External Mediators Should Hold Off
External Mediators Should Hold Off
Civil activists have suggested bringing in external mediators to end the stand-off between the authorities and the opposition, but NBCentralAsia analysts say both sides are still capable of holding talks and outsiders should keep their distance.
On March 29, the head of the Association of Non-Government and Non-Commercial Organisations, Toktayim Umetalieva, called for outside mediation.
“Kyrgyzstan has reached a point where international players like the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, or the European Union should intervene to preserve the peace,” she told the 24.kg news agency.
The opposition United Front for a Worthy Future for Kyrgyzstan headed by Felix Kulov is planning mass rallies for April 9-11 to demand the president’s resignation and early presidential elections.
Last week, President Kurmanbek Bakiev made a number of concessions to his opponents in a bid to calm the furore. The most significant of these was his appointment of moderate opposition leader Almazbek Atambaev as prime minister, with the aim of forming a coalition government that would include critics of Bakiev.
But on March 30, the Movement for Reforms, of which Atambaev was co-chairman until last week, refused to be part of a coalition cabinet, and announced it would join the United Front in the April protests.
Although negotiations between the opposition and the authorities are virtually at a standstill, NBCentralAsia analysts say the political stand-off can still be resolved without external help.
Political scientist Marat Kazakbaev believes involving external mediators would sets a bad precedent for the future. “Third-party mediation would have a negative impact both on the country’s future and its international image.”
Another analyst, Mars Sariev, adds that foreign mediators would have their own agenda. “Arbitrators mediating in talks between the Kyrgyz authorities and the opposition would try to advance their own interests. Their mediation services won’t come free of charge,” he said.
In Sariev’s view, both sides still have a chance to resolve the situation peacefully despite the escalating tensions.
“It is for President Kumanbek Bakiev and opposition leader Felix Kulov to play a historic role in solving this situation,” he said. “They should must come to an agreement.”
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
On March 29, the head of the Association of Non-Government and Non-Commercial Organisations, Toktayim Umetalieva, called for outside mediation.
“Kyrgyzstan has reached a point where international players like the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, or the European Union should intervene to preserve the peace,” she told the 24.kg news agency.
The opposition United Front for a Worthy Future for Kyrgyzstan headed by Felix Kulov is planning mass rallies for April 9-11 to demand the president’s resignation and early presidential elections.
Last week, President Kurmanbek Bakiev made a number of concessions to his opponents in a bid to calm the furore. The most significant of these was his appointment of moderate opposition leader Almazbek Atambaev as prime minister, with the aim of forming a coalition government that would include critics of Bakiev.
But on March 30, the Movement for Reforms, of which Atambaev was co-chairman until last week, refused to be part of a coalition cabinet, and announced it would join the United Front in the April protests.
Although negotiations between the opposition and the authorities are virtually at a standstill, NBCentralAsia analysts say the political stand-off can still be resolved without external help.
Political scientist Marat Kazakbaev believes involving external mediators would sets a bad precedent for the future. “Third-party mediation would have a negative impact both on the country’s future and its international image.”
Another analyst, Mars Sariev, adds that foreign mediators would have their own agenda. “Arbitrators mediating in talks between the Kyrgyz authorities and the opposition would try to advance their own interests. Their mediation services won’t come free of charge,” he said.
In Sariev’s view, both sides still have a chance to resolve the situation peacefully despite the escalating tensions.
“It is for President Kumanbek Bakiev and opposition leader Felix Kulov to play a historic role in solving this situation,” he said. “They should must come to an agreement.”
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
