KYRGYZ OPPOSITION: IS THERE LIFE AFTER THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BISHKEK 001117 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN (GORKOWSKI) E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL KG SUBJECT: KYRGYZ OPPOSITION: IS THERE LIFE AFTER THE ELECTION? REF: A. BISHKEK 809 ¶B. BISHKEK 221 BISHKEK 00001117 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: Charge D'Affaires Larry L. Memmott for Reasons 1.4 (b) a nd (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: After July,s flawed presidential election, the political opposition in Kyrgyzstan appears unable to promote a unified and coherent response to the government of President Bakiyev. The main political opposition leaders are discouraged at prospects for democracy in the country, and many other leaders have been silenced by the government or have left the country. Many opposition leaders have linked the reelection of the Bakiyev government to the threat of rising Islamic extremism. The general public, while possibly unhappy at reports of election abuses, does not appear particularly dissatisfied with the Bakiyev Government. END SUMMARY. Opposition Is Weak, But Worth Engaging -------------- ¶2. (C) In part as a result of July's flawed Presidential Elections, the Kyrgyz political opposition is at a low point. Even if the opposition had shown strategic brilliance during the Presidential campaign, they probably could not have overcome the government's financial and human resource advantages. Given that the opposition did not run a united or well-organized campaign and showed no particular skill in mobilizing the population, Bakiyev would probably have won even in a fair contest. That may be one reason why the unfairness of the contest has generated only limited public outrage, and has not benefited the opposition. Two months after the election, the most dramatic news coming from the leading opposition front, the United Peoples Movement, is that they are considering changing their name to the retro-sounding "Confederation of Leftist Forces." ¶3. (C) In 2007, the opposition seemed on the edge of victory. After days of street protests, they forced President Bakiyev to agree to Constitutional limits on Presidential power. But Bakiyev later outmaneuvered them, first pushing through a national referendum on Constitutional changes that actually strengthened the Presidency, and then rigging an election that gave him effective control of Parliament. Since then, the opposition has simply not been able energize people enough to get them out on the street. Seeing this vulnerability, Bakiyev has steadily picked off opposition leaders. Those who were amenable to compromise have been pulled into the government, and those who are too headstrong to co-opt have been harassed until most have left the country or retired from politics. ¶4. (C) Those opposition leaders left standing are fairly diverse: There are socialists and free-marketeers, apparatchiks and academics, upstanding humanitarians and opportunists. Almost all of them, however, have one thing in common: They are not very good politicians. Most of them act as if the rules of the game are: If you say enough scathing things about the corruption of the Bakiyev regime, you win. So far, the corruption message just does not seem to catch fire with the populace. Until someone who is a better politician than Bakiyev comes along and shows the opposition more effective ways to seek power, the opposition will likely remain ineffective. What Will Happen to the United Peoples Movement? -------------- -- ¶5. (U) Several sources have confirmed that talks regarding the merger of principal opposition parties Social Democrat Party of Kyrgyzstan and Ata Meken are going well. The primary difficulty seems to be ensuring that Socialist BISHKEK 00001117 002.2 OF 003 Democrat MPs legally represent their party, because their mandate is based on a party list, so if they leave the party, or if the party dissolves, they would lose their parliamentary seats. To emphasize the common leftist ideologies of the Social Democrats and Ata Meken (a socialist party),as well as to emphasize that the components maintain an independent legal identity, the political council of the United Peoples Movement has reportedly agreed to rename the organization the "Confederation of Leftist Forces." Where in the World is Bakyt Beshimov? -------------- ¶6. (C) On September 28, the website 24.kg reported that Social Democrat Parliamentary leader Bakyt Beshimov sent a message to his political associates that he left the country because of attempts on his life. If Beshimov has indeed departed the political scene, he leaves behind him decidedly mixed feelings. In a September 23 meeting, Asiya Sasykbayeva, the Director of the Interbilim Center, said that Beshimov, as Atambayev's campaign manager, had ordered opposition members to march on Balakchy on election day (ref A),and had been totally unprepared for the consequences of making a direct challenge to the authorities. Sasykbayeva said that his subsequent performance, both on that day and in the period following the election, was so weak that she concluded he was an agent provocateur, secretly aligned with Bakiyev. (Note: Sasykbayeva's is a minority opinion. In the conspiracy-loving world of Kyrgyz politics, Beshimov is far more often accused of being a secret agent of the U.S. End Note.) ¶7. (C) In contrast, Social Democrat Parliamentary Secretary Asylbek Bolotbayev, in a meeting with the Embassy on September 24, was visibly distraught at the prospect that Beshimov might have thrown in the towel. He said that Beshimov would only seek asylum in the U.S. if he thought his family was in danger, because "Beshimov has the soul of a warrior." Bolotbayev said that on one campaign trip, Beshimov was driving south through the mountains, and he was repeatedly stopped by the police and warned not to speed. Eventually, one of the officers told him sotto voce that a fatal accident was arranged for him up ahead, enabling Beshimov to turn around and take a different route. (Note: If this story is true, it would refer to a different attempt at assassination-by-car-wreck than the one reported in ref B). In spite of threats like this, Bolotbayev said admiringly, Beshimov has always refused to use bodyguards, unlike party leaders Omurbek Tekebayev and Almazbek Atambayev. What Did the United People's Movement Do Wrong? -------------- - ¶8. (C) In a September 23 meeting, Cholpon Jakupova, Director of Adilet Legal Clinic, was dismissive of the United Peoples Movement's organization of its Presidential campaign, and also of its future prospects. She said that the current opposition leaders generally think in terms of dramatic gestures and press conferences, and have little inclination for nuts and bolts organizing or strategic thinking. She said that she has structured her legal clinic so that if it is shut down, her staff can "retreat" to different legal organizations without disrupting their work. However, the leaders of the United Peoples Movement think only of delivering sharp criticisms in the hope of generating support, without considering how their opponent may react. ¶9. (C) As an example, Jakupova described a meeting of the political council of the Movement a few days after the election. The members were considering a march to Balakchy, the site of an election day protest, and she asked them what they would do if the government blocked the road. The BISHKEK 00001117 003.2 OF 003 members responded that they would decide what to do when the time came, and even former General Ismail Isakov, who commanded troops during the 1999-2000 extremist incursions into Batken Province, seemed to think political contingency planning was silly. In the end, the government did block the road, and the Movement canceled the march at the last minute. Atambayev gave a speech at Movement headquarters, but the energy had drained away, and only about 200 oppositionists attended. MEMMOTT