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Kyrgyz security service blames ex-deputies over new unrest

RIA Novosti

17:5417/05/2010 BISHKEK, May 17 (RIA Novosti) - Kyrgyzstan's national security service said on Monday that former deputies in the parliament dissolved by the interim government were behind last week's uprisings in the southern city of Jalalabad.

The security service statement said a criminal case had been opened against Usen Sydykov, the former head of the presidential administration, and Iskhak Masaliyev, the leader of the Communist Party parliamentary faction, and over 40 former lawmakers from Bakiyev's party, Ak Jol.

The situation in Kyrgyzstan, where violent unrest led to the overthrow of the government in early April, worsened on Thursday when supporters of deposed President Kurmanbek Bakiyev stormed administrative buildings in three southern regions, the former leader's powerbase.

At least two people were killed, with some 59 injured when Bakiyev supporters clashed with backers of the interim government.

The security service said Bakiyev's supporters were seeking to use the destabilized situation in the country to take power. It added that they were being financed by Bakiyev's relatives and confidants, citing recorded telephone conversations, witness testimony, and documents and other evidence seized during searches.

Sydykov and Masaliyev were arrested May 14 on charges of organizing mass disorders and seeking to seize power using force.

Masaliyev's supporters deny accusations saying the criminal case has a "political" nature.

Last week, Kyrgyz authorities formally requested Bakiyev's extradition from Belarus, where he took refuge last month. An official said the request was under consideration, but a Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman suggested it would not be resolved quickly.

The Kyrgyz Prosecutor General's Office has accused Bakiyev and his relatives of involvement in the deaths of more than 80 people shot by security forces during the April unrest.

Kyrgyzstan's interim government took power on April 7 amid violent unrest in which more than 80 people died while 1,500 were injured.

On June 27 a referendum on the adoption of a new constitution, changing the Kyrgyz presidential republic into a parliamentary one and cutting the rights of the president, will be held.