In fact, the March 24 events had shown that Kyrgyz civil society developed into a significant political force, and passed the phase when its activity was heavily dependent on external funding. Leader of the NGO coalition “For Democracy and Civil Society”, Edil Baisalov, denies that foreign money is the main drive behind the activity of the civil society today. According to Baisalov, the “Coalition” primarily targets the local population in addressing political issues by publishing its newsletters and policy statements primarily in Kyrgyz and Russian, and not English.

Baisalov was among the few to publicly criticize the activity of criminal figures, such as Ryzbek Akmatbayev, and the government’s weak response. Unlike the government and parliament, Kyrgyz NGOs openly speak against the domestic instability caused by criminal figures. Such freedom of expression confirms the civil activists’ independence from political or criminal forces. Today, not only can the government and parliament not afford ignoring the voices of the third-sector activists, but political figures are in times dependent on approval of their actions by non-state actors.

Kyrgyz NGOs also show a tendency of uniting on the basis of working agendas. The “Coalition” is the most successful case of NGO consolidation, there are also women and youth organizations working together. Numerous women NGOs have been very successful in bringing out issues of gender imbalance on the family, community, and state levels by engaging females with various backgrounds. Although most of the politically active NGOs are located in the capital Bishkek, there are nevertheless strong networks of activists in the southern cities and in Issyk-Kul, and Naryn oblasts.

Kyrgyzstan also has a range of mass media outlets and the region’s highest per capita internet access. Internet forums are an important medium for opinion exchange. Loosely regulated online discussion at Akipress.kg and PR.kg contain a range of viewpoints and unofficial information on developments in the political, economic, and social spheres of the country.

There are a number of youth organizations and newspapers that seek active involvement in political life. The March 24 events showed that youth networks such as “Birge” and Kelkel” have strong public support. A widely published youth newspaper “Limon” is famous for developing caricatures of known government figures that also reflect on recent developments.

Local communities of sexual minorities are by far the most consolidated in the region. There are more than 7,000 members registered with an NGO “Oasis” that promotes the rights, health issues, and social acceptance of sexual minorities. “Oasis” also has a representative office in Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan.

The advancement of civil society in Kyrgyzstan should be viewed in a comparative regional perspective. The controversy developed around deadly shootings in Aksy village between demonstrators and armed militia in March 2002 that eventually harmed ex-President Askar Akayev’s legitimacy, is illustrative of the civil society’s ability to hold the government responsible for using violence against civilians. By contrast, virtually no non-governmental sector is present in Uzbekistan.

The Kyrgyz government’s agreement to send roughly 500 Andijan refugees to a third country in summer 2005 is another example of civil society’s impact on political decisions. Although then Acting Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva clearly showed her intentions to follow the UNHCR norms and grant the Uzbek citizens refugee status amid Tashkent’s heavy pressure, the decision was made in an environment of active participation of all major Kyrgyz NGOs.

With all the criticism against the government, the Kyrgyz NGOs are not always playing solely the role of opposition. Cooperative relations between non-partisan organizations are noticeable with ministries of defense, education, environment, etc. Undeniably, Kyrgyz NGOs do not yet embrace all layers of society. The problems of soldiers, farmers, children and unemployed still lay beyond the civil society’s reach. However, existing NGO are able to balance against the hegemony of criminals by regularly reporting lawlessness, overseeing policy implementation, and reaching out for the international community’s attention – functions the Kyrgyz government is often unable to fulfill.