Tough warning goes out to Kyrgyz protesters

KYRGYZSTAN: Kyrgyzstan's new hard-line interior minister warned anti-government protesters in the south of the Central Asian state yesterday that he would use all means necessary to restore order.

Just hours later, riot police in the capital Bishkek broke up a protest against veteran leader Askar Akayev and arrested several demonstrators, who were complaining about a dubious March 13th election that strengthened pro-Akayev parties in parliament.

Mr Akayev, who once revelled in his reputation as Central Asia's leading democrat, sacked his chief prosecutor and interior minister over their failure to stem riots in the southern towns of Osh and Jalal Abad, where his opponents have seized power.

"Our primary task is to restore constitutional order in all regions, but strictly in accordance with the constitution," said the new interior minister, Keneshbek Dushebayev.

"The law gives us every right to take action, including by using physical force, special means and firearms."

He pledged to use "the whole arsenal of legally available means" against protesters whom he accused of breaking Kyrgyz law.

In Bishkek, security forces moved against protesters for the first time, breaking up a rally of about 300 people.

Between 500 and 1,000 gathered in the centre of Osh, Kyrgyzstan's second city, to hear defiant speeches from opposition figures who have so far failed to appoint a leader or present a united front against Mr Akayev.

The Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe, which some officials have blamed for stirring unrest, said yesterday it would send envoys to mediate between the protesters and the government, although figures close to Mr Akayev complained that the opposition had no coherent leadership.

This is one respect in which Kyrgyzstan's putative "Tulip" or "Yellow Revolution" differs from the recent "Orange" and "Rose" varieties that have recently swept pro-Western reformers into power in Ukraine and Georgia.

Another difference is the ethnic nature of Kyrgyzstan's mounting crisis.

Mr Akayev has strong support in his native north, among fellow Kyrgyz, and has long been accused by mostly Uzbek southerners of abandoning them to poverty and unemployment.

As rumours spread of opposition plans to march on Bishkek, road workers erected barricades in an apparent bid to stop them.

Having seen protesters seize government buildings in Osh and Jalal Abad and watched police strip off their uniforms and abandon their posts, Mr Dushebayev vowed to prevent a repeat in the capital: "We will not allow any storming, seizures and takeovers in Bishkek," he said.

Mr Akayev has warned of the danger of civil war if protests get out of hand, but has vowed to negotiate with his opponents for now.

Prime minister Nikolai Tanayev is planning to visit Osh today "to look for someone constructive to talk to," amid comments from government spokesmen that "criminal groups are controlling the situation there." Moscow has warned against Western efforts to repeat the revolutions that transformed Georgia and Ukraine.