There was another opposition protest in Baku on Saturday calling for anullment of elections. Some say up to 30,000 were on the streets, but RFE/RL is saying more than 10,000.
Meanwhile, Marianna says that more recounts are possible, and that this may be the most the Azeri opposition can hope for. Why is that so? Differences between the Azeri and other opposition leaders in the former Soviet Union might be part of it. She quotes Rasim Musabekov, a politcal science who compares the leaders,
“The difference is that (in others) it was a struggle between the reformist, modernizing wing of the ruling elite and the conservative wing. Here it is between the authorities and political forces that have been forced to the periphery and have very few resources.”
And in a story on the election and aftermath in today’s Washington Post, Peter Finn makes a similar point.
The massive Ukrainian demonstrations, by contrast, were organized with almost military-like discipline, and were backed by the ample funding of Ukrainian tycoons who wanted President Leonid Kuchma out. Azerbaijan’s opposition lacked the support, the structure and the financing to take on the government.
For loads more links on the latest protest, see Gateway Pundit.
This post was written by...
Nathan Hamm – author of 2974 posts on Registan.net.
Nathan is the Founding Editor and Publisher of Registan.net, which he launched in 2003. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan 2000-2001 and received his MA in Central Asian Studies from the University of Washington in 2007. Since 2007, he has worked full-time as an analyst, consulting with private and government clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural and political factors shape risks and opportunities and how organizations can adjust their strategic and operational plans to account for these variables. Nathan is currently seeking research, analysis, and consulting opportunities. He can be contacted via Twitter or email.
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{ 3 comments }
> Another Weekend, Another Protest
A more cynical man than I might quote Nas: “Another day another dollar. More money, more murder.”
Not the high-level geopolitical analysis typical of my comments, but that’s what you get at 5am, I guess.
Another day another dollar. I agree,
Soros should put more money down to get more “Freedom” of his Capital. He knows how and when manipulate poor people’s hopes.
Nas on a Central Asian blog? Well done Lyndon!