From: Prof.Dr. O.Tekin Aybaş <tekinaybas@ttmai
ent: Thu, July 8, 2010 11:33:49 PM
Subject: [tac] Kırgızistan
Sevgili Arkadaþlar,
Aþaðýda gönderdiðim makalenin yazarý Sn.Süreyya Yigit, özellikle
Kýrgýzistan'ýn sosyal ve politik yapýsýný iyi bilen bir arkadaþým.
Kýrgýzistan'da ki son geliþmeler ve özellikle de anayasal refarandum
konusunda yazdýðý makaleyi sizinle paylaþmak istedim. Kendisinin
Kýrgýzistan'la ilgili kuþkularýna her zaman saygý duymuþumdur.
Sevgi ve saygýyla kalmanýz dileðiyle,
O.Tekin Aybaþ TAC'59
Kyrgyzstan's flawed referendum
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<http://www.opendemocracy.net/authors/sureyya-yigit> Sureyya Yigit, 2 July
2010
Subjects:
* Conflict
<http://www.opendemocracy.net/topics/conflict>
* Democracy and government
<http://www.opendemocracy.net/topics/democracy-and-government>
* International politics
<http://www.opendemocracy.net/topics/international-politics>
* Kyrgyzstan
<http://www.opendemocracy.net/countries/kyrgyzstan>
* russia
<http://www.opendemocracy.net/editorial_tags/russia>
* russia
<http://www.opendemocracy.net/editorial_tags/russia_eurasia> & eurasia
* democracy
<http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy_and_power/index.jsp> & power
* politics of protest
<http://www.opendemocracy.net/conflict-protest/debate.jsp>
* Foreign
<http://www.opendemocracy.net/russia/topics/foreign>
The political atmosphere that surrounded the constitutional referendum in
Kyrgyzstan shows that the country's crisis is not over, says Sureyya Yigit
in Bishkek
About the author
Sureyya Yigit is a scholar at the International Ataturk Alatoo University in
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
The result of the Kyrgyz constitutional referendum on 27 June 2010 was never
in doubt. After all, the outcome of every election in independent Kyrgyzstan
has been known before the votes were counted. So it was no surprise that on
the very evening of the vote, the authorities declared
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia_pacific/10426533.stm> an
overwhelming endorsement both of the proposed constitution (with its move
from a presidential-style to a parliamentary republic) and of the interim
leadership which had come to power in the uprising
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8608870.stm> of 6-7 April
2010. The nation that lifted the new leaders to power now, it was said, had
chosen to legitimise them.
The faults or merits of the new constitution aside, what can be said is that
the nightmarish violence that had scarred the southern cities of Osh and
Jalalabad the previous week did not prevent the referendum process from
being conducted
<http://www.economist.com/node/16485358?story_id=16485358&fsrc=rss>
peacefully (but fairly? see below). As the sleepy schools in the leafy
streets of Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek welcomed leisurely voters under a
hot sun, the tragedy
<http://www.opendemocracy.net/sureyya-yigit/kyrgyzstan%E2%80%99s-angel-of-de
ath> of murder and ethnic
<http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89526> cleansing seemed far
distant. But beyond such surface realities, the referendum was surrounded by
at least five serious defects.
The process
First, a constitutional moment requires the government of the day to respect
neutrality, and to seek inclusiveness and fairness in the process
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia_pacific/10405546.stm> . This requires
fair and independent coverage by the media (especially the public media),
advertising and campaign funding, and the right to demonstrate and protest.
In practice, very little <http://eng.24.kg/politic/2010/07/01/12441.html>
of this applied in the Kyrgyz referendum: the balance of advantage -
political, financial, media - was all on the side of supporters of the new
constitution. There was, for example, no balanced campaign material made
available to electors on both sides of the argument. This was especially the
case in the south of the country
<http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/kyrgyzst.htm> . A one-sided campaign all
but guaranteed the outcome.
Second, there were doubts over the voting and counting procedure. Polling
stations did not include representatives of both supporters and opponents of
the new constitution, and international observers had a very limited
presence <http://en.rian.ru/world/20100628/159603725.html> ; the OSCE
withdrew 300 short-term observers before the vote. Kyrgyz state television
broadcast scenes of mobile ballot-boxes being taken to private homes on
referendum night. This irregular action should have been allowed only under
very strict conditions that avoided all risk of fraud. The counting was not
transparent. It was all too reminiscent of the Stalin-era dictum that it is
not important who voted and how they voted, but rather who counted and how
they counted.
Third, there were also flaws in the civic atmosphere and administration of
the campaign. The vital freedoms of expression, media, assembly, association
and movement were in various ways restricted; and there was no truly
impartial body in charge of organising the referendum, from the national
level down to the polling-station level.
Fourth, the <http://www.ipu.org/parline/reports/2174_A.htm> Jogorku Kenesh
(parliament) was unable to give a non-binding opinion on the referendum
text, for it had been shut down after the unrest in April. The interim
government's decision to hold the constitutional referendum made
parliament's opinion all the more relevant, yet it was unheard.
Fifth, the referendum should not have called on electors
<http://www.eurasianet.org/node/61416> to answer several questions
simultaneously. Many, after all, could have been in favour of one
proposition and against another; for example, for a new constitution but
preferring Temir Sariev <http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89612>
or Azimbek Beknazarov instead of Roza Otunbayeva
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/kyrgyzstan/7566753/Roza-Otun
bayeva-profile-of-Kyrgyzstans-interim-leader.html> as president.
The judgment
A few hours after the polling-booths closed, the head of the interim
government Roza Otunbayeva signed a decree extending
<http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/06/20/10201546.html> the state of emergency in
the country's south until 10 August. The conditions include a 10pm-5am
curfew in the whole of the Jalalabad oblast, in the city of Osh, and in the
Uzgen, Karasuu, and Aravan regions of Osh oblast. Otunbayeva also expressed
gratitude to all international observers from the Commonwealth of
Independent states (CIS)
<http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/commonwealth/commonwealth_pol_97.jpg> and
the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO
<http://www.china.org.cn/world/hu_sco_2010/2010-06/12/content_20243551.htm>
), those regional bastions
<http://www.opendemocracy.net/globalization-institutions_government/shanghai
_cooperation_3653.jsp> - but hardly of freedom and democracy.
All these circumstances reveal the absence of participatory democracy, the
rule of law and the national interest surrounding the referendum. They point
to two conclusions. First, the referendum should not have been held at this
time. Second, the country's crisis
<http://www.opendemocracy.net/vicken-cheterian/kyrgyzstan-arc-of-crisis> is
not over. Kyrgyz summers are usually very hot; this year will by far be the
hottest yet.
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Comments
Adyl
4 July 2010 - 12:22pm
This article is the most biased one that I have read on the Referendum in
Kyrgyzstan so far. The author demonstrated lack of understanding of the
current situation in Kyrgyzstan. Read the OSCE report that indicates
positive developments during the Referendum. I live in Osh and I saw how
people independently come to the poll stations around the city which wasn't
the case before. The referendum of 27 June was one of the most fair and open
referendums we have ever had and it is a chance for the citizens of
Kyrgyzstan to build strong and democratic country.
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