Free Republic

What happened in Uzbekistan? The government and opposition protesters are sharply at odds in Uzbekistan days after the eastern city of Andijan exploded into violence. A May 15 AP report claimed some 500 bodies had been laid out in a school in Andijan for identification by relatives, "corroborating witness accounts of hundreds killed" when soldiers opened fire on street protests. Medical authorities also reported some 2,000 wounded in local hospitals. However, a May 18 account on Russia's MosNews.com quotes Uzbek officials denying this very death toll. “Not a single civilian was killed by government forces there,” Prosecutor General Rashid Kadyrov...

The US is turning on old friends in Europe, writes John Laughland. Before he denounced the "prevailing influence" of the US in the "anti-constitutional coup" that overthrew him, President Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan used an interesting phrase to attack those who were stirring up trouble in the drug-ridden Ferghana Valley. A criminal "third force", linked to the drug mafia, was struggling to gain power. Originally a label for covert operatives shoring up apartheid in South Africa before it was adopted by the US-backed "pro-democracy" movement in Iran in November 2001, the third force is also the title of a book...

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, March 29 - Kyrgyzstan's ousted president, Askar Akayev, put out mixed messages on Tuesday about his willingness to resign, insisting first in a radio interview in Russia that he would not step down but later hinting that he might if given "adequate guarantees." "At this point I am the only popularly elected and legitimate president of the Kyrgyz Republic," Mr. Akayev said in an interview broadcast by Moscow Echo radio. He noted that his mandate would end on Oct. 30 this year. "At the moment, I can see no reasons, no grounds for submitting my resignation," he said....

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...

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (Reuters) - Kyrgyzstan's ousted interior minister led thousands of demonstrators toward the capital on Saturday to protest against the coup that overthrew President Askar Akayev, warning there was a risk of civil war. The new leadership declared it was firmly in control of the mountainous ex-Soviet state, but acting President Kurmanbek Bakiev switched the venue of a news conference because officials said they had information of a possible plot to kill him. Ignoring the exiled Akayev's refusal to resign in the face of what he called a coup, parliament set June 26 for a new presidential election in...

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...

The people of Kyrgyzstan have spoken—and acted. On Thursday, they stormed presidential headquarters and government buildings in the capital Bishkek in response to rigged parliamentary elections, and the government appears to be losing its grip on power. The Supreme Court has since annulled the elections, and the country is likely to return to the polls shortly. Still, Kyrgyzstan may face the prospects of civil war and possible disintegration if President Askar Akaev does not resign. In turn, turmoil in Kyrgyzstan could bring inter-ethnic and political violence to its larger neighbors, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and lead to their destabilization. To prevent...

Edil Baisaloff is the leader of the opposition NGO Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society in Kyrgyzstan. He was also head of the independent monitoring body for the Kyrgyz elections. The rally began peacefully He talked to the BBC News website about what happened at Thursday's mass opposition rally in Bishkek. I am in the central square. People are saying 'freedom, liberty.' Now they are celebrating but half an hour ago it was quite tense. The opposition wanted to hold a peaceful rally but the police broke up the rally and they used a lot of violence. People got beaten...

The people of Kyrgyzstan have spoken -- and acted. As they storm presidential palace and government buildings in the capital Bishkek, the government is paralyzed and impotent. The resignation of President Askar Akaev is the best way out of the crisis. Otherwise, the country will be facing a civil war, a bloody uprising, a possible disintegration, or all of the above. What's more, turmoil in Kyrgyzstan may destabilize its large neighbors, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, with catastrophic consequences of inter-ethnic and political violence. To prevent bloodshed, the US and its allies must act quickly to convince President Akaev to step down...

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.