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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Ousted Kyrgyz president in Belarus

2010-04-21

[Iran Press TV Latest] Ousted Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev has reportedly flown to the neighboring Belarus after spending four days in Kazakhstan, Kazakh officials say. "Bakiyev and his family, four people in all, have been in Minsk since Monday evening, as guests," Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an address to the Belarusian parliament on Tuesday. Bakiyev flew to Kazakhstan following his ouster from power in a popular uprising last week and his failure to draw major support in the south where he was reported to be most popular. Kyrgyz interim leaders have said he should stand trial over the unrest, during which 85 people were killed. The new government is working to restore calm amidst reports of sporadic unrest in the country. A spokesman for the interim Kyrgyz government, Omurbek Tekebayev, said Belarus and Kyrgyzstan had "always been friends and we shall remain friends." However, he said the administration would request Bakiyev's extradition to Kyrgyzstan from Belarus.

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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Russia blamed for fueling unrest in Kyrgyzstan

2010-04-12

BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN -- Less than a month before the violent protests that toppled the government of Kyrgyzstan last week, Russian television stations broadcast scathing reports portraying President Kurmanbek Bakiyev as a repugnant dictator whose family was stealing billions of dollars from this impoverished nation. The media campaign, along with punishing economic measures adopted by the Kremlin, played a critical role in fanning public anger against Bakiyev and bringing people into the streets for the demonstrations that forced him to flee the capital Wednesday, according to protest leaders, local journalists and analysts. It's a page out of the old imperialist textbook ... "Even without Russia, this would have happened sooner or later, but . . . I think the Russian factor was decisive," said Omurbek Tekebayev, a former opposition leader who is now the No. 2 figure in the government.

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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Kyrgyz opposition says running government

2010-04-09

[Al Arabiya Latest] Kyrgyzstan's opposition said on Thursday it has taken over the government of the impoverished Central Asian state after at least 65 people were killed in violent protests that forced the president to flee the capital. Opposition leader Roza Otunbayeva demanded the resignation of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, whom she helped bring to power five years ago, and told Reuters she would run an interim government for six months. "We have a caretaker government now in place, and I am the head of it," Otunbayeva said. "It will remain in place for half a year, during which we will draft the constitution and create conditions for free and fair (presidential) elections." "Hard changes are upon us, authority has passed into the people's hands, and in some places it was done by force," Otunbayeva said in a radio broadcast. "We ask you not to give in to provocations, or to destroy and loot the property of ordinary citizens. Some of us were killed and wounded, and we must do everything in our power to help them," Otunbayeva added. A health ministry official told AFP Thursday that a total of 65 people had been killed in the riots. Opposition leader Omurbek Tekebayev put the death toll at more than 100. Opposition protesters seized the presidential administration Wednesday night and announced on state radio that they had formed a provisional government with Otunbayeva at its head. Bakiyev left Bishkek, where demonstrators torched the prosecutor-general's office and tried to smash trucks into government buildings, and flew to the southern city of Osh, his traditional power base in a nation split by clan rivalries. Security has been tightened in and around Osh ahead of a rally planned for later this morning. It was unclear whether the rally was being organized by supporters or opponents of Bakiyev. Many cars and shops were ablaze in central Bishkek and about 1,000 people remained outside the government building whose seventh, so-called presidential, floor was blackened by fire. Looting could be seen everywhere, with people running in the streets carrying computers and office equipment. The violent unrest, which spread to Bishkek on Wednesday a day after protests in a provincial town, was sparked by growing discontent over corruption and rising prices in a nation where a third of the 5.3 million population live below the poverty line. The United States has a military air base supporting troops in Afghanistan in the Kyrgyz city of Manas and is a major donor to Kyrgyzstan, along with China and Russia, which also has military base in the former Soviet state. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said operations at the Manas base -- visited by U.S. Central Command chief General David Petraeus last month -- appeared unaffected. "It's an important facility connected to our Afghan operations and it's functioning normally," he said. Bakiyev came to power in the 2005 "Tulip Revolution" protests, led jointly by Otunbayeva, which ousted Kyrgyzstan's first post-Soviet president, Askar Akayev. She briefly served as acting foreign minister before falling out with Bakiyev. Spokesmen for the president were not available for comment. A senior U.S. State Department official said Bakiyev's fate was unclear. Asked whether the president was still in power, the official said on condition of anonymity: "The situation is unclear. We are in touch with both government officials and the opposition encouraging resolution according to the rule of law."

