The road to electoral perfection in Kyrgyzstan

Alexey Semyonov, Baktybek Abdrisaev, and Kuban Taabaldiev 18 November 2010
Kyrgyzstan’s October parliamentary elections revealed a number of teething problems in law and systems, write Alexey Semyonov, Baktybek Abdrisaev and Kuban Taabaldiev. The Kyrgyz electoral bodies would be well minded to adopt an holistic approach to solving them — from the introduction of technological solutions such as e-voting, to involving key stakeholders in the counting process.

Letter bombing campaign uncovered in Greece

Luke Heighton 3 November 2010
Multiple bombs destined for top-level targets discovered in Greece. Iran chides Russia over decision not to honour arms deal. Months after Kyrgyzstan violence, tensions and resentment still running high. All this and more in today's security briefing.

Kyrgyzstan: reform starts with education

Scott Horton and Baktybek Abdrisaev 18 October 2010
Kyrgyzstan could be the first Central Asian parliamentary democracy. But the southern region has first to be reconciled and stabilized. The way forward is to use the well established Kyrgyz traditions of education to teach acceptance of ethnic diversity in schools and universities, explain Scott Horton and Baktybek Abdrisaev.

Kyrgyz elections: the birth of democracy?

Baktybek Abdrisaev 12 October 2010
Recent parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan were declared free and fair, but Russia and its Central Asian neighbours feel threatened by Kyrgyz democracy. Will the country be able to juggle its relations with them and with China and USA? Baktybek Abdrisaev wonders if President Bakiyev’s dark legacy can be overcome.

Critical AfPak border crossing reopens to Nato convoys

Daniel C Giacopelli 11 October 2010
Pakistan reopens critical border crossing to Nato convoys. Heir-apparent and new missiles appear at North Korean military parade. Kyrgyz voters avoid violence in parliamentary election. Budget woes constrain UN war crimes tribunals. All this and more in today’s security briefing.

The background to Osh: stories of conflict and coexistence

Nick Megoran 11 October 2010
Reporting of the ethnic clashes that took place in the Kyrgyz city of Osh this summer has tended to spotlight the victimhood of either ethnic Kyrgyz or ethnic Uzbeks. This polarisation is but a reflection of competing historical narratives of Osh’s ethnic identity, writes Dr Nick Megoran.

Wanted: Economic Equality to Mend Kyrgyzstan

Balihar Sanghera 27 August 2010
Media reports of disturbances in Kyrgyzstan’s two main cities Bishkek and Osh focused on human rights and ethnicity. However, Balihar Sanghera suggests that the root cause lies in economic inequality.

Beware of meddling in Kyrgyzstan!

John Heathershaw 25 August 2010
Despite deep fissures in Kyrgyz society in the aftermath of the upheavals, external intervention would be counterproductive, advises John Heathershaw. Instead, foreign governments should concentrate their efforts on reducing the stakes of the conflict.

Al-Shabab renew offensive in Mogadishu

Luke Heighton 24 August 2010
More attacks in Mogadishu, as Al-Shabab steps up its campaign against African Union troops. Convicted Islamists escape prison as fears of militant action in Central Asia increase. Russian security forces kill top Causcaus Emirate leader. Report calls for further US-Russian nuclear disarmament. All this and more in today’s security briefing.

Kyrgyzstan’s referendum brings a flicker of hope

Baktybek Abdrisaev, Scott Horton, and Alexey Semyonov 14 July 2010
The new constitution which the Kyrgyz people voted in on 27 June 2010 seeks to break the presidential pattern of government. But the recent violent upheaval has left the government weak. America and Russia both need Kyrgyzstan to thrive as a country ruled neither by despotism nor fundamentalism. They will have to collaborate closely to bring this about

Kyrgyzstan’s flawed referendum

Sureyya Yigit 2 July 2010
The political atmosphere that surrounded the constitutional referendum in Kyrgyzstan shows that the country’s crisis is not over, says Sureyya Yigit in Bishkek

Kyrgyzstan: components of crisis

David Gullette 28 June 2010
The explosion of violence in southern Kyrgyzstan is the result of social pressures, economic hardship and political malpractice. The interim government’s constitutional referendum can do little to address these problems, says David Gullette.

Obama sacks top Afghan war commander, General Stanley McChrystal

Rukeyya Khan 23 June 2010
Obama sacks top Afghan war commander, General Stanley McChrystal. Southeast European countries denounce Israeli attack on aid flotilla. Refugees returning to Kyrgyzstan. Suspected drug kingpin arrested in Jamaica. All this and more in today’s security briefing.

Kyrgyzstan’s angel of death

Sureyya Yigit 22 June 2010
The explosion of terrifying violence in southern Kyrgyzstan reveals deep-rooted problems in this central Asian state. A provisional map of the crisis, by Sureyya Yigit in Bishkek.

The ethnicisation of violence in Southern Kyrgyzstan

Madeleine Reeves 21 June 2010
Media talk of ‘ethnic conflict’ in Kyrgyzstan is misleading, in that it takes ethnicity to be causal. This does not describe the complex, messy process – political, economic, social and structural – whereby this crisis has become ethnicised. What matters now is to understand why and how this has occurred with such destructive speed

This week's editor

Heather McRobie


Niki Seth-Smith is a freelance journalist and co-editor of OurKingdom.

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