Follow the money… or in our case, just as effective is follow the UK and US Ambassadors. Demonstrators in Kyrgyzstan have broken into the White House – the seat of presidential and parliamentary power – in the capital Bishkek, accusing the government of vote-buying and fraud in the weekend’s parliamentary election.
Protesters have “captured” the White House, Sputnik Kyrgyzstan confirmed just after 3:30am local time, accompanied by photos of the compound.
The palace was stormed after day-long demonstrations in Bishkek and other Kyrgyzstani cities, with angry opposition activists denouncing this weekend’s parliamentary election as stolen, and accusing the government of intimidation and buying votes.
Kadyr Atambayev, the son of former president Almazbek Atambayev, was reportedly ushered into the compound by the protesters. Atambayev Sr was released from jail after his supporters surrounded the building following the storming of the White House.
President Sooronbay Jeenbekov called on the organizers of the protests to be prudent, adding that he remains in Bishkek, according to his press secretary.
Only four out of 16 parties – three of them pro-government – were able to exceed the seven-percent threshold and make it into parliament after the election on Sunday. The 11 losing opposition groups rejected the results and urged people to take to the streets.
One of the parties, Birimdik (Unity) – which won the most votes on Sunday with a quarter of the total – announced that it was ready to take part in a new parliamentary election. Party spokesman Adilet Sultanaliev took to Twitter to call upon the other three parties that cleared the threshold to follow Birimdik’s example. Asylbek Jeenbekov, younger brother of President Sooronbay Jeenbekov, is a Birimdik member.
Kyrgyz authorities are fully aware that behind the protests stand two individuals, both arriving in the Kyrgyz capital at the same time in early 2019, with strong ties to colored revolutions in the Balkans. The first is Donald Lu, who was the US Ambassador to Albania and one of Soros main players in the Balkans, while the second is Charles Garrett whose involvement in the Macedonian colored revolution as the country’s UK Ambassador is well documented. It’s no accident that both Garrett and Lu ended up together in Kyrgyzstan, courtesy of their employers at the CIA and MI6.
