphabet was introduced, which was replaced by Latin script in 1928. In 1941 Cyrillic script was adopted. Many aspects of the Kyrgyz national culture were retained despite suppression of nationalist activity under Joseph Stalin, who controlled the Soviet Union from the late 1920's until 1953. The early years of glasnost in the late 1980s had little effect on the political climate in the Kyrgyz Republic. However, the republic's press was permitted to adopt a more liberal stance and to establish a new publication, Literaturny Kirghizstan, by the Union of Writers. Unofficial political groups were forbidden, but several groups that emerged in 1989 to deal with an acute housing crisis were permitted to function. In June 1990, ethnic tensions between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz surfaced in an area of the Osh Oblast where Uzbeks form a majority of the population. Violent confrontations ensued, and a state of emergency and curfew were introduced. Order was not restored until August 1990. The early 1990s brought measurable change to the Kyrgyz Republic. The Kyrgyzstan Democratic Movement (KDM) had developed into a significant political force with support in parliament. In an upset victory, Askar Akayev, the president of the Kyrgyz Academy of Sciences, was elected to the presidency in October 1990. The following January, Akayev introduced new government structures and appointed a new government comprised mainly of younger, reform-oriented politicians. In December 1990, the Supreme Soviet voted to change the republic's name to the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. (In 1993, it became the Kyrgyz Republic.) In February 1991, the name of the capital, Frunze, was changed back to its pre-revolutionary name—Bishkek. Frunze was named for Soviet revolutionary Mikhail Frunze. Despite these moves toward independence, economic realities seemed to work against secession from the U.S.S.R. In a referendum on the preservation of the U.S.S.R. in March 1991, 88.7% of the voters approved a proposal to retain the U.S.S.R. as a "renewed federation." On August 19, 1991, when the State Committee for the State of Emergency (SCSE) assumed power in Moscow, there was an attempt to depose Akayev in Kyrgyzstan. After the coup collapsed the following week, Akayev and Vice President German Kuznetsov announced their resignations from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), and the entire politburo and secretariat resigned. This was followed by the Supreme Soviet vote declaring independence from the U.S.S.R. on August 31, 1991. Kyrgyz was announced as the state language in September 1991. (In December 2001, through a constitutional amendment, the Russian language was given official status.) In October 1991, Akayev ran unopposed and was elected President of the new independent republic by direct ballot, receiving 95% of the votes cast. Together with the representatives of seven other republics, he signed the Treaty of the New Economic Community that same month. On December 21, 1991, the Kyrgyz Republic formally entered the new Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In 1993, allegations of corruption against Akayev's closest political associates blossomed into a major scandal. One of those accused of improprieties was Prime Minister Chyngyshev, who was dismissed for ethical reasons in December. Following Chyngyshev's dismissal, Akayev dismissed the government and called upon the last communist premier, Apas Djumagulov, to form a new one. In January 1994, Akayev initiated a referendum asking for a renewed mandate to complete his term of office. He received 96.2% of the vote. A new constitution was passed by the parliament in May 1993. In 1994, however, the parliament failed to produce a quorum for its last scheduled session prior to the expiration of its term in February 1995. President Akayev was widely accused of having manipulated a boycott by a majority of the parliamentarians. Akayev, in turn, asserted that the communists had caused a political crisis by preventing the legislature from fulfilling its role. Akayev scheduled an October 1994 referendum, overwhelmingly approved by voters, which proposed two amendments to the constitution—one that would allow the constitution to be amended by means of a referendum, and the other creating a new bicameral parliament called the Jogorku Kenesh. Elections for the two legislative chambers—a 35-seat full-time assembly and a 70-seat part-time assembly—were held in February 1995 after campaigns considered remarkably free and open by most international observers, although the election-day proceedings were marred by widespread irregularities. Independent candidates won most of the seats, suggesting that personalities prevailed over ideologies. The new parliament convened its initial session in March 1995. One of its first orders of business was the approval of the precise constitutional language on the role of the legislature. On December 24, 1995, President Akayev was reelected for another 5-year term with wide support (75% of vote) over two opposing candidates. He used government resources and state-owned media to carry out his campaign. Three (out of six) candidates were de-registered shortly before the election. A February 1996 referendum—in violation of the constitution and the law on referendums—amended the constitution to give President Akayev more power. Although the changes gave the president the power to dissolve parliament, it also more clearly defined the parliament's powers. Since that time, the parliament has demonstrated real independence from the executive branch. An October 1998 referendum approved constitutional changes, including increasing the number of deputies in the lower house, reducing the number of deputies in the upper house, providing for 25% of lower house deputies to be elected by party lists, rolling back parliamentary immunity, introducing private property, prohibiting adoption of laws restricting freedom of speech and mass media, and reforming the state budget. Two rounds of parliamentary elections were held on February 20, 2000 and March 12, 2000. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reported that the elections failed to comply with commitments to free and fair elections and hence were invalid. Questionable judicial proceedings against opposition candidates and parties limited the choice of candidates available to Kyrgyz voters, while state-controlled media only reported favorably on official candidates. Government officials put pressure on independent media outlets that favored the opposition. The presidential election that followed later in 2000 also was marred by irregularities and was not declared free and fair by international observers. The most recent elections were parliamentary, held February 27 and March 13, 2005. The OSCE found that while the elections failed to comply with commitments to free and fair elections, there were improvements over the 2000 elections, notably the use of indelible ink, transparent ballot boxes, and generally good access by election observers. Sporadic protests against perceived manipulation and fraud during the elections erupted into widespread calls for the government to resign, which started in the southern provinces. On March 24, 15,000 pro-opposition demonstrators called for the resignation of the President and his regime in Bishkek. Protestors seized the main government building, and Akayev hurriedly fled the country, first to neighboring Kazakhstan and then to Moscow. Initially refusing to resign and denouncing the events as a coup, he subsequently resigned his office on April 4. (See also: Tulip Revolution)

