I'm not sure if any posters on here have been to Bishkek, or even heard about it before yesterday, and even at a stretch there aren't many who know a friend of a friend who's been there. In September 2007 I was fortunate to visit there with a delegation from the UNDP (UN development programme) and have a good look around Bishkek and a couple of nearby towns. The country is out of this world landscape wise and there are precious few ethnic Russians left. The previous administration were pallsy with the old Bush junta and were seriously backed by them. There was a visible US army presence on the streets with regular patrols (from what we saw and were told) on the streets. Kidnapping was common there, however this was something to do with tribal beliefs and practice.
Anyway, this new crowd are Russian backed and were quick to pallsy up with Moscow, so it's a Ukraine-like roundabout. No matter what they came in with a determined shout to change how badly the country was run. And then I thought about things said in the Irish media in recent weeks (Harris, Myers to name but two) - why isn't there a revolution in Ireland? Why isn't there a coup? It does make you wonder, would a good ould coup rattle things up? String Biffo up outside Leinster House, strip Big Willie naked and send him into Moyross. Surely it wouldn't hurt the country too much.
