More on the Kyrgyz Protests

The Scotsman reports:

OLGA DZYUBENKO IN BISHKEK

KYRGYZSTAN’S opposition said yesterday it had taken control of the administration building in a key southern region in protest at last weekend’s parliamentary election, though officials dismissed the occupation as a stunt. Tension over the election has been high in the Central Asian state after international observers said it fell short of accepted standards.

The disparate opposition has urged its supporters to wear yellow, in conscious imitation of Ukraine’s "orange" revolution which brought a West-leaning liberal to power.

Read the whole thing here.

Note the last sentence in my excerpt. In Central Asia, as well as in much of the Middle East, protesters are drawing their inspiration as much from the Ukraine protests as from the Iraqi elections. The Ukraine protests are symbolically powerful because, unlike in Iraq where a foreign power enabled elections, Ukraine experienced an indigenous rising of the people that overthrew a corrupt administration.

Similarly, early quotes from Lebanese "Red and White" protesters made it clear that their model was Ukraine, not Iraq, but at least in western reports these were soon drowned out by celebrations of the Iraq experience and American self-congratulations.