Protests sweep aside brittle CIS power structures
Turkish Daily News
Today is Sunday, March 27 2005 2:16 pm GMT+2 updated at 12:00 P.M.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
The Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan has become the third ex-Soviet
republic in two years — after Ukraine and Georgia — to see the established
order tumble in the face of opposition protests.
MOSCOW – Reuters
Popular revolts are changing the political landscape of the post-Soviet
world.
The Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan on Thursday became the third
ex-Soviet republic in two years — after Ukraine and Georgia — to see the
established order tumble in the face of opposition protests.
The three have one common thread: the protests were triggered by elections
that the opposition said were rigged to ensure the continuity of the old
establishment.
These are brief profiles of the power structures in the other nine members
of the Russia-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which groups
most of the republics that once comprised the Soviet Union.
Almost all today’s leaders in these countries came to power in elections
criticized by international observers as flawed and in some cases
fraudulent.
Many leaders, particularly in Central Asia, have been in power for more
than a decade.
Russia:
President Vladimir Putin won a second term in March 2004 elections after a
campaign marked by tight Kremlin control of television channels. Putin is
popular and any discontent tends to be funnelled against the government
rather than him personally. Despite a separatist war in Chechnya, Russia is
by far the most stable member of the CIS, with the highest living standards
in the bloc. A largely compliant population makes mass street protests
against Putin’s rule unlikely.
Belarus: Many analysts see Belarus, which borders three new EU members, as
the next possible candidate for mass protests. President Alexander
Lukashenko, in power since 1994, is shunned by Western leaders. His
re-election in 2001 was denounced in the West as fraudulent and referendums
staged to extend his stay in power were also criticized. But he keeps tight
control at home and street protests are snuffed out quickly. The small,
disorganized opposition says he has put pressure on the courts and keeps a
stranglehold on the media.
Moldova: President Vladimir Voronin is the sole communist leader still in
power in the CIS but he is popular and should be re-elected for a second
term by parliament next month. Threats by the opposition to stage protests
over parliamentary elections won by the communists were blunted by
international observers saying the poll met most international standards.
Voronin has now allied himself with the revolutionary leaders of Ukraine and
Georgia and embraced pro-Europe policies.
Armenia: President Robert Kocharyan won a second five-year term with a 67.5
percent of the vote in a March 2003 election run-off against opposition
leader Stepan Demirchyan, son of a Soviet-era Armenian leader. Opposition
protesters at the time demanded a recount, alleging fraud. European monitors
and the United States said they were disappointed with the way the poll was
conducted, but stopped short of saying it was illegitimate.
Azerbaijan: President Ilham Aliyev was elected in October 2003, succeeding
his father Haydar in the first dynastic handover of power in the ex-Soviet
world. His election triggered bloody opposition-led riots and clashes
between protesters and police. Aliyev has since clamped down on dissent.
Azerbaijan is emerging as a hub of Caspian Sea oil production and both the
West and Russia wish to see stability there.Kazakhstan:
Former steel worker Nursultan Nazarbayev has run Kazakhstan since Soviet
times, keeping his grip on power through stage-managed elections, sidelining
some opponents and skilfully co-opting others. A former prime minister is in
exile, jailed in absentia after attempting to challenge Nazarbayev in a 1999
presidential poll. There have been many cases of intimidation of independent
media. The giant country has prospered by comparison with Kyrgyzstan thanks
to an oil boom — one reason why Nazarbayev feels secure from popular
protest. Nazarbayev said the Kyrgyz authorities had shown weakness by
“allowing rebels to do as they pleased”.
Uzbekistan:Uzbekistan’s Islam Karimov tolerates no public dissent in the big
Central Asian state he has ruled with an iron fist since Soviet times. He
has openly derided the revolutions that swept Ukraine and Georgia and has
said his country will follow its own path to democracy. Thousands of
dissidents are in jail and human rights groups say abuses are rife. But
Karimov has deflected potential criticism from the West by carving out a
role as ally in Washington’s war on terror and hosting a key U.S.
airbase.Tajikistan: Imomali Rakhmonov has led Tajikistan since 1992,
fighting a civil war with the Islamist opposition which ended with a
power-sharing deal in 1997. His Popular Democratic Party swept parliamentary
polls last month which were criticized by the OSCE as unfair. He himself
says he might run for another term in 2006. Tajikistan, where people survive
on less than one dollar a day, has so far avoided unrest, although a mystery
car bomb exploded outside the headquarters of the security service weeks
before the poll.Turkmenistan: Saparmurat Niyazov, known as Turkmenbashi
(Chief of the Turkmen), is the quirkiest of the region’s leaders. Now
officially president for life, 65-year-old Niyazov has already ruled the
gas-rich desert state for 20 years. He has fostered a huge personality cult
and is revered at home. He has barred the opposition from parliamentary
elections. There is no one on the horizon to replace him and leading human
rights groups have warned that his death could bring a violent succession
struggle. Niyazov survived an assassination attempt in 2002.