#159: Debating Politics

As a Kurman Ait tradition, my extended family (uncles, aunts, and their children) slaughtered a sheep and had an evening dinner. As a tradition, we ended up discussing Kyrgyz politics with the family divided into two groups of supporters and opponents of the current government and its policies.

One group argued that it was southerners' turn to rule Kyrgyzstan (my family is from the south) because northerners Turdakun Usubaliev, the former Secretary of the Kyrgyz Communist Party ruled for 30 years during the Soviet Union, and Askar Akaev ruled for almost 15 years after independence. During these years, the southerners were treated as second sort citizens and economically the south lag behind the more developed north. Therefore, Kurmanbek Bakiev, a southerner, should be given a chance to consolidate power at any cost. The other group challenged it by arguing that nothing really changed since March 2005. The whole system of corruption, family rule, accumulating power and money through deception still remains. That there is no long-term policy of developing Kyrgyzstan (building homes, schools, protecting land on borders, etc.) However, we all agreed that not a single asset of Askar Akaev and economic misdeeds of his family are being investigated right now. We just assumed that it was divided up among the new rulers.

The most frustrating thing is that before 2005 many of my relatives used to say that Askar Akaev was the only person who could run the country and nobody else could do as well as he did. The same logic is being applied right now. And again, I am blaming the Kyrgyz people. Kyrgyz people forget things easily and like sheep blindly follow the shepherd. At the end of the dinner, we decided to continue the discussions at the Near Year dinner in 10 days. Who know what might happen before that.