Politics

Main article: Politics of Kyrgyzstan The 1993 constitution defines the form of government as a democratic republic. The executive branch includes a president and prime minister. The parliament currently is bicameral. The judicial branch comprises a Supreme Court, a Constitutional Court, local courts, and a Procurator-General. March 2002 events (Tulib Revolution) in the southern district of Aksy, where five people protesting the arbitrary arrest of an opposition politician were shot dead by police, sparked nationwide protests. President Akayev initiated a constitutional reform process which initially included the participation of a broad range of government, civil, and social representatives in an open dialogue, leading to a February 2003 referendum marred by voting irregularities. The amendments to the constitution approved by the referendum resulted in stronger control by the president and weakened the parliament and the Constitutional Court. Under the new constitution, the previously bicameral parliament became a 75-seat unicameral legislature following the 2005 parliamentary elections. Interim government leaders are developing a new governing structure for the country and working to resolve outstanding constitutional issues. On July 10, 2005, Kurmanbek Bakiyev won a Presidential election in a landslide, with 88.9% of the vote and was inaugurated on 14 August in Bishkek.

Provinces

Kyrgyzstan is divided into seven provinces (singular: oblast (область), plural: oblasttar (областтар)); adminstered by appointed governors. The capital, Bishkek, is administratively an independent city (shaar). city The provinces, with their administrative capitals, are as follows: #Bishkek (shaar) #Batken Province (Batken) #Chui Province (Tokmok) #Jalal-Abad Province (Jalal-Abad) #Naryn Province (Naryn) #Osh Province (Osh) #Talas Province (Talas) #Issyk-Kul Province (Karakol) Each province comprises a number of districts (rayon), administered by government-appointed officials (akim). Rural communities (ayıl ökmötü) consisting of up to twenty small settlements have their own elected mayors and councils.

Geography

council :Main article: Geography of Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, bordering Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The mountainous region of the Tian Shan covers the majority of the nation, with the remainder made up of its valleys and basins. Issyk-Kul in the north-western Tian Shan is the largest lake in Kyrgyzstan and the second largest mountain lake in the world after Titicaca. The highest peaks are in the Kakshaal-Too range, forming the Chinese border. Pik Pobedy (Victory Peak), at 24,400 ft (7,439 m), is the highest point and is considered by geologists (though not mountaineers) to be the northernmost 7,000 m peak in the world. Heavy snowfall in winter leads to heavy spring floods which often cause serious damage downstream. The runoff from the mountains is also utilized, however, for substantial generation of hydro-electricity. The climate varies regionally. The south-western Fergana Valley is Subtropical Climate and extremely hot in summer, with temperatures reaching 40°C (104°F.) The northern foothills are Temperate Climate and the Tian Shan varies from dry Continental Climate to Polar Climate, depending on elevation. In the coldest areas temperatures are sub-zero for around 40 days in winter, and even some desert areas experience constant snowfall in this period. Kyrgyzstan has significant deposits of rare metals including gold and also some coal, petroleum and natural gas. Less than 8% of the land is cultivated, and this is concentrated in the northern lowlands and the fringes of the Fergana Valley. Bishkek in the north is the capital and largest city, with approximately 900,000 inhabitants in 2005. The second city is the ancient town of Osh, located in the Fergana Valley near the border with Uzbekistan. The principal river is the Naryn River, flowing west through the Fergana Valley into Uzbekistan, where it meets another of Kyrgyzstan's major rivers, the Kara Darya and forms the Syr Darya which eventually flows into the Aral Sea -- although the massive extraction of water for irrigating Uzbekistan's cotton fields now causes the river to dry up long before rwacvhing the Aral Sea. The Chui river also briefly flows through Kyrgyzstan before entering Kazakhstan.

