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[BREAKING NEWS?] Kyrgyzstan on the brink of a revolution (pg. 3)
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| leph555 |
| quote: | Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (CNN) -- The chief of staff of the interim Kyrgyz government, which took over after President Kurmanbek Bakiev fled the capital, accused the president Friday of stealing the country's money when he left.
"The state coffers are almost empty," Edil Baisalov told CNN. "Some funds have been transferred somewhere, which is why we've frozen the banking system, because we are anxious that the banks controlled by the former President Bakiev might take the funds out of the country."
Baisalov said all that's left in the country's bank accounts is the equivalent of 16 million euros ($21.5 million).
Government officials in Kyrgyzstan had earlier declared Friday and Saturday days of mourning as relatives began burying victims of anti-government riots that killed 76 and forced the president to flee the capital.
At the same time, criminal charges were brought against the two sons of President Bakiev, as well as his brother, who used to be the chief of security, acting Prosecutor-General Baytemir Ibrayev said.
It is believed the president's brother gave orders to open fire on the demonstrators, he said.
Criminal charges have also been brought against the mayor of Bishkek, Ibrayev said. More details about the charges weren't immediately clear.
Overnight, hundreds of men joined vigilante groups to help fight looters here. At least 60 people were injured in the Thursday overnight clashes, none of them seriously, the Health Ministry said.
The latest injuries were in addition to 520 people hospitalized since the protests started Tuesday.
Sporadic bursts of machine-gun fire and police sirens rang out through the night Thursday. It was not immediately clear where the shooting was, but police said looting remained a challenge.
Local health authorities reported Friday that the death toll from the riots had reached 76, after one person in critical condition died.
Bakiev, who fled to his stronghold in the south of the country, said he was not giving up power despite claims by a former foreign minister that she was in charge.
"Realizing my responsibilities as president of the Kyrgyz republic, I am confident the country where the government comes to power through blood can lose its statehood," Bakiev said in a statement posted on 24.kg, a well-known Kyrgyz Web site.
"I am urging the instigators of the riots to think again. I am stating that, as president, I did not abandon my duties, and I am not abandoning my duties. Irresponsible actions of the opposition could only cause more escalation of tensions."
Former Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva declared herself the country's interim leader Thursday and said the opposition had taken over the reins of government and driven Bakiev from office. Otunbayeva said at a news conference that the former president was in the south of the country with his entourage.
Opposition leaders had accused Bakiev of consolidating power by keeping key economic and security posts in the hands of relatives or close associates.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe sent a special envoy to Kyrgyzstan, and he met Friday with interim Deputy Foreign Minister Nurlan Aytmurzaev about ways to restore stability, the OSCE said.
The envoy, Zhanybek Karibzhanov, said he was discussing "the situation on the ground, how public safety, stability and respect for citizens' rights can be urgently restored and ensured, and how we in the OSCE can contribute to the process."
The OSCE and United Nations have expressed concern about the situation in Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian country on China's far western border.
The protests began Tuesday in the northern city of Talas. They were sparked by increases in electricity and fuel rates, which had gone up at the first of the year as Bakiev's government sold public utilities to companies controlled by his friends.
Demonstrations spread to the capital Wednesday after the government arrested opposition leaders in Talas.
Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, houses the Manas Transit Center that forms an important link in the supply line for United States and NATO forces in nearby Afghanistan.
The new government denied reports that it was planning to shut down the air base, but said it intends to review the issue. In Washington, a senior Pentagon official told CNN that the turmoil has interrupted flights into and out of that facility, and it was unclear when those flights would resume. But the U.S. military has contingency plans to deal with the situation, the official said.
The United States has closed its embassy in Bishkek, a senior State Department official said Thursday, and the country is contemplating moving dependents to the Manas base for a few days.
"We have concerns about the situation on the ground," U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Thursday.
Crowley said the United States is not taking sides.
"Our interest here is with the people of Kyrgyzstan and a peaceful resolution of the situation," Crowley said. |
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/a...dex.html?hpt=T1 |
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| yankeeBaby |
| quote: | Originally posted by Meat187
Like the average US citizen would have any ing clue where Kyrgyzstan is. Or even what it is, if they aren't told. |
FFS its probably not important to them, but I hope they at least know *where* it is.....sheesh. |
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| leph555 |
| quote: | Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (CNN) -- Ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev left the country and resigned Thursday after negotiations among the government, the president, and international states and agencies.
