From ABC 7 News: Kyrgyzstan: Protests Are Part of 'Coup' Location: BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan Posted: March 22, 2005 8:28 AM EST URL: http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0305/215175.html
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) - Protests sweeping Kyrgyzstan are part of a "coup" designed by criminals, President Askar Akayev's spokesman said Tuesday, and the government signaled it has no intention of accepting election fraud charges that have fueled the massive rallies. The protests in the southern cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad were controlled by "criminal elements connected to the drug mafia ... struggling to gain power," said spokesman Abdil Seghizbayev. Osh, Kyrgyzstan's second-largest city, is a major transit point for drugs from Afghanistan and Tajikistan to Kazakhstan and Russia. Seghizbayev's comments came a day after opposition activists - angered over what they allege was widespread manipulation of this year's parliamentary elections - took control of Osh using clubs and Molotov cocktails to storm government buildings, forcing police and officials to flee. The opposition demonstrations in Osh and four other towns in Kyrgyzstan's impoverished south has increased pressure on Akayev, who has ruled this former Soviet republic in Central Asia for 15 years. The president sought to stem the protests Monday by ordering an investigation into the vote-rigging allegations, but the emboldened opposition vowed to press on to force him to leave office. Akayev, 60, is prohibited from seeking another term, but the opposition has accused him of manipulating the parliamentary vote to gain a compliant legislature that would amend the constitution to allow a third term. Akayev has denied that. Seghizbayev called the protests "a putsch and a coup," the Interfax news agency reported. "The role of extremist and terrorist organizations is increasing in the country's south," Seghizbayev told The Associated Press. "At the moment, the provocateurs' ex-candidates for parliament have fled to Bishkek. They no longer control the situation, the crowd is being controlled by criminal leaders." Seghizbayev would not identify the alleged organizations. He said protesters had seized weapons when storming a police station in Jalal-Abad, adding that they could try to blame the government for any casualties they caused. "The only wise move for the government at the moment is not to enter confrontation," he told the AP. The Central Election Commission chief, Sulaiman Imanbayev, on Tuesday announced what he called final results of the Feb. 27 first-round parliamentary elections and the March 13 runoffs but did not detail those results with breakdowns for individual districts. However, he said that results in 71 of the country's 75 electoral districts were legitimate - adding that only one district would require a repeat vote and that the three remaining districts would be disputed in court. According to preliminary results announced earlier, only six opposition candidates were elected to the 75-seat parliament. Imanbayev said the winners would be officially registered later Tuesday - a sign that authorities are eager to seat the new parliament. Imanbayev brushed off concerns that the move could escalate tensions. "The sooner the new parliament starts to work, the sooner the situation in the country will get stabilized," he said. "We work only in accordance with the law, but not under the dictate of various political events." The capital of Bishkek, which has been calm so far, braced for demonstrations. Several busloads of Interior Ministry troops and riot police were deployed to guard the perimeter of the main square, next to the president's office and other government buildings. At least several hundred pro-Akayev protesters, most of them who appeared to be university students, were gathered there. "The situation is explosive and may go out of control at any moment," the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted an opposition leader, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, as saying. Osh was calm on Tuesday after protesters allowed government workers back into their offices. Police and opposition representatives launched joint patrols of the city on Monday night, said police Col. Ermekbai Kochorov. He said about half the city's police force had returned to work on his request. A group of 50 young men, sporting red ribbons on their arms, were backing up police. "Our common goal is security in the city," said their leader, Bazarbai Soltuyev. About 100 opposition protesters wearing yellow ribbons gathered in Osh's central square Tuesday. "We're sitting here for justice because the elections were not held fairly. We want Akayev to resign," said Madamin Turduyev, a 54-year-old protester. The protests were launched after the first round of voting and swelled after subsequent runoffs that the opposition and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said were seriously flawed. Russia has condemned the demonstrations, saying "extremist forces" must not be allowed to undermine the government. Many observers have likened the events in Kyrgyzstan to massive opposition protests that swept former Soviet republics Georgia and Ukraine in the past two years, ousting unpopular governments. However, Kyrgyzstan's opposition forces have lacked unity and charismatic leadership. Akayev was long regarded as a reform-minded leader, but in recent years he has shown increasing signs of cracking down. His reputation was tarnished in 2002 after police killed six people who were protesting the arrest of an opposition lawmaker. Written By BAGILA BUKHARBAYEVA TM & ©2005 WJLA/NewsChannel 8, a division of Allbritton Communications Company Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press... 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