Enclaves and exclaves

There is one exclave, the tiny village of Barak [http://home.no.net/enklaver/kyrgyzstan.htm], (population 627) in the Fergana valley. The village is surrounded by Uzbek territory and located between the towns of Margilan and Fergana. There are four Uzbek enclaves within Kyrgyzstan. Two of them are the towns of Sokh (area 325 km² and a population of 42,800 in 1993, although some estimates go as high as 70,000; 99% are Tajiks, the remainder Uzbeks), and Shakhrimardan (also known as Shakirmardon or Shah-i-Mardan, area 90 km² and a population of 5,100 in 1993; 91% are Uzbeks, the remainder Kyrgyz); the other two are the tiny territories of Chong-Kara (or Kalacha, roughly 3 km long by 1 km wide) and Dzhangail (a dot of land barely 2 or 3 km across). Chong-Kara is on the Sokh river, between the Uzbek border and the Sokh enclave. There also are two enclaves belonging to Tajikistan: Vorukh (exclave area between 95 and 130 km², population estimated between 23,000 and 29,000, 95% Tajiks and 5% Kyrgyz, distributed among 17 villages), located 45 km south of Isfara on the right bank of the Karafshin river, and a small settlement near the Kyrgyz railway station of Kairagach.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Kyrgyzstan Despite the backing of major Western donors, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, the Kyrgyz Republic has had economic difficulties following independence. Initially, these were a result of the breakup of the Soviet trading bloc and resulting loss of markets, which impeded the republic's transition to a free market economy. The government has reduced expenditures, ended most price subsidies, and introduced a value-added tax. Overall, the government appears committed to the transition to a market economy. Through economic stabilization and reform, the government seeks to establish a pattern of long-term consistent growth. Reforms led to the Kyrgyz Republic's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on December 20, 1998. The Kyrgyz Republic's economy was severely affected by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the resulting loss of its vast market. In 1990, some 98% of Kyrgyz exports went to other parts of the Soviet Union. Thus, the nation's economic performance in the early 1990s was worse than any other former Soviet republic except war-torn Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan, as factories and state farms collapsed with the disappearance of their traditional markets in the former Soviet Union. While economic performance has improved considerably in the last few years, and particularly since 1998, difficulties remain in securing adequate fiscal revenues and providing an adequate social safety net. Agriculture is an important sector of the economy in the Kyrgyz Republic. By the early 1990s, the private agricultural sector provided between one-third and one-half of some harvests. In 2002 agriculture accounted for 35.6% of GDP and about half of employment. The Kyrgyz Republic's terrain is mountainous, which accommodates livestock raising, the largest agricultural activity. Main crops include wheat, sugar beets, potatoes, cotton, tobacco, vegetables, and fruit. Wool, meat, and dairy products also are major commodities. Agricultural processing is a key component of the industrial economy, as well as one of the most attractive sectors for foreign investment. The Kyrgyz Republic is rich in mineral resources but has negligible petroleum and natural gas reserves; it imports petroleum and gas. Among its mineral reserves are substantial deposits of coal, gold, uranium, antimony, and other rare-earth metals. Metallurgy is an important industry, and the government hopes to attract foreign investment in this field. The government has actively encouraged foreign involvement in extracting and processing gold. The Kyrgyz Republic's plentiful water resources and mountainous terrain enable it to produce and export large quantities of hydroelectric energy. On a local level, the economy is primarily kiosk in nature. A large amount of local commerce occurs at bazaars and small village kiosks. Commodities such as gas are often sold road-side in gallon jugs. A significant amount of trade is unregulated. There is also a scarcity of common everyday consumer items in remote villages. Thus a large number of homes are quite self-sufficient with respect to food production. There is a distinct differentiation between urban and rural economies. The principal exports are nonferrous metals and minerals, woolen goods and other agricultural products, electric energy, and certain engineering goods. Imports include petroleum and natural gas, ferrous metals, chemicals, most machinery, wood and paper products, some foods, and some construction materials. Its leading trade partners include Germany, Russia, China, and neighboring Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Kyrgyzstan The World Almanac 2005 reported that Kyrgyzstan's population is slightly more than 5 million, estimating it at 5,081,429. Of those, 34.4% are under the age of 15 and 6.2% are over the age of 65. The country is rural; only about one-third (33.9%) of Kyrgyzstan's population live in urban areas. The average population density is 29 people per km² (69 people per square mile). population density The nation's largest ethnic group is the Kyrgyz, a Turkic group with Mongolian and Chinese influences. The Kyrgyz comprise 69.5% percent of the population and have historically been semi-nomadic herders, living in yurts (bozui in Kyrgyz) and tending sheep, horses and yaks. This nomadic tradition continues to function seasonaly as herding families return to high mountain pastures or jailoos in the summer. The retention of this nomadic heritage and the freedoms that it assumes continue to have an impact on the political atmosphere in the country. Other ethnic groups include ethnic Russians (9.0%) concentrated in the North and Uzbeks (14.5%) living in the South. Small, but noticeable minorities include Uyghurs (1.1%), Tajiks (1.1%), Kazakhs (0.7%), Dungan (1.2%) and Turks (0.9%), as well as smaller Korean (0.3%), Ukrainian (0.5%) and tiny German communities.

Culture

Dungan] Dungan
- Islam is the religion of 75% of the population.
- The main Christian churches are Russian Orthodox and Ukrainian Orthodox
- Manas, an epic poem
- Tush kyiz, large, elaborately embroidered wall hangings

Flag

It is considered that there are 40 Kyrgyz tribes. This is symbolized by the 40-rayed yellow sun in the center of the flag of Kyrgyzstan. The lines inside the sun represent the crown or shangrak of a yurt, a symbol replicated in many facets of Kyrgyz architecture.

