Tampa Tribune (Florida) March 25, 2005
Protesters Push Out Kyrgyzstan's Leader
Anger Over Elections Leads To Violence
By Mark McDonald
MOSCOW - Protesters in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan took control of the capital Thursday as they fought with government partisans, stormed government buildings, took control of the national TV network and apparently chased the president from the country.
It was the third time in two years that opposition forces overturned an authoritarian government in Russia's back yard in the wake of allegations that elections were fraudulent. Unlike the Rose Revolution in Georgia in 2003 and the Orange Revolution in Ukraine last year, the Kyrgyz revolt was marred by violence.
Opposition leaders tried to re-establish order Thursday evening as the defense and interior ministers ordered their troops to stand down.
One immediate challenge for the new rulers was rampant looting in government buildings and shops in Bishkek, the capital.
The Supreme Court met in emergency session and annulled the results of a recent parliamentary election that antigovernment politicians said was tainted by fraud. Parliament also convened Thursday night and named Ishenbai Kadyrbekov, a former member of Parliament, as acting president.
Reports that President Askar Akayev had fled the country - to Kazakhstan or Russia - were still unconfirmed late Thursday.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the United States was working with the United Nations, European monitors and "our Russian friends" to keep track of events.
"The future of Kyrgyzstan should be decided by the people of Kyrgyzstan, consistent with the principles of peaceful change, of dialogue and respect for the rule of law," he said.
The United States maintains an air base at the Manas airport outside Bishkek. The base, with an estimated 1,000 troops, is used principally for flights in support of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
A Russian military base, known as Kant, sits a dozen miles away.
Protests have been building in Kyrgyzstan since March 13, when pro-government candidates swept parliamentary elections. Protesters said the vote had been rigged by Akayev loyalists, and European monitors said the elections were badly flawed.
There's deep resentment at widespread corruption that favors Akayev's family, business friends and political colleagues. The president, 60, a Soviet-trained scientist, has been in power since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Thursday's events in Bishkek began when protesters were charged by stick-wielding Akayev supporters wearing blue arm bands.
Fights broke out in the main square and along the principal downtown boulevard. Several dozen injuries were reported. There were no immediate reports of any deaths, and police and security forces didn't fire on protesters.
Antigovernment groups eventually took control of the presidential compound in the city center. They seized the minister of defense - releasing him later.
They also freed opposition leader Felix Kulov, a former vice president and former head of the secret police who was imprisoned five years ago on embezzlement charges.
Kulov said it wasn't clear whether Akayev had resigned from the presidency before fleeing his Bishkek residence.
(CHART) KYRGYZSTAN
Kyrgyzstan, population 5.1 million, is in Central Asia, a strategically significant area that lies near Russia, China, Afghanistan and Iraq. Kyrgyzstan shares a direct border with China. The United States has more than 1,000 troops stationed at Manas Air Field, outside the capital of Bishkek.
The U.S. State Department has expressed concern that the Kyrgyzstan government represses opposition groups and independent media. Political insurgents and their ties to foreign terrorist organizations also cause worry.
For more on Kyrgyzstan, see the Department of State's Web site: www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5755.htm.
Research by ANGIE DROBNIC HOLAN; Sources: CIA World Fact Book, U.S. Department of State, World Almanac 2005, globalsecurity.org
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
© Copyright 2005, The Tribune Co. Publishes The Tampa Tribune
