28 Asia The EconomistAugust 17th 2019
T
hemorningsunwasfiercebutthe
crowdpressedagainstthegatesofthe
palacedidnotseemtomind.Theywere
eagerlywaitingfortheceremonytostart.
Threetimesa year,thesultanofYogya-
karta,anancientJavanesecity,blesses
hispeoplewithofferingsoffoodina
ritualthatmixesHindusymbolismwith
Islamicbeliefs.Escortedbya military
parade,servantsshoulderinggargantuan
bouquetsofbeans,chilliesandrice
crackersprocesstothemosque,where
theofferingsarehandedout.Justasthe
ceremonyendedonAugust12th,the
throngattackedthemoundsoffood.
RitualslikethisarethelifebloodofYog-
yakarta.Butthecustomsofthiscityare
underattack—bythesultanhimself.
ForcenturiesYogyakartahasbeenthe
repositoryofJavaneseculture,andthe
sultanitscustodian.ButHamengkubu-
wonoX hasbrokenwithtraditioninoneimportantway.Sincethefoundingofthe
sultanatein1755,themonarchhasbeena
man.ThesultanleadsMuslimsinprayer
everyFriday,andcelebrateshismarriage
tothemysticalQueenoftheSouthSea
everyyear.Onlya mancanperformthese
duties.Butthesultanhasnosons.In 2015
the73-year-oldnamedhiseldestdaugh-
terashissuccessor.Thatwashugely
controversial.It hadbeenexpectedthat
hewouldanointa brother. Sincethen,
debateovertheissuehasintensified.
Thesultan’schoicematters.Heisno
meresymbol.In 1945 Sukarno,Indone-
sia’sfirstpresident,appointedSultan
HamengkubuwonoIXasYogyakarta’s
governorforlifeinrewardforfightingon
thesideofthenewrepublic.In 2012 the
nationallegislaturepasseda lawpermit-
tingthesultanto“inherit”thegovernor-
ship,andreclaimlandthathadtradition-
allybelongedtothesultanate.Bayu
DardiasKurniadiofAustralianNational
Universityreckonsthesultanowns
nearly10%ofYogyakarta’sland.Najib
AzcaofUniversitasGadjahMadain
Yogyakartasaysthesultanissopowerful
heis“almostlikeanabsolutemonarch”.
Theprospectofa sultanatroubles
manyordinaryYogyakartans.Muslims
saythatshewouldseverthebondbe-
tweenthesultanateandtheMuslim
communitybecausea womancannot
leadFridayprayers.Somebelievethatthe
sultanhasbeencitingtheneedforsexual
equality onlyasa pretexttomaintainhis
nuclearfamily’spower.Otherssimply
worrythatheisfloutingtradition.Sitting
bythemosque,DionEllot,a student,
saysheistorn.“Theprincessisa woman
butshecanstillbea goodleader.Onthe
otherhand,Javaneseculturesaysit
shouldbea man.”Hisfemalefriend
NevadaIndriawatiismorecertain:“Tra-
ditionsaysit shouldbea man.”Sourabouta sultana
JavaneseroyaltyYOGYAKARTA
A sultanwantshisdaughtertosucceedhim.Hispeoplethinkthat’sa badideaRaisina sultanaT
he formerpresident of Kyrgyzstan did
not go down without a fight. It took the
storming of his fortified compound out-
side the capital, Bishkek, by thousands of
security personnel (one of whom was shot
dead), before Almazbek Atambayev surren-
dered on August 8th to face corruption
charges. He swears they are political. Kyr-
gyzstan touts itself as authoritarian Central
Asia’s only democracy. The country has a
pluralistic political system and competi-
tive, albeit flawed, elections. But Mr Atam-
bayev may have a point.
Investigators only began probing suspi-
cions of his collusion in the early release
from prison of a mafia don in 2013, after the
ex-president became embroiled in a ven-
detta with his successor and one-time pro-
tégé, Sooronbay Jeyenbekov. In 2017 Mr
Atambayev strongly endorsed Mr Jeyenbe-
kov’s presidential bid, expecting to act as
the power behind the throne. However, the
would-be partnership degenerated into a
feud that Mr Jeyenbekov has won—for
now. Mr Atambayev is in detention charged
with corruption in connection with the
crime boss’s release. Investigators have
suggested he could also be charged with
corruption and murder. Officials verbally
accuse him of planning a coup attempt.
During the night after his arrest, sup-
porters of Mr Atambayev took to the streets
of Bishkek. Riot police dispersed them in
the early hours and arrested 40 people. The
chaotic scenes evoked the unrest of Kyrgyz-
stan’s recent history: two leaders have been
toppled in revolutions, in 2005 and 2010.
Citizens fed up with their factional, self-
serving politicians appear to have little ap-
petite for another: “#weareagainstathird-
revolution” read a hashtag in Russian,
which is widely spoken in Kyrgyzstan, that
went viral during the showdown.
Adding to the combustible mix is the re-
turn to Kyrgyzstan, the day after Mr Atam-
bayev’s arrest, of Omurbek Babanov. Mr Ba-
banov was the main opposition challenger
in the election of 2017, when Mr Jeyenbe-
kov—in a harbinger of his hostility to polit-
ical adversaries—personally threatened to
lock him up. Small wonder that Mr Baba-
nov had fled abroad after he was placed un-
der investigation on charges of incitement
and seeking to overthrow the state. He was
not arrested when he flew into Bishkek
from Moscow to a hero’s welcome. But the
security service warned that the incite-
ment charge remained valid (the other in-vestigation is dormant).
Russia—which has a military base in
Kyrgyzstan and considers the country,
which borders on China, its geopolitical
backyard—has entered the fray. Before Mr
Atambayev’s arrest, Vladimir Putin, Rus-
sia’s president, made a show of support by
receiving the former leader of Kyrgyzstan
in the Kremlin, while urging that country
to rally around Mr Jeyenbekov. After Mr
Atambayev’s surrender, Russia urged re-
straint. Dmitry Medvedev, its prime minis-
ter, suggested Kyrgyzstan had “reached its
limit” of revolutions.Mr Jeyenbekov undoubtedly agrees, as
he jealously guards his power while mull-
ing the unenviable fates of his predeces-
sors. Kyrgyzstan’s democratic creden-
tials—which were seriously eroded under
Mr Atambayev—have been weakened fur-
ther under Mr Jeyenbekov’s rule, as he jails
opponents with almost as much abandon
as Mr Atambayev did. Mr Jeyenbekov may
be moving to consolidate his power and
clear the field of rivals before parliamenta-
ry elections that are due to be held next
year. Before then, there will be a lot more
turbulence in Kyrgyzstan’s politics. 7The Central Asian country touts its
democracy, but its politics are murkyKyrgyzstanWhen presidents
fall out