Protesters seize second city in Kyrgyzstan
Bishkek (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Kyrgyzstan's opposition took control of the country's second-biggest city yesterday, as protests demanding the resignation of President Askar Akayev swept the south. Police and officials in Osh fled when about 3,000 opposition supporters -some armed with clubs and Molotov cocktails - marched on the regional administrative building, leaving the city in opposition hands. The nearby town of Jalal-Abad fell to the opposition overnight on Sunday after violent clashes between 15,000 demonstrators left at least four policemen dead. The north, including the capital, Bishkek, has remained calm. The protests were triggered by opposition accusations that two rounds of parliamentary elections in February and March had been rigged by the government.
Opposition politicians also suspect Mr Akayev of planning to use his parliamentary majority to change the law to give himself a third term in office. Elections have been judged as flawed by foreign observers. Yesterday, the president asked for a recount in various districts.
According to some analysts, violent opposition protests in Kyrgyzstan could plunge the former Soviet republic into civil war rather than bring about a peaceful Ukrainian-style change of power.
"There is a quite open and obvious attempt to imitate Ukraine's Orange Revolution by the opposition in these events," says Irina Zvigelskaya, an regional expert with the independent Center for Strategic and Political Studies in Moscow. "There is a real danger that instability in Kyrgyzstan could unleash the pent-up forces of Islamic fundamentalism or ethnic conflict."
The crisis has highlighted tension between Kyrgyzstan's south and the more prosperous north, home to the capital Bishkek. The south, economically depressed, is the stronghold of Uzbekistani minority (13,8% on 5,2 million of habitants). Kyrgyzstan's people are Muslims at 70 per cent; Orthodox Christians are 20 per cent.
Akayev has warned that any attempt to copy Ukraine's "orange revolution" could drag the mostly Muslim country of nearly 5 million into civil war.
The mood in Moscow is wary and nervous. Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement Monday warning that there should be no compromise with the "extremist forces" who are threatening to undermine Kyrgyzstan's delicate political balance. (LF)
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