Bloody Optimism: Young People and Freedom in Kyrgyzstan

Listen to the full ABC Radio National audio feature (50min) at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/360/stories/2010/3081832.htm

Kyrgyzstan is on the brink of collapse after months of political revolution and deadly ethnic clashes. But a new generation is in town and they are fighting for a better future for this remote, poor republic.

Earlier this year street protests in the capital, Bishkek, forced the overthrow of a largely corrupt government; in the southern city of Osh 400 were killed in clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, the biggest ethnic minority.

Hope for stability lies with the young people who grew up in the post-Soviet era, deeply suspicious of old, corrupt government. Join journalist James West on this rare journey through the spectacular and remote 'Switzerland of Central Asia', at a time of tremendous political turmoil.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Kyrgyzstan
• Bishkek
• democracy
• Osh
• violence
• Uzbek
• June conflict
• democratisation
• Central Asia
• widescreen

[uzbekonline]

Yeah, the guy showed that he is Kyrgyz! By killing innocent uzbeks? Kyrgyz in Alai received 800 guns from Isakov before Osh massacre. If Namazaliev works on CAFMI, does he have a clue about Osh? There are real ppl in Osh who could tell more, but not ppl who speak from Bishkek.

[2roads]

@uzbekonline hi -- make sure you check out the longer radio piece too. there are lots of different voices in this piece, and many, many more interviews from osh. thanks for taking the time to watch and listen.

[uzbekonline]

@2roads thanks, I dont know why western media is interviewing Mirsulzhan Namazaliev, who was not in Osh. Me and all my family are from Osh, and I have tens of uzbek witnesses who could tell that if they were prepared for those clashes, they would send their children, wives and parents to Uzbekistan before clashes. This wrestlers' bulding was funded by Bayaman, who was a drug dealer in Southern Kyrgyzstan.

[2roads]

@uzbekonline thanks for your feedback. a lot of the radio piece is about the divide between north and south, and bishkek being like a bubble; i covered the election from osh, and there is more analysis from people who have studied that wrestling club in the radio piece.

[dhutch49]

James, very interesting. When did you visit Kyrgyzstan?

[2roads]

@dhutch49 i went just before their historic elections, at the beginning of october. it was a fascinating time, one of the most interesting places i've been.

[onlyme3960]

wtf uzbeks or kirghiz, or mongols or kazakhs or turkmens or turks...your all the same :)

[uzbekonline]

@damusya You behave like Interim Government, blaming others and pretending to be blind. And now you speak about Armenians. :)

Me, spreading violence by giving facts? or Mono-ehtnoic army, monoethnic police and mono-ethnic court putting in SIZO and JAIL all uzbeks! Look on Kylym Shamy website (ksh[dot]kg), and find victim number 173, and 224. Those infants were born in 2008 and 2010(!) and Kyrgyz burnt them alive with their mothers!

[damusya]

@uzbekonline go ahead and spread more violence and hate! thats why you guys are there for, not giving people to live peacefully! revenge is a bad thing, as we can see from the results of the event, from both sides! There was not a genocide in Kyrgyzstan and you will never prove that, keep on continuing like the Armenians, you are just like them! and i'm not continuously talking about Tajiks, you got my point no need to play dumb! Best of luck to you and your partisan riffraff. end of convo!

[uzbekonline]

@damusya Read again that article, and understand who founded Osh as a city. You are right, Kyrgyz lived and still live in Tyan Shan mountains. Why you keep saying about Tajiks? Nothing to say about Osh, Djalalabad and Uzgen? Kyrgyzstani? Have you seen uzbeks' Kyrgyz passport? Mine says Uzbek. Proud to be Kyrgyzstani after mass killings? rapes? Wake up and don't make up this wrong statements. Uzbeks in KG want and will have equal rights like Kyrgyz. Genocide will be punished soon.

[damusya]

@uzbekonline this only says that Kyrgyz were nomads and of course they would live in pastures rather than in towns like Uzbek. However does not mean that Kyrgyz did not reside in the southern part of Kyrgyzstan. Just like Buhara or Samarkand, but oh wait Tajiks cant say that its their cities, but you guys can? Nonetheless just as these cities are part of Uzbekistan, Osh is part of Kyrgyzstan! There are plenty Uzbek people that are proud to be Kyrgyzstani, unlike some that are trying to revolt!

[uzbekonline]

@damusya hypocrite?:))) Read carefuly this: южные узбеки были в большой степени городскими жителями (47% в 1926 году), чем киргизы-кочевники (1% в 1926 году). "Демографические тенденции, формирование наций и межэтнические отношения в Киргизии" , В. Хауг (полностью опубликовано в книге "Население Кыргызстана" / Под ред. 3. Кудабаева, М. Гийо, М. Денисенко - Б.: 2004. с.109-157).

[damusya]

@uzbekonline

Please give direct links to your stats. Look at UZstan, everyone (TJ, K-kalpak, KG, KZ, etc.) are all written as Uzbeks in their passport, not only that they have become Uzbek. Unlike in KGstan, you can be whatever you want. Some Uzbeks dont want to be part of KGstan, that is why we have this situation. Plus of course Moscow with its dirty games. Uzbeks need to accept that they live in Kyrgyzstan and be proud of it. Kyrgyz were victims as well, so no need to be a hypocrite! Peace!

[uzbekonline]

@damusya yeah, just TALKING. 

[uzbekonline]

@damusya How do you understand to move on and build trust?

Trust to mono-etnic police? mono-ethnic army? or kyrgyz ppl who ask uzbeks to leave Osh and go back to Uzbekistan? And I am not surprised you didnt mention about justice. You will not understand the real pain when Uzbek infants, teenagers, pregnant women were killed in the most brutal way. To forget all this and move on???

Some stats: in early 1950 there were ONLY 7 Kyrgyz families residing in Osh. Who were the rest?Answer: UZBEKS!

[damusya]

@uzbekonline Mirsuljan is talking about the importance of free trade and promotion of democracy.