Holidays

Miscellaneous topics

- Communications in Kyrgyzstan
- Foreign relations of Kyrgyzstan
- Kyrgyzstan at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Kyrgyz parliamentary elections, 2005
- Kyrgyz presidential election, 2005
- List of cities in Kyrgyzstan
- Military of Kyrgyzstan
- Scouting in Kyrgyzstan
- Transportation in Kyrgyzstan
- Tulip Revolution
- Postage stamps and postal history of Kyrgyzstan

External links

- [http://barthphoto.com/Kyrgyzstan.htm Photos of traditional life in Kyrgyzstan]
- [http://www.ktr.kg/tv/en/ Kyrgyz State Television and Radio]
- [http://www.mypostcard.net Photo gallery of Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia]
- [http://www.countryguide.com/ CountryGuide]: [http://www.countryguide.com/Kyrgyzstan/ Kyrgyzstan] - editor-maintained directory focused on travel planning and research
- [http://www.uni-graz.at/franz.koelbl/kirgisien/ Photo gallery and information about Kyrgyzstan] - in German
- [http://www.freenet.kg/kyrgyzstan/manas.html The "Manas" epic]
- [http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/kyrgyzstan/ Links to PBS documentary on Kyrgyz bride "kidnapping"] --from March 2004
- [http://www.eurasianet.org/resource/kyrgyzstan/hypermail/news/index.shtml Daily News from Kyrgyzstan] Category:Central Asian countries
- Category:Landlocked countries als:Kirgisistan zh-min-nan:Kyrgyzstan ko:키르기스스탄 ms:Kyrgyzstan ja:キルギスタン th:ประเทศคีร์กีซสถาน

Askar Akayev

Askar Akayevich Akayev (Аскар Акаевич Акаев) (born November 10, 1944 in Kyzyl-Bairak, Kirghiz SSR) served as President of Kyrgyzstan from 1990 to March 2005, when he was deposed by a popular uprising dubbed the Tulip Revolution.

Education and early career

Akayev was the youngest of five sons born into a family of collective farm workers. He became a metalworker at a local factory in 1961. He subsequently moved to Leningrad, where he trained as a physicist and graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Precision Mechanics and Optics in 1967 with an honors degree in mathematics, engineering and computer science. He stayed at the institute until 1976, working as a senior researcher and teacher. In Leningrad he met and in 1970 married Mairam Akayeva with whom he now has two sons and two daughters. They returned to their native Kirghizia in 1977, where he became a senior professor at the Polytechnic Institute in Frunze. Some of his later cabinet members were former students and friends from his academic career. He obtained a doctorate in 1981 from the Moscow Institute of Engineering and Physics, having written his dissertation on holographic systems of storage and transformation of information. In 1984, he became a member of the Kirghiz Academy of Sciences, rose to vice president of the Academy in 1987 and then president of the Academy in 1989. He was elected as a deputy in the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in the same year.

Political career

On October 25, 1990, the Kirghiz SSR's Supreme Soviet held elections for the newly created post of president of the republic. Two candidates contested the presidency, President of Council of Ministers of Kirghiz SSR, Apas Jumagulov and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kirghiz SSR, Absamat Masaliyev. However, neither Jumagulov nor Masaliyev received a majority of the votes cast. In accordance with the Kirghiz SSR's constitution of 1978, both candidates were disqualified and neither could run in the second round of voting. Two days later, on October 27, the Supreme Soviet selected Akayev - who was effectively a compromise candidate - to serve as the republic's first president. In 1991, he was offered the post of vice-president of the Soviet Union by President Mikhail Gorbachev, but refused. Akayev was elected president of the renamed republic of Kyrgyzstan in an uncontested poll on October 12, 1991. He was reelected twice, amid allegations of ballot rigging, on December 24, 1995 and October 29, 2000. Akayev was initially seen as a liberal leader. He commented in a 1991 interview that "Although I am a Communist, my basic attitude toward private property is favorable. I believe that the revolution in the sphere of economics was not made by Karl Marx but by Adam Smith." ("Akayev: 'All of a Sudden I Become President'", Christian Science Monitor, January 10, 1991) He actively promoted the privatization of land and other economic assets and operated a relatively liberal regime compared with some of his more tyrannical neighbours. However, he demonstrated increasingly authoritarian tendencies and was accused of large-scale corruption. He was granted lifelong immunity from prosecution by the lower house of parliament in 2003.

Protests

The first wave of demonstrations took place in mid-March 2002. Azimbek Beknazarov, a member of parliament accused of abuse of power, was due to attend trial taking place in Jalal-Abad. Over 2,000 demonstrators marched on the town where the proceedings were to take place. According to eye-witnesses, police ordered the demonstrators to stop and gave them fifteen minutes to disperse, yet opened fire before this time elapsed. Five men were shot dead; another was killed on the next day. 61 people were injured, including 47 police and 14 civilians. In May, riot police clashed with protesters in Bishkek during demonstrations in support of Beknazarov. Police in the capital's Parliament square kicked protesters and dragged people away to break up the 200-strong crowd. They made several demands including the resignation of Akayev. This was again repeated in November of the same year when scores were arrested as the opposition marched on the capital. Protests continued, albeit on a smaller scale, at various points over the next few years.

