Freedom is Spreading!!
A great article on the freedom movement in Kyrgyzstan, which borders China no less! From Intercessors Network, if you would like to receive their regular updates you can e-mail Lars Widerberg at Intercessors.Network@Comhem.se
Protesters oust Kyrgyz government
The opposition in Kyrgyzstan says it has taken control of the capital, Bishkek, after overrunning the president’s palace. Protesters confronted supporters of President Askar Akayev before flooding into government offices. A prominent Kyrgyz opposition leader, Felix Kulov, made a televised appeal for calm after being freed from jail. An unconfirmed report by Interfax news agency said Mr Akayev and his family have left Bishkek by helicopter.
Demonstrations were stepped up after recent parliamentary elections, which the opposition said were rigged. Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court has annulled February’s controversial elections and recognised the former parliament as the legitimate legislature, Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency quoted court chairman, Kurmanbek Osmonov, as saying.
Palace stormed At the palace - also the seat of government - police melted away as hundreds of protesters flooded into the compound. Some appeared in windows, waving flags and throwing out documents. Officials were seen fleeing by the back door.
Mr Akayev had been due to hold talks on the crisis in Bishkek with a special envoy from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), but the meeting did not take place. Mr Kulov, a former vice-president who was jailed for embezzlement in 2000, appealed to Mr Akayev to “meet with opposition leaders in order to peacefully and constitutionally transfer power”. Observers say Mr Kulov is emerging as the leader of what is a fractious opposition.
Clashes Central Asia correspondent Monica Whitlock says events have moved at lightning speed, from a quiet demonstration in the morning to a full-scale insurrection. The demonstration in Bishkek grew rapidly from a few hundred people to as many as 10,000. Protesters chanting “Down with the Akayev clans” marched through the capital to the presidential palace, known as the White House.
Security forces surrounding the building repelled an initial attempt to storm the compound, but offered little resistance when the demonstrators fought back. Clashes erupted between protesters and government supporters in nearby Ala Too Square and there were reports of some injuries. The opposition has appeared united so far in calling for the president to resign and for new elections to be held. But our correspondent says the fact that some of the demonstrators are carrying pink banners while others carry yellow shows how difficult it may be for them to find common ground on more complicated political issues.
Opposition activists have also seized control of several regional government buildings in key towns in the south of the country. Russia, which considers Kyrgyzstan as part of its natural sphere of influence, urged the country to “return onto a lawful path”, AFP news agency quoted the Russian foreign ministry as saying.