The Kazakh Foreign Ministry said a plane carrying Bakiev had landed in Taraz, a town in bordering Kazakhstan. An official in the interim Kyrgyz government, Edil Basilyev, a senior adviser to interim government chairwoman Roza Otunbayeva, said Bakiev had resigned.
Kanat Saudabayev, Kazakhstan's secretary of state and foreign minister, said in a statement an agreement was reached with the interim government of Kyrgyzstan and Bakiev for the president's departure.
Bakiev had said he was willing to resign if he and his relatives were allowed safe passage out of the country.
That came as a result of efforts by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and a number of agencies, including the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the United Nations and the European Union.
"Mr. Bakiev has already left Kyrgyzstan," said Saudabayev, who is now serving as the OSCE chairperson-in-office. The OSCE is a regional security organization consisting of 56 states from Europe, Central Asia and North America.
"This development is an important step towards the stabilization of the situation, a return to a framework providing for the rule of law, and the prevention of a civil war in Kyrgyzstan," Saudabayev said.
Saudabayev urged "all political forces" in the central Asian nation "to ensure stability, public order and the rule of law, and to address the most pressing social and economic problems as soon as possible."
Demonstrations and violence wracked the former Soviet state last week, resulting in the deaths of more than 80 people in civil unrest.
Kyrgyzstan is very important to both Russia and the United States. Russian is the second language in Kyrgyzstan and Russia has a military base there. The United States also has a military base there that is a key supply link for U.S. and NATO forces in the Afghan war.
Protests that began last Tuesday in the northern city of Talas led to governmental upheaval. They were sparked by increases in electricity and fuel rates, which had gone up at the first of the year as Bakiev's government sold public utilities to companies controlled by his friends.
Demonstrations spread to the capital of Bishkek a day later after the government arrested opposition leaders in Talas, protests that resulted in violence and prompted the president's flight from the capital to southern Kyrgyzstan.
Protesters took over the main government offices in the capital, including the presidential palace, and ushered in the formation of an interim government led by political opposition leaders.
The office of the prosecutor general has brought a number of criminal charges against relatives and associates of Bakiev. On Thursday, the interim government said the country's former defense minister, Bakit Kaliyev, has been arrested. Bakiev himself has been accused of stealing the country's money when he fled the capital.
Earlier Thursday, Bakiev escaped unhurt when his supporters clashed with opponents and his bodyguards shot into the air to disperse the crowd. As Bakiev's motorcade drove away, some in the crowd threw stones at it, state media said.
Russian media corrected earlier witness reports that said Bakiev had been shot at during a rally in the southern city of Osh.
Rather, said the independent Interfax News Agency, Bakiev had arrived to speak to about 500 people in the city's main square. But supporters of the interim government -- which took power after Bakiev was deposed last week -- prevented him from taking the stage.
Several hundred policemen in the square did not intervene during the skirmishes, said the RIA-Novosti news agency.
It was the second day of competing pro- and anti-Bakiev rallies in the south. |
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiap...dex.html?hpt=T2
Run NIGGA run! |
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| aquila |
| What the hell is it with countries that end in -stan? |
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| Zewad |
the 7 stans
and I was in Kyrgyzstan less than 6 months ago |
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| FuzzQi |
| quote: | Originally posted by tubularbills
we have a girl in our shop who is deployed over there. she's enjoying it. |
| quote: | Originally posted by denys envy
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I like this |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by aquila
What the hell is it with countries that end in -stan? |
Holland, Iceland, Finland, New Zealand, Zombieland, England, Poland, Disneyland, Thailand, Ireland, Timbaland, Swaziland... what the hell is it with countries that end in -land? ;) |
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| MGT |
| quote: | Originally posted by Meat187
Like the average US citizen would have any ing clue where Kyrgyzstan is. Or even what it is, if they aren't told. |
We would because of Borat. |
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| TranceGiant |
| I once made out with a Kyrgyzian (?) chick. I thought she was Vietnamese and celebrated my first "Asian" hit. FAIL. |
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| MGT |
| quote: | Originally posted by TranceGiant
I once made out with a Kyrgyzian (?) chick. I thought she was Vietnamese and celebrated my first "Asian" hit. FAIL. |
Asia is a huge continent. |
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| TranceGiant |
| Okay. I meant "Asian" in the narrower, youporn category sense. |
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| leph555 |
| quote: | Originally posted by TranceGiant
Okay. I meant "Asian" in the narrower, youporn category sense. |
Lol
And it's close to impossible to find a good looking kyrgyz chick, so kudos to you sir! |
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