Why the lack of interest in Kyrgyzstan?
After yesterday's update on Ukraine, where protests at alleged vote-rigging back in November (eventually) managed to attract the entire world's attention, it struck me as particularly odd that I've heard nothing about the very similar-sounding protests going on over alleged vote-rigging in Kyrgyzstan. This could easily have been news coming out of Kiev a few months ago (via Reuters):
"I have seen tens of elections, but have never seen such "dirty" polls," Halimbay Mamajanov, 80, another voter, told IRIN. "There was an open and deliberate bribing of voters through endless free meals, alcohol to young people and distribution of 'presents'. Also it was obvious that the authorities used their administrative resources and power, while the contesting parties deployed their subordinates and some organisations that were 'supporting' them."Whereas Ukraine's was the Orange Revolution, could Kyrgyzstan be the Lemon Revolution? There's a bit more background via EurasiaNet.
As of yet, just about the only blog I've found that's been covering events in any detail is Gateway Pundit, with posts from Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, but I don't really have time to trawl the net just at the moment.
English-language Kyrgyzstani news sources also seem not to be covering events - perhaps unsurprisingly when it is run by an ex-government man. The US has condemned the clampdown on media freedoms.
Anyone else seen this covered in more depth anywhere? By the sounds of things, the elections aren't meant to be over until the 13th - this will be going on for some time...
Update: Wikipedia's page on Kyrgyzstan may be of interest - if only to find out where the place is...
5 Comments:
Why the lack of interest? Perhaps people can't spell it?
Propbably. And there's the utter confusion with Kazhakstan - which I think I may have indulged in with that news source, no I come to think of it.
Oh, and the fact that no one knows where or what it actually is... That probably doesn't help much either...
I think it does come down to the 'far away land of which we know nothing' problem, as well as the whole 'but are they real countries' issue that afflicts our perception of all the Central Asian former Soviet nations. Ukraine could be framed as a 'Europe or Russia' issue, and this is not as easily reducible for the media, I guess.
This guy seems to be following it from NZ, too.
Comment above deleted, in line with my stated comments policy, for being both stupid and off-topic.
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