The promising aspiring politician, leader of Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan Temirlan Sultanbekov was taken into custody on suspicion of bribing voters in the local elections in Bishkek. According to the legislation in Kyrgyzstan, such actions entail criminal liability. In theory, the party, confident in its strength and its own rightness, should have convincingly proven to the investigation, and then in court, that the charges brought against it were erroneous. But the Social Democrats took a different path, using the circumstances, they tried to raise a wave of discontent, and when this attempt was failed, they tried to stir up an international scandal using their connections with the Socialist International. (The Socialist International is the worldwide organisation of social democratic, socialist and labour parties). In other words, destructive hype was their conscious choice.
These events made Temirlan Sultanbekov a hostage of circumstances. The hunger strike he declared and the international pressure organized through the Socialist International clearly showed external partners that their unwillingness to respect the laws of Kyrgyzstan and their political lack of culture is a dead end. The situation was aggravated by a video in which the Social Democrats discuss vote-buying schemes, where they mention that the money came through the Socialist International. The issue of international interference in the election process and the internal affairs of Kyrgyzstan is already being raised.
The role of the victim of political persecution in this play went to the one who is destined to become a bargaining chip. Some members of the European Parliament, discussing the situation in Kyrgyzstan on the initiative of the Socialist International, asked a reasonable question - how competent and authorized are they to interfere in the affairs of sovereign states? This question was asked by the representative of France, Thierry Mariani.
"Now it is Kyrgyzstan's turn to become a target of European neocolonialism. The Parliament is encroaching on the fundamental principle of the sovereignty of nations once again. In this debate, the European Union has chosen a victim, persecuted by the justice of its country on charges of vote-buying. Be it "Qatargate" in Brussels or the events in Kyrgyzstan, socialists often find themselves involved in corruption scandals. And, frankly speaking, do our discussions correspond to the spirit of mutual respect and cooperation between peoples? Do we have the right here in Strasbourg to dictate or even comment on the internal decisions of the democratic state of Kyrgyzstan when we have no serious evidence to that effect? I firmly believe that we do not. Respect for the sovereignty of states and peoples must prevail over any other principles. We cannot pretend to be defenders of democracy and human rights while constantly violating the principles of political non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. The European Union is increasingly turning into what it always wanted to avoid – an interventionist and neo-colonialist power,” Thierry Mariani said at a session of the European Parliament.
Even in Strasbourg there is an understanding of what the Socialist International is now. By the way, the head office of this organization is in London, from where this international structure is managed. But this can hardly be an excuse for unceremonious interference in the affairs of sovereign states. Therefore, local social democrats who play along with foreign elites, helping them to destabilize Kyrgyzstan, should seriously think about whose side they are on? Who is the main beneficiary of the political intrigues being played out?
Historian, public and political figure Zainidin Kurmanov told Kabar News Agency that the ideals of the social democrats have become very shallow. "Our opposition is so leftist by nature. If it were only lefty, that would be good, real social democrats, but ours is leftist. Like a drunken crowd of anarchists. That is why the results were like this - pliers for $600, and now they are sitting and yelling something else from Spain. They are allegedly being offended. And the Socialist International demonstrates complete idiocy, they cannot distinguish white from black - real social democrats, who really did a lot for the development of democracy in their countries, from our fake social democrats, who really fought against democracy and bred mass corruption, favoritism in the country, threatened civil society, and put the entire opposition behind bars," Zainidin Kurmanov said.
Expert Bakyt Baketaev emphasizes that foreign financing of election campaigns, and especially bribing voters with money from foreign sponsors, can be regarded not only as external interference, but also as an encroachment on state sovereignty. “Of course, this needs to be sorted out, but the interference of the Socialist International in the election race in Kyrgyzstan, especially with finances, is a precedent. The gentlemen from abroad should not worry, our country will have such socialism and democracy that they are envious. Of course, our people are also against some foreign organizations financing our parties, paying for their participation in elections. Security agencies must work with this and not allow various international institutions to interfere in internal election processes, as well as in the economy and the system of public administration. Each state, each nation chooses its government and its destiny independently, without outside help,” Bakyt Baketaev said.
Just 5-10 years ago, the one who had more resources won the elections in Kyrgyzstan. The practice of handing out money before voting has been existed for decades, and the Social Democrats, when they were in power, did not really oppose it. Experts believe that old habits, of course, need to be broken. Vote buying and selling is a criminal offense. The support of society is received by those who benefit the people, and it is no longer possible to raise one's rating or earn authority through political intrigue. The country has changed a lot in the last 4 years.