Kyrgyzstan opposition announces interim government, urges president who fled to resign

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Kyrgyz opposition forms interim government

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — An opposition coalition proclaimed a new interim government Thursday in Kyrgyzstan after clashes left dozens dead nationwide and said it would rule until elections are held in six months. It also urged the president, who has fled the capital, to resign.

Opposition leader Roza Otunbayeva, the former foreign minister, said parliament was dissolved and she would head the interim government. She said the new government controlled four of the seven provinces in the Central Asian nation, home to a key U.S. military base supporting the fighting in Afghanistan that the opposition has said it wants to close.

Otunbayeva called on President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who she said had fled the capital of Bishkek to seek support in the central Jalal-Abad region, to resign.

“His business in Kyrgyzstan is finished,” she said.

Thousands of protesters have clashed with security forces throughout the country in the last two days, driving out local governments and on Thursday seizing government headquarters in Bishkek.

The interim defense minister said the armed forces have joined the opposition and will not be used to disperse protesters.

“Special forces and the military were used against civilians in Bishkek, Talas and other places,” Ismail Isakov said. “This will not happen in the future.”

In Bishkek on Thursday, residents nervously went about their business on a clear spring morning, the snowcapped mountains visible in the distance. There was no sign of police on the streets.

Most of the government buildings in the capital, as well as Bakiyev’s houses, have been looted or set on fire and two major markets were burned down. A paper portrait of Bakiyev at the government headquarters was smeared with red paint. Obscenities toward him were spray-painted on buildings nearby.

China on Thursday said it was “deeply concerned” about the violent uprising in its small western neighbor, echoing earlier comments by Russia and the United States. All three give aid to Kyrgyzstan, which has remained impoverished since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Since coming to power in 2005 amid street protests known as the Tulip Revolution, Bakiyev had ensured a measure of stability in the country of 5 million people, but the opposition said he did so at the expense of democratic standards while enriching himself and his family.

He gave his relatives, including his son, top government and economic posts and faced the same accusations of corruption and cronyism that led to the ouster of his predecessor, Askar Akayev.

Otunbayeva blamed Bakiyev for the week’s violent clashes. On Wednesday, elite riot police shot into crowds of rock-throwing protesters in Bishkek, and hospitals were overwhelmed with the dead and wounded.

“Yesterday’s events were a response to aggression, tyranny and a crackdown on dissenters,” she said. “All the people who were killed and wounded are victims of this regime.”

The Health Ministry said 68 people were killed and 400 people hospitalized in clashes nationwide Wednesday, while the opposition said at least 100 people were killed.

Many protesters were outraged at huge hikes in prices for electricity and gas heating that went into effect in January and angered by opposition claims of corruption in Bakiyev’s government.

In the past two years, Bakiyev’s government had clamped down on the media, and opposition activists said they were routinely intimidated and targeted by politically motivated criminal investigations.

The impoverished mountainous nation, which shares a 533-mile (858-kilometer) border with China, is a gateway to other energy-rich Central Asian countries where China, Russia and the U.S. are competing fiercely for dominance. Kyrgyzstan is also a ready market for cheap Chinese-made goods.

Kyrgyzstan is a predominantly Muslim country, but just as in Soviet times, it has remained secular. There has been less fear of the spread of Islamic fundamentalism than in other mostly Muslim regions of the former Soviet Union.

“As a friendly neighbor, we are deeply concerned over the development of the situation in the Kyrgyz capital and other areas, and we sincerely hope that order can be restored as soon as possible and relevant issues can be resolved through legal channels,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a statement.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin denied any involvement in the uprising but criticized Bakiyev’s government for repeating Akayev’s mistakes.

“These events caught me completely by surprise,” Putin said. “When President Bakiyev came to power, he was very harshly critical of the fact that the relatives of the deposed President Akayev had taken positions throughout Kyrgyzstan’s economy. I have the impression that Mr. Bakiyev is stepping on these same rakes.”

In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the U.S. deplored the violence and urged all to respect the rule of law.

“We identify with the concerns that the people of Kyrgyzstan have about their future,” but those concerns should be dealt with peacefully, Crowley said.

Kyrgyzstan hosts a U.S. air base, Manas, which serves as an essential transit point for supplies to the military operations in nearby Afghanistan.

U.S. military officials said Kyrgyzstan officials halted flights for 12 hours Wednesday at the Manas air base. It was not clear when it would be allowed to reopen.

In 2009, Kyrgyzstan said U.S. forces would have to leave Manas, a decision made shortly after Russia granted Kyrgyzstan more than $2 billion in aid and loans. U.S. officials suggested the eviction decision hinged on Moscow’s aid.

The government later reversed its stance and agreed to a revised one-year deal giving U.S. troops rights to use the facility. Under the new lease, the rent increased to $60 million a year, from $17 million.

In addition, the U.S. is also paying $37 million to build new aircraft parking slots and storage areas, plus $30 million for new navigation systems. Washington is also giving Kyrgyzstan $51.5 million to combat drug trafficking and terrorism and promote economic development.

Last Saturday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the country and criticized Kyrgyzstan’s government for human rights violations.

Associated Press writers Leila Saralayeva in Bishkek, Anita Chang in Beijing, Lynn Berry, Mansur Mirovalev and David Nowak in Moscow, and Matthew Lee and Anne Flaherty in Washington contributed to this report.