2005 Election controversy

Akayev had promised to step down from office when his final term expired in 2005, but the possibility of a dynastical succession had been raised. His son Aidar Akayev and his daughter Bermet Akayeva were candidates in the 2005 legislative election, and it was widely suspected that he was going to retain either de facto power by arranging for the election of a close supporter or relative, or perhaps even by abrogation of the term limit provision in the constitution and remaining in power personally, an allegation which he strongly denied. The results of the elections were disputed, with allegations of vote-rigging. Two of Akayev's children won seats. Serious protests broke out in Osh and Jalal-Abad, with protesters occupying administration buildings and the Osh airport. The government declared that it was ready to negotiate with the demonstrators. However an opposition leader said talks would only be worthwhile if the President himself took part. Akayev refused to resign, but pledged not to use force to end the protests, which he attributed to unspecified foreign interests seeking to provoke a large-scale clamp-down in response. On March 23, Akayev announced the dismissal of Interior Minister Bakirdin Subanbekov and the general prosecutor, Myktybek Abdyldayev for "poor work" in dealing with the growing protests against his government.

Downfall

On March 24, 2005, protesters stormed the presidential compound in Bishkek and seized control of the seat of state power after clashing with riot police during a large opposition rally. Opposition supporters also seized control of key cities and towns in the south to press demands that Akayev step down. That day, Akayev fled the country with his family, reportedly escaping first to Kazakhstan and then to Russia. Russian president Vladimir Putin invited Akayev to stay in the country. There were early reports that he had tendered his resignation to opposition leaders before his departure; however, his formal resignation did not come until April 4, when a delegation of members of parliament from Kyrgyzstan met him in Russia, where he remains. The Kyrgyz Parliament accepted the resignation on April 11, but only after having first stripped him and his family members of a number of special privileges that had been granted to him by the previous parliament.

Quotes

- "We do not welcome the current events in Ukraine. We are against conducting a Tulip Revolution here in Kyrgyzstan since it will lead to instability in the country’s government structures" - in 2004 after the Orange Revolution that swept Viktor Yushchenko to power.
- "I personally, President Akayev, have not had and do not have any intention of changing the constitution with the aim of extending my term in office" - as he cast his vote for 2005 Parliamentary elections.
- "It seems to me that the Paris Club, made up of developed democratic countries, by its decision is showing confidence in the policies of our country which is step by step making the difficult ascent to the heights of democracy" - after the Paris Club of creditor nations wrote off 60% of Kyrgyzstan's external debt.
- "All this is designed to provoke the government into using massive … force. I want to state firmly that I, as a president, will never resort to such steps" - claiming that opposition riots were orchestrated by foreign powers as a provocation.
- "Such revolutions, which are nothing more than coups, go beyond the framework of the law"

External links

- [http://www.askarakaev.kg/ Official webpage]
- [http://www9.sbs.com.au/theworldnews/region.php?id=108760®ion=2 "Kyrgyz leader formally resigns"] (SBS World News, 2005-04-05) Akayev, Askar Akayev, Askar ja:アスカル・アカエフ

Tulip Revolution

The Tulip Revolution refers to the overthrow of President Askar Akayev and his government in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan after the parliamentary elections of February 27 and of March 13 2005. The revolution sought the end of rule by Akayev and by his family and associates, who in popular opinion had become increasingly corrupt and authoritarian. Following the revolution, Akayev fled the country. On April 4 he signed his resignation statement in the presence of a Kyrgyz parliamentary delegation in his country's embassy in Moscow, and on April 11 the Kyrgyz Parliament ratified his resignation. In the early stages of the revolution, the media variously referred to the unrest as the "Pink," "Lemon", "Silk", "Daffodil", or "Sandpaper" Revolution. But it was "Tulip Revolution", a term that Akayev himself used in a speech warning that no such Color Revolution should happen in Kyrgyzstan, which stuck in the end. Such terms evoked similarities with the non-violent Rose Revolution in Georgia and the Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004, whose names owe a debt to the Czech-Slovak Velvet Revolution. The Tulip Revolution, however, saw some violence in its initial days, most notably in the southern city of Jalal-Abad, where the first major signs of violence were noted, and at least three people died during widespread looting in the capital in the first 24 hours after the fall of the Kyrgyz government.

Post-election violence

Protests began prior to the announcement of election results in many western and southern areas, and became more assertive as time passed. On March 18, hundreds of demonstrators occupied the governor's office in the southern city of Jalal-Abad and another government building in Osh. Protesters in the southern town of Toktogul took captive a district governor and chief district prosecutor, both of them accused of colluding with Akayev's government in rigging the elections. In the early hours of March 20, 2005 police attempted to recapture the buildings by force. Reports circulated of injuries to several demonstrators and to a police officer, while authorities temporarily detained hundreds of civilians in these areas. In the following hours, crowds surged to re-take the building in Jalal-Abad. The nearby police station quickly became a focal point for confrontations. Stone-throwing protesters stormed the station, causing some officers to take to the roof and fire warning shots in the air. The crowds forced open the doors of the building and witnesses observed people throwing Molotov cocktails into the windows. By the following day, March 21, around 1,000 demonstrators in Osh occupied the regional administration building, a police station and a television station, as well as the airport. Most security forces escaped unhurt, but rioters caught and assaulted two, before parading them on horseback in the city square. On March 22 activists seized another administrative building, in the southern town of Pulgon. A day later, the capital Bishkek saw its first demonstrations. A few hundred people gathered in the city's main square, but police broke up the rally before it could begin. Officers hit some of the crowd with sticks and arrested a number of organizers. Those detained allegedly included members of opposition newspapers, students, NGO leaders, writers and members of the KelKel youth movement. Protestors also took over Kadamjai in the south and the northern towns of Talas and Kochkor.

