Politically Charged Summer

The National Ballet Theater in Bishkek is hosting various political rally this summer.

The National Ballet Theater in Bishkek – the capital of Kyrgyzstan – is not hosting any prestigious ballet troupe from Russia this summer; instead, it becomes the venue for local political parties to rally for support.

Since the bloodily put down protest in April that overturned the government, sending former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev fleeing to Belarus, the country has been hanging in balance under an interim government while waiting for a general election in October.

I have arrived in Bishkek two months ahead of the election, when various political parties – mind you, Kyrgyzstan has 148 parties, though only a handful are active – are vying for supporters by throwing free luncheons and cultural shows. The National Ballet Theater is the choice venue for these activities.

Thus, instead of catching an act of Swan Lake or the like at the theater as I initially hoped, I have ended up gate-crashing a political rally and a “vote-fishing” feast.

On my last day in town, I spotted yet another political gathering at the theater. Unlike the previous gatherings I had come across, this one has a party banner in English: “The Green Party”.

So I thought: “perhaps I can meet some English speaking politicians to find out more about the up-coming election.” But the quest for English speaking party members took me a few hours.

First, I approached some girls in Kyrgyz traditional costume who were “guarding” the entrance of the theater, where the “political conference” – as stated in the banner – was held.

I used my very broken Russian to ask “what’s going on here?”, and the girls in their teen replied: “concert.” One of the girls then happily pinned a green ribbon on my T-shirt and signaled me to go into the theater hall.

Indeed, there was a “concert”. Loud oriental music was blasting when I stepped in, and a dozen or so children, who were holding red lanterns and dressed in Chinese traditional costume, were performing a dance piece on stage.

I walked around the hall looking for an empty seat, and noticed that the audience was a very mixed crowd, from old men with traditional Kyrgyz headgear, to young men in suit, children in shorts, and mothers with toddlers in arms.

I sat through some two hours of performances, including Irish River Dance, Hungarian folk dance, Kyrgyz national dance, opera singing, folk songs, and more; and midway through the concert, some political speeches were made.

I changed seats several times to look for party members who could speak English with no luck. Only much later I learned that the crowds were mostly public members whom the party hoped to attract as voters.

It was at the end of the concert that I met 21-year-old Anvar, who is one of the youngest party members to contest for a parliament seat in the coming election. In fact, it was Anvar who spotted me, as I was snapping photos in front of the theater as the crowds dispersed.

Anvar wanted me to be the “official photographer” for the following event – the luncheon to “thank” fellow audience who sat through the cultural shows and political speeches. The luncheon was at a restaurant some 5km away from the theater, and buses were standing by to take the public there.

“They (public members) have come from not only Bishkek but also other provinces, we want to show our appreciation for their support,” said Anvar through an interpreter about the purpose of the luncheon.

In my country, if any political parties tried to throw free meals for voters during the election campaigning period, it would be considered violating the election law as bribing the voters, but there seemed to be no such concern here.

It was at the luncheon that I met other key members of the party and learned more about the party. The Green Party, as the name suggests, is a party that champions environmental issues.

Kyrgyzstan is a country famed for its mountains and grassland, its water resources and its husbandry economy – all these needed environmental conservation for sustainable development.

In addition, the party also aimed to promote young forces in the mainstream politics. “Kyrgyzstan has been ruled by old people for too long, it’s time to let the young people with modern ideology to shape the future of the country,” a member told me over lunch.

The party sets a target of garnering 10% of the 120-seat parliament in the coming election, and it plans to file many young candidates, including several green horns in politics who barely meet the legal age to contest.

In reality, the Green Party has limited influence over the political scene of Krygyzstan. In January this year, it’s leader Erkin Bulekbayev was investigated by the prosecutor office for insulting the then president Bakiyev’s “honor and dignity”.

However, 21-year-old Anvar was full of enthusiasm and positive energy at the luncheon, “The future belongs to the young people,” he exclaimed.