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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, March 29 - Shortly before Kyrgyzstan's recent parliamentary elections, an opposition newspaper ran photographs of a palatial home under construction for the country's deeply unpopular president, Askar Akayev, helping set off widespread outrage and a popular revolt in this poor Central Asian country. The newspaper was the recipient of United States government grants and was printed on an American government-financed printing press operated by Freedom House, an American organization that describes itself as "a clear voice for democracy and freedom around the world." In addition to the United States, several European countries - Britain, the Netherlands and Norway...

Kyrgyzstan's new parliament set a date for presidential elections yesterday, despite the prospect of further instability as supporters of the ousted Askar Akayev began to mass in protest. Opposition politicians, who seized power on Thursday after thousands of their supporters stormed President Akayev's offices, said polls to elect new leaders would be held on June 26. Kurmanbek Bakiev However, the pledge from Kurmanbek Bakiev, the acting president and prime minister, did little to quell fears of a showdown with supporters of Mr Akayev, who is believed to have fled by helicopter after the takeover of the presidential compound in Bishkek....

Kyrgyzstan's president fled Thursday after opposition supporters seized the nation's main seat of power.MOSCOW - Another post-Soviet regime was crumbling amid popular jubilation Thursday, after crowds stormed Kyrgyzstan's presidential palace and sent longtime ruler Askar Akayev fleeing the country. Parties loyal to Mr. Akayev officially won 90 percent of the votes in recent parliamentary elections. But the rapid collapse of his security forces and government after about 10,000 opposition supporters massed in Bishkek, the country's northern capital, Thursday suggests a very different reality. "Akayev's 14 years in power have been a time of mass impoverishment for the people," says Sanobar...

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, March 24 - Protesters alleging corruption, repression and electoral fraud forced the longtime president of this central Asian country to flee his palace on Thursday, the third time a government of a former Soviet republic has been toppled in a popular uprising in a year and a half. President Askar Akayev and his family fled Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, after crowds at a large opposition rally seized control of the presidential palace and began looting it. Kyrgyzstan's Parliament elected a former opposition lawmaker, Ishenbai Kadyrbekov, as the country's interim president. It was unclear whether the decision was legally...

Kyrgyz minister threatens force amid stepped-up opposition protests BISHKEK (AFP) - Kyrgyzstan's new interior minister warned that authorities could resort to the use of force to restore order, as the government tried to keep opposition-led protests over a contested election from spreading to the capital. Just hours after his appointment, Keneshbek Dyushbayev said that law enforcement forces could legally use "physical methods, special means and issued arms in order to restore constitutional order". "If their actions exceed the framework of the law, then we intend to use the whole arsenal" of measures, he added. The former Bishkek police chief also...

It's been a big day in Kyrgyzstan. While the protests have been steadily growing over the past month or so, today was clearly a marker event. Even from the beginning of this website, I have always referred visitors to Nathan's Registan.net, where he keeps up on all issues Central Asia. He has always been the guy to go to for everything you needed to know about the Tulip Revolution. I certainly wouldn't know much about Central Asia if it weren't for him and the news/analysis he brings to the table. I am certainly not as knowledgeable as him, but I...

Protesters Seize Kyrgyzstan Government HQ March 24, 2005 BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Protesters stormed the presidential compound in Kyrgyzstan (search) on Thursday, seizing control of the symbol of power after clashing with riot police who had surrounded it during a large opposition rally. The defense minister was led out of the building by demonstrators. About 1,000 protesters managed to clear riot police from their positions outside the fence protecting the building, and about half that number entered the compound and went into the building through the front entrance. Others smashed windows with stones, while hundreds of police watched from outside the...

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan - President Askar Akayev and his family left Kyrgyzstan's capital by helicopter Thursday evening, the Interfax news agency reported, hours after protesters seized government headquarters in Bishkek and claimed control of state broadcasting facilities. The report, which cited unspecified sources and could not immediately be confirmed, said the helicopter was headed toward Kazakhstan. During the takeover, about 1,000 protesters cleared riot police from their positions outside the fence protecting the building, and about half entered through the front. Others smashed windows with stones, tossed papers and tore portraits of Akayev in half and stomped on them.

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan -- Kyrgyzstan's new hard-line interior minister warned on Wednesday that force could be used to restore order, and riot police violently broke up an opposition rally in the capital, Bishkek, sending a signal that authorities were determined to prevent protests from spreading north.