Kyrgyz Minister Threatens Force Amid Stepped-Up Opposition Protests

AFP ^

[Das Outsider]

Kyrgyz minister threatens force amid stepped-up opposition protests

BISHKEK (AFP) - Kyrgyzstan's new interior minister warned that authorities could resort to the use of force to restore order, as the government tried to keep opposition-led protests over a contested election from spreading to the capital.

Just hours after his appointment, Keneshbek Dyushbayev said that law enforcement forces could legally use "physical methods, special means and issued arms in order to restore constitutional order".

"If their actions exceed the framework of the law, then we intend to use the whole arsenal" of measures, he added.

The former Bishkek police chief also warned that demonstrators would face legal consequences over their actions.

Supporters of Kyrgyzstan's disjointed opposition have staged demonstrations, mostly in the south of the country, since the results of a March 13 election were announced that virtually shut the opposition out of the Central Asian nation's parliament.

But Kyrgyz police for the first time Wednesday dispersed a rally in the capital Bishkek where about 300 supporters of a candidate who lost his bid for parliament to the daughter of Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev had gathered.

[dfwgator]

"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."

[Chad_the_Impaler]

I think this article is pre-overthrow.

[CasearianDaoist]

Yes, absolutely.

However, the "opposition" is drawn from the same Soviet era "nomenklatur" as was the group that was ousted. It remains to be seen if there will be any substantial change in the Kyrgyz Republic after this "revolution" plays itself out.

I wish them the best, of course, but at this point I am dubious about any real change occurring yonder. I would not preclude it from happening; I am, however, skeptical about the end results.

One of the reason that the Russians are behaving so calming is that they are quite aware that this changes nothing and potentially it might even enhance their position. Those in the media - and on FR - that imagine that this is somehow a loss for Russia are laboring under some false assumptions.

The speed of it may have taken Putin by surprise, but the result are not all that devastating to him. In any event, this is far from over. Central Asia does not have the good fortune to be right next door to the EU: That was a crucial factor in the "velvet revolutions" in the EU - recent and otherwise. There may yet be real civil war, and the Russians may intervene either directly or via proxy. The Chinese have yet to play their hand in any overt manner.

Those nations in central asia, particularly those farther to the north ,are so heavily dependent on Russia and so influenced by Russian culture (everyone in Bishkek is fluent in Russian and even the native language in notated in Cyrillic; most business is conducted in Russian) that is seems to me foolish to imagine that they will ever have a major break with that nation. The only other regional competitors for influence are China and, to a certain extent, India. My sense is that the American influence there is but a momentary affect of the WOT and that it will not become a permanent aspect of the region. This "revolution" may indeed mark the beginning of the end of "official" American influence in Central Asia (excluding the energy economies of the Caspian areas.)

I certainly hope that broader forces have beedinleashed that will require substantial reform. I think for this to happen all concerned must contemplate the very real possibility of the Islamicists in the south west gaining power in either the whole or a substantial part of the country.

Having said all that, if the new government turns around and puts in place real reform and turns a friendly face towards us, I would suspect that American involvement in it all was ran somewhat deeper than mere moral support.

it is interesting to note that with in a month after refusing to allow NATO AWACS flights out of Manas the president has been ousted.