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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Kyrgyzstan government ousted in violent revolt

2010-04-08

[Dawn] Opponents of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev took control Wednesday of Kyrgyzstan after a day of spectacular violence that ended with Bakiyev fleeing the capital of the strategic Central Asian state. "All this to be the president of Kyrgyzstan? I'm outta here!" Opposition protesters seized the presidential administration Wednesday night and announced on state radio that they had formed a provisional government with former foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva at its head. A worker at Bishkek's international airport told AFP that the 60-year-old Bakiyev had fled the capital aboard a small plane as his opponents consolidated their grip on key national institutions. Memo to self: Ensure my personnal pilot and ground crew are highly paid and well trained. Then have backup plan to include sleezy charter pilot operating out of obscure small airfield. Opposition leader Temir Sariyev said on Kyrgyz radio that Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov had signed a letter of resignation and Otunbayeva vowed that the new leadership in the country would move quickly to normalize the situation. "Power is now in the hands of the people's government," Otunbayeva said in an address on state radio. "Responsible people have been appointed and are already working to normalize the situation." "Who's been appointed?" "Responsible people. Now shaddup." But who could have appointed them, with the president fled into the night on his trusty biplane? The fast-moving events in Kyrgyzstan capped a day of ferocious clashes in Bishkek and other cities that quickly turned into a nationwide revolt against Bakiyev that was believed to have left scores dead. As unrest swept the Central Asian republic, the opposition took control of the national television, the prosecutors' office was set alight and state media reported that a deputy prime minister was held hostage in the remote northwest. The riots were the culmination of spiralling protests in the Central Asian nation with the opposition demanding Bakiyev's resignation and accusing his government of rights violations, authoritarianism and economic mismanagement. Despite briefly arresting three leading opposition figures and declaring a state of emergency, the authorities failed to prevent the rebels from rapidly taking control of some of the main levers of power. A health ministry official said 47 people had died, many from gunshot wounds, and more than 400 were injured. Officials said that the toll could be expected to rise. Opposition leader Omurbek Tekebayev said separately that more than 100 people had been killed in the violence. The United States, which maintains an air base in Kyrgyzstan used in the Nato campaign in nearby Afghanistan, voiced "deep concern", while Russia also appealed for calm in the former Soviet republic. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Moscow had no involvement in unrest in ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan. If you can't believe Vlad on a matter like this, who can you believe? "Neither Russia nor your humble servant (Putin) have any links" to the events in Kyrgyzstan, Putin told reporters during a joint press conference with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk in Smolensk, western Russia. "At the same time, when (Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek) Bakiyev came to power a few years ago, he severely criticised (former president Askar) Akayev for nepotism, that only his family held power. I have the impression that Mr.Bakiyev is now stepping on the same rake," Putin said. Prior to seizing the presidential offices, opposition protesters laid siege to both the national parliament and the offices of the government, demanding that Bakiyev quit. An AFP journalist meanwhile saw flames coming from the ground floor of the four-storey prosecutors' office. Riot police fired tear gas and stun grenades in repeated bids to disperse the demonstrators and Usenov declared a state of emergency, but all to little effect. A police source and a witness said Interior Minister Moldomus Kongantiyev had been killed in the northwest hub of Talas where the first protests erupted. Kongantiyev was attacked by protestors who had also taken deputy prime minister Akylbek Zhaparov captive, the Kabar Kyrgyz state news agency reported. An interior ministry spokesman, Rakhmatullo Akhmedov, later said Kongantiyev was alive but admitted the government had little information on the situation in Talas, saying it was "checking" reports the minister was taken hostage. In Bishkek, explosions from stun grenades reverberated across the city and the crackle of automatic weapons fire filled the air as protesters in the main square gasped for breath in a fog of tear gas. Witnesses said security forces had fired live bullets into the air as between 3,000 and 5,000 protestors overturned cars and set them on fire in Bishkek. Protestors appeared to have seized several heavily armoured police vehicles and were standing on them waving red Kyrgyz flags and the blue flag of the opposition movement. Looters also ransacked the home of Bakiyev's family, Russia's Interfax news agency reported. The violence came a day after more than 1,000 opposition protesters burst through police lines and took control of government offices in Talas. And in the central city of Naryn, hundreds of opposition protesters on Wednesday stormed the regional government headquarters after the local governor refused to negotiate.

