Two ISU professors who have visited and extensively researched Kyrgyzstan, a central Asian country that experienced a “bloodless” rebel takeover in March, can provide personal insight into the events surrounding the country’s changing political climate.

Eric McGlinchey, assistant professor of political science, and Neil Harl, distinguished professor emeritus of agricultural law, both have research histories with the nation.

Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked nation with a population of more than 5 million people. More than 90 percent of the terrain is mountainous with glaciers and high-altitude lakes.

President Askar Akayev had led Kyrgyzstan since 1990, but accusations of election fraud forced him to flee the country on March 24. Akayev submitted his resignation days later. The Kyrgyz parliament voted to approve his resignation Monday, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.

McGlinchey said opposition rebels overtook the country in a bloodless coup, and elections for a new leader are set for July 10.

He has spent extensive time researching and traveling to Kyrgyzstan. He said he believes Akayev may have turned more authoritarian throughout his tenure as Kyrgyz president.

“People in power want to keep power, and maybe [Akayev] was initially very liberal — but once he was in power, he didn’t want to give up his seat,” McGlinchey said.

He said the Kyrgyz opposition mobilized in 2002, after government officials killed six opposition protesters. The rebels finally took action against Akayev in March, after the Kyrgyz government used “dirty tricks” to disqualify opposition candidates from elections, McGlinchey said.

Harl, the retired agricultural law professor, met with Akayev in 1991 and said he feels the progress toward democratic reform was too slow for the Kyrgyz people to tolerate. “He was afraid things would spin out of control and he wouldn’t be running the show,” Harl said.

Harl said he met with Akayev for more than seven hours to discuss how Kyrgyzstan could build its weak economy.

“He was clearly interested in trying to improve the lot of the people in his country,” Harl said.

He said he suggested economic programs, including labor-intensive industries and geo-tourism promotion, although none were successful. McGlinchey said geo-tourism and hydroelectric power are potential sources of economic strength in Kyrgyzstan, although both need development.

He said Akayev received economic aid from other nations and aid groups in the mid-1990s, which he used to maintain his authoritarian strength.

“My sense is Akayev didn’t have the resources to be authoritarian in 1991,” McGlinchey said.

As Akayev began to receive increasing amounts of aid from other countries, his authoritarian tendencies increased, he said.

Harl said Akayev was a good leader at the time in Kyrgyzstan — knowledgeable, sensitive and aware of the pressing challenges facing his people. After leaving their meeting, he said, Akayev seemed to favor democratic changes, including private land ownership.

McGlinchey and Harl agreed that unlike people in recent revolutions in Ukraine and Georgia, the Kyrgyz people lack a charismatic figurehead to whom they can give their support. McGlinchey noted, however, that democracy could still emerge.