Opposition unity

Prior to the election, opposition to the Kyrgyz government suffered from internal division. In the Georgian and Ukrainian revolutions, opposition groups united in removing their respective governments, but this did not occur in Kyrgyzstan. Various forces had joined together to contest the election as a coalition, however several of these groups existed prior to the polls. The opposition also lacked an obvious leader or a single candidate who could have inspired people to protest, thus leaving the field open for more spontaneous populist revolts. The more vocal critics of the allegedly rigged elections have included Roza Otunbaeva, a former Kyrgyz foreign minister and ambassador to the UK and the US; and Kurmanbek Bakiyev, a former Prime Minister who resigned his post after police shot and killed five peaceful demonstrators in the southern town of Aksy in 2002. Thousands of people attended a rally in Osh on March 19 as an opposition congress, called a kurultai, set up a "people's council" in a challenge to the local administration and proclaimed it as a parallel government. One of its leaders, Anvar Artykov, announced: "We will keep this authority until all of our demands and problems will be resolved. We are an interim power. We can talk about the fulfillment of our tasks when the current government will be replaced by a government that is trusted by the nation." Otunbaeva said on March 21 that police officers in Jalal-Abad had switched sides in massive numbers. "Policemen, including high-ranking officers, took off their uniforms, changed into civilian clothes and joined our ranks. So we have substantial support." Journalists could not independently verify these reports.

Government reaction

Following the violence on March 21, Akayev ordered the Central Election Commission and Supreme Court to investigate alleged violations. He ordered the commission and court "to pay particular attention to those districts where election results provoked extreme public reaction ... and tell people openly who is right and who is wrong". On March 23, Akayev announced the dismissal of Interior Minister Bakirdin Subanbekov and of the General Prosecutor Myktybek Abdyldayev for "poor work" in dealing with the growing protests against his government.

International reactions

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) had sent 60 observers to monitor the election runoffs. In its initial assessment the group said the second round of voting showed "some technical improvements over the first round", but stressed that there remained "significant shortcomings". (The OSCE had said the first round fell short of international standards in many areas.) Election observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) disagreed. They hailed the runoff elections as well-organized, free, and fair. CIS observers also praised local authorities for showing restraint and competence in dealing with political unrest in several regions. This contradiction in the findings between OSCE and CIS observation teams formed the latest in a series of such contradictory findings (see CIS election observation missions). Russia supported the CIS reports and rebuked the OSCE for its findings. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4369065.stm] Though Russia has membership in both organizations, it has a much more dominant role in the CIS. Following the initial violent incidents, appeals quickly issued from the international community for calm and for a peaceful settlement to the growing tensions. In Washington, a State Department spokesman said US officials had contacted "both" sides to urge them to resolve their differences through dialogue. The United States, which operates Ganci Air Base, a strategic military installation at Bishkek's Manas airport, expressed mild criticism of the election abuses and rebuked the opposition for taking over government buildings. (Ganci Air Base, set up initially in late 2001 to provide a station for an expanded air presence in US activities in Afghanistan, has remained and grown ever since - and houses, at current estimates, about 2000 American and European troops. The establishment of a Russian airbase at Kant, a few miles from Bishkek, two years later, and Kyrgyzstan's proximity to China, mark the country as an important strategic site. This situation may figure in any calculations regarding putative future intervention by external parties. Various international news agencies, including the New York Times, have reported that American funding and support, from governmental and non-governmental sources, helped in part to pave the way for the pro-opposition demonstrations by providing means of printing materials and literature. US State Department statements have partly substantiated such claims. The United Nations, meanwhile, offered the following statement by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on its website: "The secretary general is opposed to the use of violence and intimidation to resolve electoral and political disputes". Annan "calls on all parties to apply restraint". The Russian Foreign Ministry on March 21 posted on its official website a statement about the recent unrest, in which it expressed concern about the actions of the opposition. The statement urged demonstrators to remain within the framework of the constitution and to maintain a "constructive dialogue" with the administration of President Akayev. The ministry also appealed to foreign observers in the country, including the OSCE, to exhibit responsibility in their statements and not to give "destructive elements" justification for unlawful acts. The Uzbek foreign ministry issued the following statement on March 23: "The people of Uzbekistan, which is a close neighbour of Kyrgyzstan, are concerned about the events happening in Kyrgyzstan, especially in its southern regions". The state-controlled media in Uzbekistan had previously not mentioned the crisis, fearing it could spark unrest within the border town of Andijan. Since 2004 the area has witnessed demonstrations by traders upset about new laws that restrict their commercial activity.

