Kyrgyz opposition takes control

Kyrgyzstan opposition leader Kurmanbek Bakiev says he has been named acting president, a day after protests toppled the central Asian state's government. Mr Bakiev, an economist, said he had been given the title in addition to that of acting prime minister.

A BBC correspondent in the capital, Biskek, says calm has now returned after Thursday's scenes of violence.

Three people are reported to have been killed overnight, as looting swept the city and buildings were burnt down.

Opposition leaders have promised to prevent their victory disintegrating into chaos.

The opposition has now formed a so-called Council of People's Unity in an attempt to bring together various anti-government groups.

He is said to have fled the country with his family, with unconfirmed reports saying he is in neighbouring Kazakhstan.

Baktybek Abrissaev, Kyrgysztan's ambassador to the US, described the takeover as an illegal act.

Mr Akayev's administration was swept from power on Thursday, when thousands of anti-government demonstrators chanting "Down with the Akayev clans" gathered in Bishkek and stormed the presidential palace.

The huge protests were sparked by elections last month, which were widely seen as fraudulent.

But many other people joined in, motivated by anger about poverty, unemployment and official corruption, correspondents say.

The parliament, which was due to be replaced by the winners of the recent election, reconvened in emergency session late on Thursday to appoint a new leadership.

Kurmanbek Bakiev was named interim prime minister - and after a subsequent session on Friday, he said he had also been made acting president.

Another prominent opposition leader, Felix Kulov, who was released from jail by his supporters during the upheaval, was appointed head of the country's security ministries.

Ishenbai Kadyrbekov was elected as the group's new speaker, although the upper house of parliament had initially said he would be the new interim president.

There are fears of further instability in Kyrgyzstan, and foreign powers are watching the situation closely.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it was too soon to know where events in the country were leading.

"This is a process that's just beginning," she said, adding that the US would seek to "move this process of democracy forward".

"I think that the so-called opposition... should have the brains to find enough strength to calm down and bring the situation to the plane of political dialogue and not a dialogue of screams, shattering windows, destroying buildings and freeing prisons of criminals," Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said.

Kyrgyzstan is of strategic importance to Russia and the United States, both of which have military bases in the country.

Russia's reaction was more sceptical.

Political Opposition In Kyrgyzstan No Longer Exists
Izvestia ^ | 2005-03-24 14:42

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1370007/posts
Posted on 03/24/2005 3:09:10 PM CST by jb6

The events in the south of Kyrgyzstan are not an attempt to launch a democratic revolution, but an attempt to start a civil war. Political rivalry has not led to the crisis in the republic. The real causes of the conflict might be religious, social or nationalistic. The opposition has not put forward any political programs, although their demands might sound political. The opposition in Kyrgyzstan simply has ceased to exist and its activity has become a catalyst for public disturbances without political substance, writes Izvestia.

Yesterday's opposition leaders are facing a tough choice now: whether to lead the uprising and throw Molotov cocktails or stones, or simply disappear. The first choice is attractive; the second is inevitable.

The uprising in the south of the country has led to the emergence of new leaders that do not belong to the ranks of the traditional opposition. The current events hardly resemble public pressure on authorities because an obvious minority is involved in the disturbances. However, this minority is extremely aggressive. The "orange revolution" scenarios have never materialized. The opposition did not simply lose the elections; it lost them by a huge margin, too big to repeat the Kiev scenario. OSCE observers did not support the opposition's claim that voting was rigged. Court appeals are out of the question and so the legal route to power is closed.

This meant a classic lumpen-revolutionary came out on the streets. His methods resemble more those used during the Moscow standoff between parliament and the Russian president in 1993 rather than those applied in Belgrade or Tbilisi. In addition, his methods are extreme.

It is not difficult to incite people to violence. It is far more difficult to pacify them and to turn violence into political dialogue. Unfortunately, the leaders of the uprising have failed either to demonstrate leadership or propose alternative strategies. Besides this, they cannot even control their supporters. It is not surprising that the crowd, provoked by old resentment and new promises, have attempted to free criminals from local prisons instead of demanding civil freedoms from the authorities.

The mutineers have issued an ultimatum, but to Kyrgyzstan's civil society rather than the president.

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