Bermet Akayeva, the daughter of the ex-president of Kyrgyzstan who calls herself "just a Kyrgyz politician" nowadays, wrote a piece for Moscow News offering her views on the political and socioeconomic situation in this Central Asian country.

Admitting that "Kyrgyzstan was ahead of some other post-Soviet states in the depths of certain changes" when it attained independence, Akayeva points out that "stability was disrupted" with the appearance in the country of the forces determined to engineer their elevation to state power "no matter what". According to Akayeva, it was these forces that orchestrated a takeover usually referred to as Tulip Revolution on March 24, 2005. "This so called revolution became a serious blow at the socioeconomic life of Kyrgyzstan and marked a turn from prosperity to deterioration."

"What lawmakers and prominent public figures incur the authorities' wrath get assassinated these days. A bona fide witch hunt is under way in Kyrgyzstan. The underworld is doing what it can to infiltrate state power structures," Akayeva wrote. "President Kurmanbek Bakiyev mostly relies on the Southern clans and suchlike."

"Consider the haste with which Bakiyev is promoting his objectives. He is clearly acting under the principle "make hay while the sun shines" which means that he is not convinced of the security of his position," Akayeva wrote.

The ex-president's daughter then proceeded to analyze the situation the parliament and government found themselves in. "Once a top-notch opposition leader, Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev was supposed to become a buffer in the confrontation between the government and the president which became an actual necessity when ex-premier Felix Kulov joined the opposition. As a matter of fact, the opposition views Atambayev's defection to Bakiyev as treason."

"The Kyrgyz opposition will have to pass a political survival exam now. It requires consolidation in the struggle against authoritarian trends and attempts to monopolize power," Akayeva wrote. "Establishment of a common alliance of the opposition may become the decisive factor. Rearranging itself and nominating new leaders, the opposition may become a force to be reckoned with by spring 2008 already."

"Do not expect any changes for the better. Monopolization of power is going to make the new parliament and government submissive. It will mean another wave of protests in Kyrgyzstan that has always cherished its freedom. Count on the continuing lack of stability and crises," Akayeva wrote. "I hope nevertheless that the long-awaited thaw will come to Kyrgyzstan after the depressing political autumn."

Unabridged text is available in Moscow News.