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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Around 100 killed in Kyrgyz unrest: opposition

2010-04-08

[Al Arabiya Latest] Kyrgyz troops opened fire on anti-government protesters on Wednesday outside the offices where President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was sheltering from clashes that have killed dozens of people according to a witness, 100 according to the opposition. As unrest swept the central Asian republic, the opposition took control of the national television, the prosecutors' office was set alight and state media reported that a deputy prime minister was held hostage in the remote northwest. The riots were the culmination of spiraling protests in the Central Asian nation with the opposition demanding Bakiyev's resignation and accusing his government of rights violations, authoritarianism and economic mismanagement. Despite arresting three leading opposition figures and declaring a state of emergency, the authorities failed to prevent the rebels from rapidly taking control of some of the main levers of power. A health ministry official said 19 people had died, many from gunshot wounds, and almost 200 were injured. "Most are young people under the age of 30," the official, Larisa Kachibekova, told AFP. "According to our count, around 100 people have been killed in the disorder," opposition leader Omurbek Tekebayev said, speaking during an address to the nation on a state television channel seized by opposition supporters during riots earlier Wednesday. He called for Bakiyev's government to step down. "The leaders of the opposition have held negotiations with the head of the Kyrgyz government (Prime Minister) Daniyar Usenov," Tekebayev said in a televised address. "Our only goal is that they relinquish their authority." "What kind of negotiations with the government can we talk about when they are killing our people?" prominent opposition and human rights campaigner Toktoaim Umetaliyeza told Reuters.

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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Kyrgyz protesters storm provincial govt. office

2010-04-07

[Iran Press TV Latest] Protesters have stormed a provincial government office in Talas city, Kyrgyzstan, demanding the resignation of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. "Out! Out! Go away!" Can they do that? Be a mob with all that entails? We want vowels! We want vowels!! We want vowels!!! Talas Governor Beishen Bolotbekov had been taken hostage when demonstrators seized a local government office, Reuters quoted local opposition leaders and witnesses as saying. However, Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov told reporters in the capital Bishkek that the governor had not been captured and vowed to use force to prevent any further unrest. Discontent in the former Soviet republic has been on the rise due to what the opposition says is growing public frustration with corruption, nepotism, and high prices. The unrest is of particular concern to the US, which operates an important air base in Kyrgyzstan supporting operations against the Taliban in nearby Afghanistan. The leader of the Ata-Meken opposition party stated that military bases have become more active. "Helicopters and planes are taking off and landing all the time," Omurbek Tekebayev said. "We do not rule out that the government may use military force against civilians," he added. Tekebayev said that Ata-Meken vice chairman Bolot Sherniyazov was arrested on Tuesday morning, creating a wave of protests. The protesters demanded that Sherniyazov be released and soon the authorities were forced to acquiesce to their demands.

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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Severed ears, fingers sent to government

2008-02-07

SEVERED ears and fingers have been sent in packages to three high-ranking government officials in Kyrgyzstan. The body parts were sent to the presidential administration chief, the director of the competition monitoring agency and a member of the electoral commission, opposition leader Omurbek Tekebayev told the Delo N newspaper. "It is a warning," Mr Tekebayev said. "The finger means: 'Don't put your hands where they don't belong'. It is surely motivated by a shift in influence within politics and the economy. The ear means be obedient." Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian former Soviet republic, has been rocked by waves of political unrest since a popular revolt in March 2005 which toppled former president Askar Akayev and brought President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to power.