Government collapse

By March 23 the protest movement had become widespread, particularly in some of the majority Uzbek southern towns, having gained momentum in the wake of allegations of massive fraud and manipulations during the elections. The opposition appeared to unify to some extent around two main opposition leaders: former Prime Minister Kurmanbek Bakiev and former Foreign Minister Roza Otunbaeva. On Thursday, March 24, protests spread to Bishkek, where a large crowd of tens of thousands of people gathered in front of the main government building. When security forces and pro-government provocateurs began beating a number of youthful demonstrators in the front ranks, the main crowd behind them closed ranks and a large number of the young swept past the security forces and stormed into the government headquarters. They also occupied the building of the state television. A number of skirmishes took place between the opposition and police, before sheer force allowed a throng of protestors to overrun government offices -- which crowds of young men then vandalized. That same day, President Akayev fled with his family by helicopter to Kazakhstan, from where he subsequently flew to Moscow. At that point, he refused to resign. Prime Minister Nikolai Tanayev resigned as the opposition took control of key state organs including State Television, and the police melted away or joined the protestors. Imprisoned opposition leaders, including Felix Kulov, were freed and the Kyrgyz Supreme Court declared the election results invalid. The newly-elected parliament named Kurmanbek Bakiev, a southerner, as acting Prime Minister and acting President. Felix Kulov, freed only a day earlier and the one man many feel capable of uniting the erstwhile opposition groupings, made a television appeal for calm. With the breakdown of law and order, mobs looted stores and ATMs in Bishkek during the night, and a number of buildings were set on fire. By March 25 reports emerged of many casualties, including three deaths, and some looting continued. Bakiev appointed Kulov acting Interior Minister, with instructions to restore order in the capital. An interim cabinet is appointed and appears to consist of a varied collection of individuals representing different anti-Akayev groups and clans. On March 26, armed supporters of former president Akayev reportedly tried to enter Bishkek in force, but turned back when it became apparent that they would not meet much support in the capital. They acted on the orders of Kenesh Dushebaev, former acting Interior Minister, and Temirbek Akmataliev, until then minister of emergency affairs and previously minister of the interior and responsible for the killing of five unarmed demonstrators in the southern town of Aksy in 2002. Akmataliev, a very close associate of Akayev, later (on March 29) announced that he would run in the planned new presidential elections.

Consolidation

By March 28, gradual stabilization of the political situation appeared to have taken place. The "old" parliament dissolved itself, and the "new" parliament gained recognition as legitimate (although a number of individual seats remained in dispute and subject to review by courts). This drew some protests from people who argued that the street outpourings justified more radical reform, but the power brokers in the country seemed to consider it preferable to have the forces represented in the new parliament on the inside rather than the outside. On April 2, Akayev agreed to resign as President. A Kyrgyz delegation traveled to Moscow to obtain his signature on the necessary document, and on April 3 Akayev announced on Russian television that he would resign with effect from April 5. He signed a declaration to this effect in the Kyrgyz embassy in Moscow on April 4. The Kyrgyz parliament debated for a week before finally accepting his resignation on April 11, but not without first stripping him and his family members of many privileges that the previous parliament had granted to them. The authorities scheduled new presidential elections for July 10 2005.

Short-term prospects

Current causes of concern include:
- the potential for post-revolutionary violence triggered by fractionalism within the country
- the possibility of neighboring régimes with even worse records of mismanagement, corruption and suppression deciding to intervene in Kyrgyzstan under the pretext of helping to "restore order" or of "protecting their interests"
- the possibility that drug money will become a major force in Kyrgyzstan
- possible ethnic conflict in the South Since allegations of rigged elections triggered the upheaval, it remains unclear whether the people will accept the new parliament, legitimized so suddenly by the current group of power brokers. On March 31, Kulov relinquished his post as security co-ordinator, raising questions about his intentions as well as about the cohesion among the key figures of the early post-Akayev days. One day later he publicly criticized Bakiev and declared his intention to run in the presidential elections. Questionable appointments to administrative positions in parts of the south by local power brokers have caused concern, as has the increasing incidence of parallel administrations in various towns. Beginning on April 11, increasing numbers of homeless citizens began to arrive in Bishkek and to occupy plots of land with the intention of establishing squatters' rights to ownership. Tensions rose as rumors circulated that the authorities intended to deprive ethnic Russians and other minorities of their legal rights to real-estate. The return of Bermet Akayeva, the ousted president's daughter, and her insistance on taking her seat in Parliament, may become an incendiary factor.

