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22/03/2005: "American fantasy"

In the south of Kyrgyzystan, local residents are staging protests and taking the opportunity of burning down official buildings and police stations. Both protesters and police beat up local journalists, accusing them of supporting one side over the other. As if to highlight the irony of the situation, a friend's father was assaulted by both sides over the course of a few hours.

Local media don't cover the event, and, Soviet-style, cover nature, landscapes, dancing and other musical celebrations instead. Russian media cautiously mention unruly activities. And foreign media talk of imminent revolution similar to the recent events in Ukraine and Georgia, with flashing tickers and live reports by eager journalists.

In Bishkek, police is patrolling main squares and open spaces to prevent people from assembling. A pro-government demo attracted a large following (had the people been paid or coerced?). Reports of farmers boarding buses going North were issued, but with precarious road connections, it is far from certain they will ever arrive.

American-backed groups have long had an interest in encouraging an uprising against the government (part of an American fantasy for the region), and current events are probably encouraged by them. To some extent, the news coverage is fuelling the impression of a full-blown revolution, contributing some momentum to what is happening, although there is hardly the scope for such a small country to impact significantly on the region. It reminds me of the instance in which local farmers from two neighbouring countries burned down the borders control office in frustration at a corrupt official. Government media labelled it as a "border skirmish threatening national integrity" - and all NGOs believed it (generating extra funding to assist in their "peace" efforts).

In any case, the expat community in Bishkek are paying a visit to their respective embassies asking if all the paperwork is in order. They are preparing themselves to spend even more time at their hotel's fitness centre, waiting for the farmers to quiet down.

As for myself, I'm greatly looking forward to my visit in May.