Kyrgyzstan takes tougher line against protesters challenging election results
02:22 AM EST Mar 24
BAGILA BUKHARBAYEVA
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) - Authorities raised the stakes Wednesday in a standoff with opposition groups that have seized control of large parts of southern Kyrgyzstan, with riot police breaking up a protest in the capital and top officials warning they may use force to restore order elsewhere. Hints of a potential crackdown came from two tough-talking new law enforcement officials appointed by President Askar Akayev after he fired their predecessors over the unrest in the Central Asian country of mainly Turkic-speaking people. Protesters angered over allegedly fraudulent parliamentary elections have seized government administration buildings in three of Kyrgyzstan's seven regions and in smaller districts within two other regions. Most are in the south, where opposition to Akayev historically has been strongest, but one is in Talas, in the north, where his base of support generally had been more firm. Seizure of the buildings does not mean protesters have control of a region, but opposition forces clearly appeared to be in charge in Osh, the former Soviet republic's second-largest city, and in the sizable town of Jalal-Abad. "Our primary task is to restore constitutional order in all regions, but strictly in accordance with the constitution," said new Interior Minister Keneshbek Dushebayev. "The law gives us every right to take action, including by using physical force, special means and firearms." He spoke hours after riot police in the capital, Bishkek, broke up a small opposition rally, signalling government determination to keep protests from spreading north. About 200 police encircled protesters calling for Akayev's ouster, scuffling with those who resisted and locking arms to force some 100 demonstrators out of the central square. Police detained 20-30 people, dragging some away. "We will not allow any stormings, seizures and takeovers in Bishkek," Dushebayev said. Political culture in Kyrgyzstan is clan-based, and Akayev has strong support in his native north. If the fractured opposition can carry mass protests north across the mountain range bisecting the country and toward Bishkek, tensions could explode. Kyrgyzstan lacks the energy resources or pipeline routes of its neighbours that have drawn the interest of Russia, the United States and China. But its status as a conduit for drugs and a home for Islamic extremists makes for volatility, and it seeks to balance U.S. and Russian interests in the region by hosting military bases for both.
© The Canadian Press, 2005
SKopp''About 200 riot police violently broke up a peaceful, anti-Akayev protest of some 300 to 400 people and arrested 20 to 30 protesters in the capital city of Bishkek on Wednesday, just hours after President Askar Akayev appointed head of police in the city, Keneshbek Dushebayev, as new interior minister.

"Our primary task is to restore constitutional order in all regions," the new interior minister said. "The law gives us every right to take action, including by using physical force... and firearms."

Akayev has previously stated that he would not resort to force to end protests.

Akayev dismissed Interior Minister Bakirdin Subanbekov and the general prosecutor, Myktybek Abdyldayev, earlier in the day. According to a spokesman for Akayev, Abdil Seghizbayev, the dismissals were for issues relating "to the events in the south and their poor work on preventing those events."

Seghizbayev stated that Prime Minister Nikolai Tanayev would visit the southern city of Osh for negotiations on Thursday, but said there would not be talks with "criminal groups that are controlling the situation there."
Hunne''
Elsewhere in Bishkek, approximately 10,000 people held a pro-government demonstration as riot police guarded key government buildings and main roads were sealed off. Several demonstrators said they had been coerced into taking part. 

"Our classes were cancelled and we were told to be here at the meeting in support of Akayev," a Kyrgyz National University student said.

"We are protesting instead of working now," said an employee of the interior ministry at the rally.

Neighboring Tajikistan also sealed border crossing points from Kyrgyzstan into the country because of the unrest.