Mediators Fail to Resolve Political Impasse

Civil-society activists have failed to mediate between the authorities and the opposition ahead of mass rallies against the government scheduled for early April, NBCentralAsia experts say.



At a forum on March 26, representatives of the opposition and the NGO sector issued a statement in support of the demonstrations planned by the United Front for a Worthy Kyrgyzstan



Before the forum was held, local media were expecting a very different outcome, publishing announcements that civil-society groups would initiate a dialogue between the opposition and the authorities.



According to Chinara Seidakhmatova, leader of the Association of Businessmen, who took part in the forum, this did not happen.



“I came to the opposition forum hoping to hear how they were going to build a dialogue and to find out whether peaceful agreements would follow, but unfortunately I didn’t hear that today,” she said.



The final statement adopted by forum participants emphasises the “hopelessness" of negotiating with the authorities, and the need to keep within the law by staging peaceful, civilised protests.



The Movement for Reforms has now aligned itself with the United Front, led by former prime minister Felix Kulov, and is supporting its demands for the resignation of President Kurmanbek Bakiev and for parliamentary reform.



Seidakhmatova believes both sides are losing their chance to find a peaceful solution to the political conflict.



“They are deceiving either themselves or the public when they say there will be no clashes or bloodshed,” she said. “That’s not realistic in the current situation… negotiations should take place in advance. They should not be calling on people to protest in city squares, but making time for talks, concessions and compromise.”



Atay Namatbaev, an expert at the Political, Religious and Security Studies Centre says NGO representatives could still take on an important role in solving the conflict.



“If the situation escalates, they could offer themselves as mediators and serve as a bridge between the opposing forces,” Namatbaev said.



Political scientist Marat Kazakbaev similarly believes that civil-society leaders can “make politicians see sense” to prevent confrontation and the social division, but they need to remain neutral.



“It is a bad thing that some NGOs actively support the opposition or the authorities. This is very sad, and it irritates people. They should influence the situation, but not take sides,” he said.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)