Book 1.indb - The Jamestown Foundation

The Tulip Revolution: Kyrgyzstan One Year After
and many thought he would become the next president. Kulov
has a background in
military and security structures, worrying some Kyrgyz about his potential to be a
hard-fisted, undemocratic leader. Others, however, think that Kulov’s strong person-
ality will not tolerate law breaking and corruption in the government. Kulov
was an
outspoken critic of Akayev’s pro-Russian politics in refusing to join the U.S.-led coalition
in Iraq, arguing that an American military presence in Kyrgyzstan has strategic
importance. His party Ar-Namys (Dignity) has members across the country, but he
is most popular in the north. Kulov
is currently in charge of security forces and was
responsible for stopping the looting in Bishkek. The Kyrgyz Supreme Court will review
Kulov’s case soon and decide whether he must complete his prison term. Kulov
will not likely run in June because his presence might split the new government.
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1 Roza Otunbayeva joined the opposition late last year.
An experienced diplomat,
she was a Soviet representative to the UN, twice Kyrgyz foreign minister and Akayev’s
ambassador to the United States and Britain. She says she joined the opposition because
she could no longer tolerate Akayev’s corruption and growing authoritarianism.
Otunbayeva
helped consolidate the opposition and was instrumental in the people’s
protests in southern Kyrgyzstan, Talas and Bishkek. As acting minister of foreign af-
fairs, Otunbayeva has insisted that Akayev
must be given a free choice of whether he
wants to return to Kyrgyzstan or “stay in Russia if he feels more comfortable there.”
Bakiyev and Otunbayeva have stated that Kyrgyz-Russian relations will continue as
before. “We will cooperate with CIS, the West, and Southeast,” Otunbayeva added. 24
1 Bolot Maripov
is an outspoken journalist from opposition newspaper Moya sto-
litsa novosti who ran against Akayev’s daughter Bermet in the parliamentary elections.
1 Adakhan
Modumarov, another unsuccessful parliamentary candidate,
is a leader from south, who helped mobilize thousands of protesters
in Osh. He became a deputy prime minister in the interim government.
Other opposition members have been offered various positions
in the government but have not yet been confirmed by parliament. There
are fears that Bakiyev, born in Suzak (Jalalabad
Oblast), will give preference
to southern cadres. However, current cabinet appointments suggest
that Bakiyev
is not only keeping a balance between north and south, but
has also reassigned some former public employees in the new government.
The opposition leaders have converted their main weakness, fragmentation,
into an asset by forming a government with many political
activists to reach a reasonable balance among different executive agencies.
The speed and relative smoothness of the interim government’s appointments
suggests a consensus has been reached among the key figures.
“The Tulip Revolution is more important to the modern development of
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