Struggle to restore order in Kyrgyzstan
Source: Agencies |
April 19, 2010, Monday
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KYRGYZSTAN'S interim rulers ran into fresh hostility in the restless south yesterday after supporters of the country's deposed president laid siege to regional government headquarters.
Kurmanbek Bakiyev, toppled in a violent revolt on April 7, went into exile last week after days of turmoil that threatened civil war and disrupted military flights from a crucial United States air base that supports operations in nearby Afghanistan.
The interim government, which has yet to be formally recognized globally, says its forces control the Central Asian nation, but the situation appeared fluid in the south, Bakiyev's tribal stronghold.
Persistent uncertainly in Kyrgyzstan is a worry for the US and Russia, both of which operate military air bases in the nation of 5.3 million.
Bakiyev supporters broke into a regional government office in the southern city of Jalalabad late on Saturday and briefly seized a local television channel, witnesses said.
Reuters reporters said the government building was now guarded by a group of men who identified themselves as Bakiyev loyalists. The overall situation was calm and no police or security forces appeared to be in sight.
A few dozen protesters remained outside, some holding banners in support of Bakiyev's defence minister, who was arrested by the interim government last week.
"We voted for Bakiyev. He is our president. I don't believe that he resigned. I want him back," said Sultan-Maksut Dubanayev, a 55-year-old resident of Jalalabad.
On Saturday, a crowd hurled stones at Bolotbek Sherniyazov, the interim interior minister, after he arrived there to lead a security operation to arrest a number of Bakiyev loyalists.
Hawks in the new administration have called for the US base to be shut, accusing the US of ignoring corruption and abuses under Bakiyev in order to keep the base.
For now, interim chief Roza Otunbayeva says the government would abide by its US base agreements and allow the lease to be extended automatically for another year this summer.
There were conflicting reports about Bakiyev's whereabouts.
Kazakh officials said he was in the Kazakh city of Taraz but some media reported that he had moved on from there elsewhere.
The new government says it allowed Bakiyev to escape in order to avoid civil war, saying that Bakiyev had sent a formal letter of resignation shortly after fleeing.
His close family member siad in the clan village of Teyyit that the letter was a fake and that Bakiyev had never intended to resign.
Kurmanbek Bakiyev, toppled in a violent revolt on April 7, went into exile last week after days of turmoil that threatened civil war and disrupted military flights from a crucial United States air base that supports operations in nearby Afghanistan.
The interim government, which has yet to be formally recognized globally, says its forces control the Central Asian nation, but the situation appeared fluid in the south, Bakiyev's tribal stronghold.
Persistent uncertainly in Kyrgyzstan is a worry for the US and Russia, both of which operate military air bases in the nation of 5.3 million.
Bakiyev supporters broke into a regional government office in the southern city of Jalalabad late on Saturday and briefly seized a local television channel, witnesses said.
Reuters reporters said the government building was now guarded by a group of men who identified themselves as Bakiyev loyalists. The overall situation was calm and no police or security forces appeared to be in sight.
A few dozen protesters remained outside, some holding banners in support of Bakiyev's defence minister, who was arrested by the interim government last week.
"We voted for Bakiyev. He is our president. I don't believe that he resigned. I want him back," said Sultan-Maksut Dubanayev, a 55-year-old resident of Jalalabad.
On Saturday, a crowd hurled stones at Bolotbek Sherniyazov, the interim interior minister, after he arrived there to lead a security operation to arrest a number of Bakiyev loyalists.
Hawks in the new administration have called for the US base to be shut, accusing the US of ignoring corruption and abuses under Bakiyev in order to keep the base.
For now, interim chief Roza Otunbayeva says the government would abide by its US base agreements and allow the lease to be extended automatically for another year this summer.
There were conflicting reports about Bakiyev's whereabouts.
Kazakh officials said he was in the Kazakh city of Taraz but some media reported that he had moved on from there elsewhere.
The new government says it allowed Bakiyev to escape in order to avoid civil war, saying that Bakiyev had sent a formal letter of resignation shortly after fleeing.
His close family member siad in the clan village of Teyyit that the letter was a fake and that Bakiyev had never intended to resign.
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