Talkin' 'bout Irrevolution...

Today I went with a few other young Azattyk reporters to cover a "flash protest" by a youth movement in the central Ala-Too square. My Kyrgyz/Russian being non-existant, and my friendly co-reporters having only basic English, it was difficult for me to comprehend what I was walking into. I wasn't about to miss "Youth Protest," but their nonchalance on the way there tipped me that this might not be the Bastille.

Ala-Too square is the center of downtown bishkek. It's located immediately next to the Kyrgyz White House (which is the President's office and the Parliament building) and across from the National History Museum. As recently as 6 months ago, the square was extremely well defined by its geometry. It was a giant concrete square, surrounded by buildings on 3 sides and the main road on the third. And that was it.

June 1, the "New Ala-Too" was opened, featuring enormous LCD-colored fountain jets, splashing pools, benches, and a maze of gardens snaking across the square in geometic flourishes. It's very vibrant, and has become a favorite social destination every night at dark, when the government sponsors a small fireworks show there.

My more paranoid American friends have noted how the new gards cut the once-open square into many smaller areas with limited transit between them. Said one, "It sure is a lot harder to assemble a large group of people with fountains and flowers in the way." Ala-Too was, notably, the site of all the relatively few large-scale protests that have occurred in Bishkek since 1991, including most importantly those surrounding the "Tulip Revolution" of 2005 which brought the current president Bakiev to power.

I tried to ascertain what, exactly, this protest was protesting, and the best answer I got was that it was pre-emptively protesting the upcoming election, which it is widely assumed will not be open, fair, or accurate, despite the presence of some 12 international observers from the OSCE, SCO, and other IGOs.

When we got to the square, it took some looking around. We finally found the group, unsure if it was a protest or a school field trip. Ok, they weren't That young... at least, not most of them.

They all wore white shirts with different politcal affiliations or slogans, including one person who was there representing the current majority Ak Jol party. I got the impression white was not so much the color of protest as the color of cheap screen printed t-shirts.

It was an opposition protest, so most present were supporting the main opposition candidate, Atambaev. The t-shirts with his stylized face in blue (at right). I thought were a good counterpart to the Moussavi and Obama trend.

All told, I would estimate the crowd at about 50 people, though I'm notoriously bad about such estimates. There were at least 20 journalists present, jockeying for photos or sound bytes, and they swelled the crowd noticeably.

Almost immediately the protest attracted police attention. There are always police in Ala-Too, making either a very safe place, or a potential tourist trap. Instead of confront the group directly, police just started gravitating toward the group from all across the square. Once about 6 officers and patrol men were around, one officer approached the group and asked if they had a permit.

The group did not - in fact, the need for a permit to hold a demonstration was only recently passed, another good election run-up legislation.

The officer lightly suggested that without a permit, they could not protest, but the crowd basically said they were going to anyway, so the officer drifted back to stand with his cohorts.

This exact scene repeated 3-4 more times as progressive more veteran/bolder officers joined the group. One finally stepped into the center of the protesters and explained that Ala-Too was a place for resting, not a place for action (as it was translated to me).

The lingering question: Where Was the place for action?

There was a sum total of 2 chants, and no marching. Mostly, it was milling about smartly in opposition regalia with placards and holding a protest - however loosely we define the term - in contravention of the law. Toward this end, it was successful.

A few of the protestors engaged the police in debates, one even had a copy of the Kyrgyz constitution (which specifically guarantees the right to assembly), though obviously the new permit law was made explicitly to override such a legalistic argument.

One student brought a komuz (essentially a 3-stringed Kyrgyz lute), which surprisingly added a very Hippie Granola air to the proceedings.

When it was all over (that is, after the police asked for the 5th or 6th time for people to disperse, and the crowd finally decided to mosey off), they stopped for a group photo by one of the new fountains.

It was an interesting experience more for what it wasn't than for what it was. The young people involved were enthusiastic, and one could tell they were ideologically quite fierce in their opposition to the political status quo. But they weren't spoiling for a fight, nor were they beyond having a few good laughs at some jokes from the various police officers who approached them, and were never especially stern.

Without being too harsh, it may be fair to say that this was a "democracy vacation" for most of them. Don't read too much into such term - all I mean is that they took 30 minutes (total) out of their regular lives of political frustration (but not Too much of it) and went to Ala-Too, put on a white t-shirt, told the police they had a right to be there, and then quietly disbanded, returning to whatever they were doing an hour ago. They took touristic photos of their "trip" and left with souvenirs (t-shirts, stickers).

I'm not sure if this was a demonstration of defiance by the "people," or just a clear indication of how little public discourse is still considered adventurous by the participants (it certainly isn't considered much of a threat by the "establishment.")

It was also interesting to watch the police response. They were immediately at the scene, either in small clumps or spreading out around the periphery. It seemed they were very interested in being present, to show that this was something worthy of their attention, but they really didn't do much to stop it. They asked people to go away, then did nothing. They suggested other places would be better to protest, but again did nothing. They spoke of the protest permit law, but didn't enforce it. Even going so far as to call this "light pressure" might be too far.

likewise, the media response was interesting. Cameras and video cameras were all over the place, with at least 4 different people interviewing individuals and police officers. The photography was informative - they were all up in the crowd, getting close-in face shots. This wasn't an attempt to "identify" the protesters, it was a recognition that from afar, the protest didn't look like anything more than a relative's graduation party. Only up close did it look... interesting. News-worthy.

There will be more such events as the Kyrgyz election grinds closer (vote day is July 23), but I don't expect them to get much, if any, more contentious. The main opposition candidate still hasn't made an appearance in Bishkek, and the t-shirts at Ala Too today were the first sign of his campaign I've seen since the season started June 18. In Bishkek, which has a significant number of opposition people, the public images availble are all-Bakiev, all-the-time.

More as it happens.

Weber (on the lamb)