Protests in Kyrgyzstan began on Tuesday by those who are unhappy with the government of President Bakiyev. The protesters were unhappy over the increases in electric and fuel rates, which were drastically increased at the beginning of the year as Bakiyev's government sold the country's public utilities to companies controlled by the president's friends. Furthermore, opposition leaders have accused Bakiyev of consolidating power by keeping key economic and security posts in the hands of relatives and friends. In response to the protests, the government arrested opposition leaders. This angered the demonstrators and the protest spread to the capital, Bishkek, on Wednesday. The crowd had grown to 5,000 by noon and the crowd gathered around government buildings. Then the riot police came out and the protesters and the police clashed. The police initially were using water cannons and tear gas, then they began to open fire on the protesters. Witness accounts said machine-gun fire could be heard in the streets into the evening. The violent clashes have left at least 68 dead and more than 400 are wounded.
By early Thursday morning, protesters had seized state television and many government buildings were occupied. Furthermore, widespread looting occurred in the capital. Storefronts in a shopping mall were smashed and shelves were stripped bare of anything that could be carried away. President Bakiyev's house was also ransacked (he was not there at the time). President Bakiyev has fled the country and a former foreign minister (who is an opposition leader), Roza Otunbayeva, has claimed to be in control of an interim government. She said, "You can call this revolution. You can call this a people's revolt. Either way, it is our way of saying that we want justice and democracy...We must restore a lot of things that have been wrongly ruled." This interim government said they have dissolved Parliament and will hold power for six months. However, Bakiyev issued a statement from an unknown location saying that he would not resign. Ms. Otunbayeva insisted that with several provinces under the opposition's control, Mr. Bakiyev's rule is over. Bakiyev also blamed the opposition for the violence on Wednesday, and he said the leaders of the opposition will be punished "to the fullest extent of the law." Several countries and the U.N. have called on both sides in Kyrgyzstan to engage in dialogue and resolve this peacefully and legally.
The unrest has had regional consequences. For instance, Uzbekistan has closed its border with Kyrgyzstan. Furthermore, the U.S. has an airbase in Kyrgyzstan that supports the NATO campaign in Afghanistan, and there is concern about the access to and safety of the base. The base is used to supply troops in Afghanistan. The alleged interim leader, Otunbayeva, said the supply line would not be immediately affected. Though she warned, "We still have some questions on it. Give us time and we will listen to all the sides and solve everything." For now, the U.S. has suspended all flights into the base.
To give some background, Kyrgyzstan -- which is located in the mountains of Central Asia -- has a population of five million and is one of the poorest countries of the former Soviet Union. The country has faced a long history of political conflict and corruption. President Bakiyev came to power in 2005 after a similar upheaval resulted in the then-president being ousted. Bakiyev won a new term this past July, but international monitors, including the U.S., said the vote "was marred by significant obstacles for opposition parties, intimidation, voting irregularities, and the use of government resources to benefit specific political interests." There have also been reports that the government is Kyrgyzstan restricts freedom of expression and the media. They had recently closed down an opposition newspaper and other media outlets that were critical of the government. In recent years, numerous opposition politicians and journalists have been threatened, beaten, or even killed.
Despite the criticism of Bakiyev's government, last spring the Obama administration courted Bakiyev in a attempt to retain the rights to the military base. There was a conflict surrounding the base. Russia was not happy with an American base in Kyrgyzstan. They don't like having an American military presence in their sphere of influence. Plus, Russia has a base in Kyrgyzstan as well. Russia put pressure on Bakiyev and offered a huge increase in new aid. Bakiyev said they would evict the Americans. However, the Obama administration continued talks with Bakiyev and he reversed his decision once the administration agreed to pay much higher rent for the base. Obama praised Bakiyev for his decision. Opposition leaders in Kyrgyzstan were unhappy about this, and said Obama was courting an autocrat. They said it was shameful of the U.S. to preach democratic values while maintaining an alliance with Bakiyev. Opposition leaders have been divided in whether they will continue to allow the American military base to remain. Though it seems clear that they harbor resentment towards the United States. Plus, Russia has been currying favor with the opposition and analysts say that Russia has stoked anti-American sentiment in Kyrgyzstan in recent months, often over the issue of the base. An opposition leader, who fled Kyrgyzstan last August due to fear for his life, said, "The political behavior of the United States has created a situation where the new authorities may want to look more to Russia than to the United States, and it will strengthen their political will to rebuff the United States." The Central Asia project director for the research group International Crisis Group believes that the opposition politicians will in fact allow the U.S. base to remain, but they'll give the U.S. a hard time first. He said, "My gut feeling is that it can be smoothed over. But they [the Obama administration] have got to move fast to reach out to the opposition, and do it with a certain degree of humility." (Full Story)(Full Story)
Interesting case study on Finland's education system. Finland is often one of the top-performing countries when it comes to educational testing among their students. In 2006, Finland's students had the highest average scores in science and reading among the developed countries. They also had the second highest average scores in math (behind South Korea -- a country that has long school days and the students have a very strict study regime). Last year, more than 100 foreign delegations and government visited Finland to learn about their education system, in hopes of making improvements in their own country.
Some highlights of Finland's school system:
*The Finnish educational philosophy is that everyone has something to contribute and those who struggle in certain subjects should not be left behind. As a result, all the students are kept in the same classroom, regardless of their ability in that subject (i.e., they don't divide up students based on their learning abilities). Furthermore, for every lesson there's an additional teacher to help the students who struggle in a particular subject.
*They're working on a program to target the brightest students. Finland's Education Minister said, "The Finnish system supports very much those pupils who have learning difficulties but we have to pay more more attention also to those pupils who are very talented. Now we have started a pilot project about how to support those pupils who are very gifted in certain areas."
*Out of the developed countries, Finnish children spend the fewest number of hours in the classroom. They have a philosophy that less is more.
*Primary and secondary schooling is combined. Thus, children don't need to change schools at age 13. This helps them to avoid a potentially disruptive transition to a new school.
*Students are kept in the same classroom for several years. As one teacher said, "I'm like growing up with my children, I see the problems they have when they are small. And now after five years, I still see and know what has happened in their youth, what are the best things they can do. I tell them I'm like their school mother. "
*Children only start main school at age seven. It is believed that before then they learn best when they're playing. By age seven, they are then are eager to start learning.
*Parents are very involved in their children's education. In Finland there is a culture of reading with the kids at home. In addition, parents have regular contact with their children's teachers.
*Teaching is considered a prestigious career in Finland, and teachers are highly valued. Teaching standards are also high.
*Schools are a relaxed and informal environment. This can helps students study and learn. (There's a picture of one school where students don't have to wear shoes and they walk around in their socks).
*Also a factor in their education system is that Finland has low levels of immigration. As a result, the majority of students start school with Finnish as their native language -- which eliminates an obstacle that schools in other countries face. (Full Story)
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