External links

- [http://www.thinking-east.net/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=103 Thinking-East.Net coverage] (the photo-essay by Elnura Osmonalieva)
- [http://www.livejournal.com/users/morrire/48723.html#cutid1 Photos from a blogger]
- http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav032205.shtml
- http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav032105.shtml
- [http://nytimes.com/cfr/international/slot2_032505.html Q&A: Kyrgyzstan’s Rebellion] from the Council on Foreign Relations
- [http://nytimes.com/2005/03/30/international/asia/30kyrgyzstan.html U.S. Helped to Prepare the Way for Kyrgyzstan's Uprising] from the New York Times
- United States helped Kyrgyz pro-democracy programs
- [http://www.klasney.com/kyrgyzrevolution/ Revolution Headlines Blog] Category:Post-Soviet Revolutions Category:Revolutions Category:Politics of Kyrgyzstan Category:2005

Category:Cities in Kyrgyzstan

Category:Geography of Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan

ABBA Discography

Singles

This section lists only the singles released by ABBA's Scandinavian record label Polar Music between 1972 and 1983. For singles pertaining to certain countries, please refer to your countrywide ABBA website or singles list.
- People Need Love / Merry-Go-Round (1972)
- He Is Your Brother / Santa Rosa (1972)
- Ring Ring [Swedish Version] / Åh, vilka tider (1973)
- Ring Ring [English Version] / She's My Kind Of Girl (1973)
- Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough) / I Am Just A Girl (1973)
- Waterloo [Swedish Version] / Honey, Honey [Swedish Version] (1974)
- Waterloo [English Version] / Watch Out (1974)
- Honey, Honey / King Kong Song (1974)
- So Long / I've Been Waiting For You (1974)
- I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do / Rock Me (1975)
- SOS / Man In The Middle (1975)
- Mamma Mia / Intermezzo No. 1 (1975)
- Fernando / Hey, Hey Helen (1976)
- Dancing Queen / That's Me (1976)
- Money, Money, Money / Crazy World (1976)
- Knowing Me, Knowing You / Happy Hawaii (1977)
- The Name Of The Game / I Wonder (Departure) (1977)
- Take A Chance On Me / I'm A Marionette (1978)
- Eagle / Thank You For The Music (1978)
- Summer Night City / Medley: Pick A Bale... (1978)
- Chiquitita / Lovelight (1979)
- Does Your Mother Know / Kisses Of Fire (1979)
- Voulez-Vous / Angeleyes (1979)
- Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! / The King Has Lost His Crown (1979)
- I Have A Dream / Take A Chance On Me (live version) (1979)
- The Winner Takes It All / Elaine (1980)
- Super Trouper / The Piper (1980)
- One Of Us / Should I Laugh Or Cry (1981)
- Head Over Heels / The Visitors (Crackin' Up) (1982)
- The Day Before You Came / Cassandra (1982)
- Under Attack / You Owe Me One (1983) Chart positions for these single can be found below.

Albums

The dates shown represent the Swedish release dates.

Original Albums

# Ring Ring (March 26, 1973) # Waterloo (March 4, 1974) #28 UK, #145 US # ABBA (April 21, 1975) #13 UK, #174 US # Arrival (October 11, 1976) #1 UK, #20 US # The Album (December 12, 1977) #1 UK, #14 US # Voulez-Vous (April 23, 1979) #1 UK, #19 US # Super Trouper (November 3, 1980) #1 UK, #17 US # The Visitors (November 30, 1981) #1 UK, #29 US

International Compilations

# Greatest Hits (November 17, 1975) #1 UK, #48 US # Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (October 29, 1979) #1 UK, #46 US # Gracias Por La Música (June 23, 1980) # The Singles: The First Ten Years (November 8, 1982) #1 UK, #62 US # ABBA Live (August 18, 1986) # ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits (September 21, 1992) #1 UK, #63 US # More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits (May 24, 1993) #14 UK # Thank You For The Music (Box Set) (October 31, 1994) # ABBA Oro: Grandes Exitos (November 25, 1999) # The Definitive Collection (November 2, 2001) #17 UK, #186 US # The Complete Studio Recordings (Box Set) (November 7, 2005)

Other compilations and releases

# The Magic Of ABBA (1980) # A Wie ABBA (November 5, 1981) #1 Germany # I Love ABBA (October 17, 1983) #10 Germany, #12 France, #208 US # Thank You For The Music (UK Album) (November 19, 1983) #17 UK # Absolute ABBA (November 19, 1988) #70 UK # Love Stories (November 7, 1998) #3 France, #51 UK, #82 Germany # 25 Jaar Na Waterloo (April 17, 1999) #1 Netherlands # 25 Jaar Na Waterloo - Deel 2 (October 2, 1999) #7 Netherlands

Estimates

- Estimate singles total sales: 50-60 million.
- Estimate studio album total sales: 40 million.
- Estimate compilation album total sales: 50-60 million.
- Uk Sales: 10 mil. singles ,15 mil. albums.
- US Sales: ~20 mil.

Singles chart positions for UK, US, Germany and Netherlands

(Note: Bold are Billboard Hot 100, UK Top 75, Dutch Official Top 40, or German singles that reached #1)

Notes

# "Ring Ring" was originally credited to "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida" in the Netherlands. # "Eagle" was released as a double A-side in the Netherlands with "Thank You For The Music". # "Voulez-Vous" was released as a double A-side in the UK with "Angeleyes". # "Lay All Your Love On Me" was issued as a 12" single in the US and UK. # "Dancing Queen" was a reissue of the original song to promote the 1992 compilation ABBA Gold. # "Waterloo" was a reissue of the original song to promote the 2004 reissue of Waterloo as a 30th Anniversary Edition. ABBA Discography ABBA

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