Rivals' struggle locks Kyrgyzstan in power vacuum

Three days after their popular revolt toppled the country's authoritarian regime, protesters here were feeling relief and hope. But a weekend of looting and destruction - and an emerging power struggle between opposition leaders - has brought new anxieties.

Sunday, two rival parliaments competed for legitimacy, further complicating Kyrgyzstan's political future. What is clear, say observers, is that this tiny mountain republic west of China is facing its biggest test of political conviction since breaking away from the Soviet Union in 1990.

"All we can say is, so far so good," says Irusbek Omurzakov, editor of the oppositionist weekly Tribuna. "The opposition is a combination of people who were not at all prepared to take power and now have to cope with a lot of problems."

Relative calm had returned to Bishkek by Sunday, thanks largely to the reappearance of police who were aided by squads of "people's marshals," vigilante-like groups of citizens mobilized to protect shops and public buildings at night.

The provisional government, headed by ex-prime minister Kurmanbek Bakiyev, has restored order in the capital and pledged a fresh presidential election on June 26. But former security chief Felix Kulov, whom many regard as Kyrgyzstan's strongman in waiting, appears increasingly at odds with Mr. Bakiyev. Meanwhile, President Askar Akayev, who reportedly fled to Russia amid the upheaval Thursday night, has denounced the change as an "anticonstitutional coup" and refused to resign.

On Friday, Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court, responding to charges of vote rigging, annulled the results of the March 13 election, ordering the previous legislature to continue sitting. But on Sunday, the Central Electoral Commission said the newly elected parliament was legitimate, ordering the old one to disband.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will send constitutional and legal experts to help resolve the issue.

The two parliaments held separate sessions Sunday - in the same building - but the real dispute was between Bakiyev and Kulov. Bakiyev has expressed support for the old parliament, while Kulov backs the new one. Kulov, freed from jail Thursday, warned members of the old legislature that if they attempted to rally their supporters, "I will take measures to arrest you." He later apologized, saying he was "too tired."

Fatigue seems to be a factor elsewhere. A march on Bishkek by about 3,000 Akayev supporters from the president's home region appeared to fizzle, due either to lack of interest or an unseasonable blizzard that sprang up Sunday and blanketed the city in heavy, wet snow.

Page: 1 | 2