Youth Movements Sway With the Wind

The frequent swings in allegiance displayed by youth movements in Kyrgyzstan is a sign of the pressure they are under from the bigger political groupings, NBCentralAsia observers say.



Jarkynbek Kasymbekov, a member of the youth movement Jebe, announced on March 20 that the organisation is splitting in two after some its members decided to leave and join the United Front for a Worthy Future for Kyrgyzstan, a recently-formed opposition grouping.



Adil Turdukulov, also of Jebe, told NBCentralAsia that following a polarisation of views, “a majority of members have formed a new coalition”. The new group is called the Coalition of Young Political Forces, and includes youth organisations like Kel-Kel, the Young Politicians’ Forum, Green Kyrgyzstan, the youth wing of the Asaba party and representatives of the Liberal Progressive Party.



The coalition says it wants to facilitate talks between the opposition and the authorities so as to avert a head-on collision between them.



“Our main aim is to show that we take a neutral position with regard to the major rallies that are planned,” said Turdukulov, referring to opposition protests scheduled early next month. “We don’t want young people to be exploited as a tool to destabilise… our country.”



The United Front for a Worthy Future for Kyrgyzstan led by former prime minister Felix Kulov has planned mass rallies for April 9-11 to demand constitutional reform and call for President Kurmanbek Bakiev’s resignation.



Tamerlan Ibraimov, director of the Centre for Political and Legal Studies, says there are so many youth political organisations in Kyrgyzstan that it is only natural that people should change their allegiances from one to another.



But he added that when youth movements frequently change their position, it is a sign they lack a clear political and ideological vision, and that they are under the sway of more serious politicians and groups.



“They say one thing today and something completely different the next day. They are probably being pressurised,” said Ibraimov.



NGO activist Edil Baisalov is concerned about political sloganeering that claims to be in the name of all young people. “These youth leaders might [do better to] refrain from making statements on behalf of all young people, because they have never had as much support as either the media or they themselves claim,” he said.



However, political scientist Marat Kazakpaev believes the new youth coalition does represent a genuine reaction to the current escalation in political tensions. “Some youth leaders have real fears about what might happen, and they don’t want Kyrgyzstan to become unstable.”



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