Kyrgyz unrest
April 7, 2010
Kyrgyz Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov has reportedly resigned during a second day of violent protests in the capital Bishkek. The opposition claims it has taken power and formed a provisional government with former foreign minister Rosa Otunbayeva at its head.
"The opposition is in full control of power," Russian news agency RIA quoted Otunbayeva, as saying. She told Reuters that she had established an interim government that would run for six months while they establish a constitution and conditions for elections.
The whereabouts of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev are unclear, although AFP quotes an airport official as saying Bakiyev had left Bishkek by plane.
Conflicting reports
It is not clear how many people have died so far during the clashes. The opposition claims up to 100 are dead, while the Health Ministry claims 65 people died, with a further 400 injured.
Interior Minister Moldomussa Kongantiyev is also belived to be dead. Opposition activist Shamil Murat told the AP news agency he saw Kongantiyev's dead body after protesters beat him up in the western city of Talas.
In conflicting reports, however, AFP news agency quoted an interior ministry spokesperson as denying that Kongantiyev was dead.
Around 5,000 protesters have taken to the streets to demand the resignation of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
The government had earlier declared a nationwide state of emergency and had vowed to "severely" crush the protests.
Police had fired tear gas, flash grenades and rubber bullets at thousands of protesters who gathered at the presidential administration building earlier in the day.
Wednesday's rallies followed violent protests in Talas, where thousands of protesters stormed a regional government office and held a governor hostage for several hours on Tuesday. Crowds spent the night burning tires in the central square and breaking windows, and on Wednesday about 10,000 people stormed and began looting the town police headquarters.
Hundreds of demonstrators in the city of Naryn stormed government offices there and installed a new governor. Several were wounded in clashes there, opposition activist Adilet Eshenov told the Associated Press.
Corruption and economy key concerns
The umbrella group for opposition parties, the United Opposition Movement, is demanding that Bakiyev remove cronies and relatives from key positions and do something about government corruption.They are also angry about a clampdown on human rights and economic decline in the country, which saw its economy grow by just 2.3 percent compared to 8.4 percent the previous year.
Bakiyev was elected in a popular revolt in 2005, but elections in 2007 which kept him in power were widely criticized as irregular.
International appeals for calm
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has called on Bishkek to "seek a dialogue" and has offered its help in solving Kyrgyzstan's problems.
The United States has also condemned the violence.
"We urge all parties to show respect for the rule of law and resolve differences in a peaceful orderly and legal manner," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.
A statement by the German foreign ministry echoed those concerns.
"I call upon both sides to exercise restraint. Not violent actions, but peaceful dialogue, are the only correct way to calm down the situation on the ground," foreign minister Guido Westerwelle said.
svs/ng/cb/Reuters/AP/AFP/dpa
Editor: Chuck Penfold