Consolidating their victory after a bloody uprising, opposition
leaders declared Thursday they would hold power in
Kyrgyzstan for six months
and assured the U.S. it can keep a strategic air base here — at least
for now.
There were signs of instability, though, as deposed
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev
refused to relinquish power after the revolt, which left at least 75
people dead and hundreds wounded. As he spoke, gunfire broke out after
nightfall in the capital,
Bishkek.
With darkness descending, roving bands of armed
marauders trawled the streets of the capital, despite warnings from the
opposition leadership that looters would be shot.
Crowds gathering at the ransacked government
headquarters earlier in the day angrily shouted anti-Bakiyev slogans.
Still, the mood was subdued as residents came to terms with the scale of
the violence unleashed against the mostly unarmed protesters by
government troops a day earlier.
Newly appointed
Kyrgyz security officials warned they would
use every means to restore calm and bring an end to the nighttime
lawlessness that terrorized Bishkek after Wednesday's clashes.
The former
Soviet nation is home to a key
U.S. military
base supporting the fighting in
Afghanistan that opposition figures have in
the past said they wanted to see shut down. Kyrgyzstan also hosts a
Russian military base
and is the only nation where both Cold War foes have bases.
Roza
Otunbayeva, a former foreign minister now heading the interim
government, said there were no plans yet to review the lease agreement
for the
Manas air base,
which runs out in July. She said her government would meet U.S.
diplomats for talks in Bishkek.
"Give us time, it will take time for us to understand
and fix the situation," Otunbayeva said.
U.S.
military officials said Kyrgyzstan halted flights for 12 hours
Wednesday, confining troops to the air base; they did not say if flights
had resumed. Some 1,100 troops are stationed there, including
contingents from
Spain
and France, in support of NATO operations in Afghanistan.
President Barack Obama and
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev discussed
Kyrgyzstan before signing an arms treaty in Prague on Thursday.
Michael
McFaul, Obama's senior director for Russian affairs, emphasized
that the U.S. did not view the conflict as any kind of proxy struggle
between the U.S. and
Russia.
"The people that are allegedly running Kyrgyzstan ...
these are all people we've had contact with for many years," McFaul
said. "This is not some anti-American coup, that we know for sure. And
this is not some sponsored-by-the-Russians coup, there's just no
evidence of that."
Kyrgyzstan shares a 533-mile (858-kilometer) border
with China and is a gateway to energy-rich Central Asian countries where
the U.S., China and Russia are competing for dominance. China said it
was "deeply concerned" about the violent uprising in its small western
neighbor, echoing comments by the United States and Russia.
Otunbayeva said parliament had been dissolved and
that she would head an interim government for six months before
elections are called. She said the new government controlled four of the
country's seven regions and called for Bakiyev to admit defeat.
"His business in Kyrgyzstan is finished," she said.
In a sign that Russia may lend its support to the
opposition,
Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin called Otunbayeva on Thursday. Any
suggestion that Russia is backing the new leadership would add to the
pressure on Bakiyev to step down.
Russia sent in 150 paratroopers to its base to ensure
the safety of the 400 military personnel and their families there,
Russian state media reported.
Bakiyev, who fled the northern capital for his
stronghold in the south, told a Russian radio station that "I don't
admit defeat in any way." But he also said he recognized that "even
though I am president, I don't have any real levers of power."
"What has taken place is a veritable orgy carried out by armed groups
and I do not believe this is a defeat for me," Bakiyev said.
He spoke from southern
Jalal-Abad
region, where Bakiyev's popularity is said to remain high — raising
concerns he might try to secure his survival by exploiting the split
between the more urban north and rural south.
It was unclear if Bakiyev has any armed forces under his command.
However, Koshbai Masirov, a government loyalist and former governor of
Jalal-Abad, said Bakiyev had addressed people in the region and he
expected him to retain their support.
Meanwhile, the newly appointed interim defense minister,
Ismail Isakov, said the
armed forces had joined the opposition and would not be used against
protesters.
"
Special forces
and the military were used against civilians in
Bishkek, Talas and other places," Isakov
said. "This will not happen in the future."
Since coming to power in 2005 amid street protests known as the
Tulip Revolution,
Bakiyev had ensured a measure of stability. But the opposition said it
came at the expense of democratic standards and accused Bakiyev of
enriching himself and his family.
Piles of ash and smoldering debris filled the street Thursday outside
the monolithic government headquarters, known as the
White House, where
marauders set fire to ransacked goods and trash overnight.
Jubilant young men stood atop gutted vehicles outside the building.
Nearby, youths piled onto an
armored personnel carrier, victoriously
holding their arms aloft.
Fading bloodstains were still visible outside the White House, where
dozens were killed by armed troops a day earlier. Young boys scurried in
and out of the building, carrying away looted carpets.
As afternoon approached, the crowds swelled. But a somber mood hung in
the air as one-minute tributes for those killed in the violence
punctuated speeches by politicians and opposition supporters.
As night fell, gunshots rang out around Bishkek, where rumors spread of
an attempt by armed Bakiyev loyalists to sow panic. The city of 1
million was plunged into darkness, with hotels and homeowners afraid to
turn on their lights for fear of attracting attention.
Throughout the day, many expressed a sense of uneasy wariness about the
future.
"We have kicked out Bakiyev, the people have taken power into their own
hands, but we have no plans for the future," said Abdykerim Sadykov, a
42-year-old teacher in the crowd outside the White House. "We will wait
until the opposition hatches a plan."
On Thursday, details emerged of the composition of the interim Cabinet,
which has been drawn from a broad spectrum of opposition leaders, whose
differences in the past have undermined attempts to weaken Bakiyev.
One area of consensus was on the decision to repeal sharp increases in
heating and electricity bills that provoked widespread anger and helped
precipitate this week's violence.
Otunbayeva's announcement at a packed briefing that cheap utilities
would be restored and the recent privatization of a power company
annulled elicited cheers and clapping from supporters crowding the hall.
But beyond the issue of utilities, the new team of ministers may have
trouble forging a united platform.
Azimbek Beknazarov, a populist taking over a broad justice portfolio,
vowed that the incoming authorities would hunt down those responsible
for Wednesday's deaths.
"We are looking for those people that gave the order to open fire on
demonstrators," he said. "We must find these criminals, we will not
allow anybody to open fire on their own people."
David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer
