Protesters control Kyrgyzstan
By MARK McDONALD

SunHerald.com, MS
Posted on Fri, Mar. 25, 2005

KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS

MOSCOW – Protesters in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan took control
of the capital Thursday as they fought with pro-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 had 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 quickly tried to re-establish order Thursday evening as
the defense and interior ministers ordered their troops to stand down.

The Supreme Court met in emergency session and annulled the results of a
recent parliamentary election that anti-government 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 the rapidly unfolding 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 capital. The base, with an estimated 1,000 troops, is used
principally for flights in support of American forces in Afghanistan.

A Russian military base, known as Kant, sits only a dozen miles away.

Thursday’s events in Bishkek began when protesters were charged by
stick-wielding Akayev supporters wearing blue armbands.

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 the
protesters.

Anti-government groups eventually took control of the presidential compound
in the city center. They seized the minister of defense – releasing him
later – and smashed windows and furniture in the White House.

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.

SOVIET REPUBLICS

The Soviet Union broke up in 1991, creating 14 separate republics, many of
them governed by people tied to the defunct Soviet system. Here’s a status
report on those countries:

ARMENIA: President Robert Kocharian, a former Communist Party member, became
president in 1997. He was re-elected in 2003 in a contentious election.

AZERBAIJAN: Political instability postponed elections until 1992. More
instability led to the election of Heydar Aliyev, a former KGB agent, as
president in 1993. His son, Ilham Aliyev, won the presidency in a disputed
election in 2003.

BELARUS: President Alexander Lukashenko was elected in 1994 and re-elected
in 1999. A referendum in 2004 did away with limitations on presidential
terms. He’s expected to run again in 2006.

ESTONIA: Declared independence in 1991 after the “Singing Revolution,” in
which thousands of Estonians sang in mass demonstrations.

GEORGIA: The “Rose Revolution” of 2003 forced former Soviet Foreign Minister
Eduard Shevardnadze from the presidency amid allegations of widespread voter
fraud.

KAZAKHSTAN: Former Communist Party member Nursultan Nazarbayev was elected
the country’s first president in 1991 and re-elected in 1997.

KYRGYZSTAN: President Askar Akayev apparently resigned and fled the country
Thursday after allegations of voter fraud in parliamentary elections sparked
opposition protests.

LATVIA: Several governments have formed, dissolved and re-formed since
independence in 1991. President Vaira Vike-Freiberga was elected in 1999 and
re-elected in 2003.

LITHUANIA: The government has swung from one political party to the other.
In January 2004, the president was impeached. A newly elected government
took office last December.

MOLDOVA: An election in 2001 led to the Communist Party being in control.

TAJIKISTAN: Instability led to a 1997 peace accord, implemented in 2000. The
1999 and 2000 elections were considered flawed but legitimate. Tajikistan is
the only Central Asian country with an Islamic party represented in
Parliament.

TURKMENISTAN: President Saparmurat Niyazov was elected in 1991. In 1999, he
was named president for life by a Parliament composed of members he’d
handpicked.

UKRAINE: Widespread allegations of voter fraud and intimidation in the 2004
presidential campaign led to the “Orange Revolution” protests, which
produced a runoff election won by opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko.

UZBEKISTAN: President Islam Karimov was elected in 1991; his term has been
extended until 2007.

Sources: State Department, Wikipedia, CIA Factbook

-Compiled by researcher Tish Wells