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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Kyrgyzstan Choosing New Parliament

2007-12-16

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) - Kyrgyz voters began casting for a vowel ballots for a new parliament Sunday in an election that many fear could cause further political turmoil in this poor nation in strategic Central Asia. The voting will be watched far beyond the ex-Soviet region for potential unrest. Kyrgyzstan borders China and is near Afghanistan; Russia has an air base here and the U.S. military base outside the capital Bishkek helps support operations in Afghanistan. Opposition groups have alleged that President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's government is planning to rig the election in an effort to oust his staunchest political rivals from the legislature. Bakiyev's Ak Jol party will face the Social Democratic Party of former Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev, and the Ata Meken party led by former parliament speaker Omurbek Tekebayev. Nine smaller parties are also running, but are given little chance of getting into the single-chamber, 90-seat parliament. Bakiyev has been criticized for increasingly authoritarian policies in a country that has long been considered the most politically open among Central Asia's five predominantly Muslim nations. He has pledged a fair vote, saying Thursday that ``all will be honest.'' But opposition leaders have complained that their activists were subjected to intimidation nationwide during the campaign and local government officials were pressuring citizens to vote for Bakiyev's Ak Jol party. Opposition groups have said they will respond to any election fraud by taking to the streets, as they have repeatedly done in recent years. Alleged fraud during the 2005 parliamentary vote led to mass protests that drove President Askar Akayev from power. A new cycle of protests could hit Kyrgyzstan hard. Unlike its energy-rich neighbors, the largely agricultural nation of 5 million has limited resources and is one of the region's poorest. Security has also been on the decline; in the southern, most-populous regions, radical Islamic groups have gained followings since the 1991 Soviet collapse. Since assuming the presidency two years ago, Bakiyev has struggled with lawmakers over government appointments and the scope of presidential powers. Opposition forces frequently filled the center of the capital, Bishkek. Police cracked down in April, using tear gas and stun grenades to break up protests. In October, Bakiyev pushed through a referendum that changed the constitution; voters no longer elect individual candidates, they vote only for parties - and party leaders choose who gets into parliament. Parties now must receive at least 5 percent of the nationwide vote and at least 0.5 percent in each of the country's seven regions and its two largest cities to get seats in parliament. Critics say that in a country where politics are dictated by regional and clan allegiances, the law could be used to bar opposition parties.

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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Kyrgyz president alleges coup plot

2006-11-04

BISHKEK: Kyrgyzstan’s president, under pressure from mass opposition protests for his resignation, said on Friday authorities had uncovered evidence the opposition was plotting to seize control of key state buildings. As hundreds resumed their protests after an overnight vigil outside parliament, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said an audio transcript showed protest organisers had discussed seizing state TV, the main presidency and government building, and the SNB state security headquarters. “Let’s not get overtaken by emotion. There is no threat here. There are no forces to carry out a coup. But there are intentions. There is proof,” Bakiyev told parliament as protests continued outside. The tape appeared to have been obtained from secret recording of a meeting on Thursday night in the office of one of the main opposition leaders, Omurbek Tekebayev.

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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Thousands rally against Kyrgyz leader

2006-04-30

Thousands of protesters have rallied in Kyrgyzstan's capital demanding that the president stand by his pledges to fight crime and corruption - or quit. Making a surprise appearance at the opposition rally in Bishkek, Kurmanbek Bakiyev was booed and whistled at by about 10,000 people. "I am not Akayev, I will not run away from my people, I am not afraid," President Bakiyev said before walking away, heckled by the crowd. Kyrgyzstan has been volatile since Bakiyev came to power last year after a coup that ousted Askar Akayev. Last July, Bakiyev won the presidential election by a landslide, pledging to bring order and democracy. The opposition, led by Omurbek Tekebayev, a former speaker of parliament, demand that Bakiyev limit presidential powers as promised during the election, give more authority to parliament and the prime minister, and eradicate corruption and crime.

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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Kyrgyz leader vows to use force if coup attempted

2006-04-27

BISHKEK - Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev vowed on Wednesday to use force to prevent any attempt to unseat him, despite pressure from Washington to avoid fresh violence in his Central Asian state. Most heads of state/government will use force to stop a coup attempt. Bakiyev apparently felt like he had to state the obvious. Wonder why? Kyrgyzstan’s opposition is gearing up for a countrywide protest on Saturday against Bakiyev, who came to power in a revolution last year and who it accuses of backtracking on his promises to bring stability and democracy. “If there is an attempt to seize the White House (seat of government) ... then it will be all the tougher for them, very tough,” Bakiyev told reporters. “Law enforcers are capable of being severe. People run the risk of injury, of ending up in a wheelchair. ... But if the protest is peaceful and lawful, then no problem.” Until he decides it is. Unlike peaceful demonstrations in Ukraine and Georgia, protests against a flawed election in Kyrgyzstan turned violent last year and led to long-serving leader Askar Akayev fleeing to Russia as a mob ransacked his office. Since the overthrow, Kyrgyzstan has been plagued by crime and instability. Bakiyev, elected in July by a landslide, has been accused by opponents of doing too little to restore law and order. The new Kyrgyz opposition, spearheaded by Omurbek Tekebayev, a former speaker of parliament, says it will gather tens of thousands of people in the capital Bishkek and other big cities and set up tent cities to express their discontent. The United States has called for restraint ahead of the rally, saying Kyrgyzstan should pursue peaceful methods to solve its problems. “The US government shares the concern of many citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic about rumours of potential violence in connection with public demonstrations on April 29 in Kyrgyzstan,” the US embassy said in a statement. “The United States ... calls upon both pro-government and opposition groups to refrain from the threat or use of force during these demonstrations.” Peaceful restraint being an alien concept in this part of the world ... Bakiyev has blamed certain “foreign forces” of stoking unrest in his impoverished country and threatened to shut down a US military base set up in 2001 during the war in Afghanistan. Yup, always dem danged furriners causing trouble ...

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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Kyrgyz leader sez "foreign forces" stirring up trouble

2006-04-20

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who came to power in a revolution last year promising to bring democracy, accused "foreign forces" on Wednesday of stoking unrest in his impoverished Central Asian country. Kyrgyzstan has been plagued by instability and crime since a violent coup toppled veteran leader Askar Akayev last year, in contrast to peaceful protests in Ukraine and Georgia which brought new pro-Western governments to power. Speaking just hours after he threatened to shut down a U.S. military base, Bakiyev said foreigners were playing their own game against his interests in Kyrgyzstan -- striking a tone typical of authoritarian leaders in other ex-Soviet states. "There are forces, especially foreign forces, who see Kyrgyzstan as a territory for their own interests," Bakiyev told a group of opposition leaders who had gathered to express their disagreement with his policies. "These foreign forces don't want us to develop economically, they want to keep us on a short lead ... We must not fall under any country's influence." Officials in Uzbekistan, Belarus and other ex-Soviet countries where dissent is tightly controlled frequently accuse unnamed foreign forces of trying to undermine their rule. Bakiyev is due to visit Russia -- which has long expressed concerns over the U.S. military presence in Central Asia -- early next week for talks with President Vladimir Putin, who also has blamed foreigners of trying to undermine Russia. The new Kyrgyz opposition, spearheaded by Omurbek Tekebayev, a former speaker of parliament, has accused Bakiyev of backtracking on his pre-election pledges, and promised to hold a countrywide protest on April 29. "What tyranny are you talking about? There is no other country more democratic than Kyrgyzstan in the former Soviet bloc," said Bakiyev, who has vowed to use what he called the harshest methods to prevent any repeat of last year's unrest. Edil Baisalov, an activist who has criticised Bakiyev for not doing enough to restore order, said: "This is what Akayev used to say when he accused Bakiyev of being backed by the West. "This is a clear attempt by Bakiyev to seek Russian support in a situation when his position has weakened," he told Reuters. Earlier, Kyrgyzstan threatened to close the Manas military base, which U.S. forces set up during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, if Washington did not agree to a new contract. The Pentagon declined to address the substance of Bakiyev's comments on the Manas base. "The U.S. respects Kyrgyzstan's decisions as a sovereign nation," said Lieutenant Colonel Tracy O'Grady-Walsh, a Pentagon spokeswoman. "The agreement on the use of Manas is a bilateral agreement between the governments of (the) U.S. and Kyrgyzstan." O'Grady-Walsh said use of the base contributes directly to the support of U.S.-led operations against Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan. The presence of U.S. troops in Central Asia, traditionally a Russian sphere of influence, is a headache for Moscow which ruled Kyrgyzstan until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The United States also set up a base in Uzbekistan, but the authoritarian country last year told the Americans to leave after Washington criticised Tashkent over the bloody suppression of a rebellion in the eastern town of Andizhan.

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