Kyrgyz Officials Beef Up Security in Bishtek, Amidst Stand-Off with Anti-Government

Security forces have taken up high-profile positions in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, as officials try to disperse protesters calling for President Askar Akayev's resignation. Opposition leaders say at least 31 demonstrators were detained on November 15. Government officials have indicated that they would prefer a negotiated solution to end the stand-off on the outskirts of Bishkek.

Up to 1,000 people gathered in a Bishkek suburb on November 14 to protest the government's handling of the investigation of the March riot in the southern town of Ak-Sui, in which at least five civilians died. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archives]. Local law-enforcement authorities have been blamed for the deaths, but demonstrators say top central government officials should be prosecuted for issuing the command to open fire in Ak-Sui. The Bishkek protesters are also upset with a government decision to disqualify the leading vote-getter, Usen Sydykov, in the first round of a parliamentary by-election in a southern electoral district.

Security forces, estimated at 700 strong, took up positions to prevent the demonstrators from marching into the center of Bishkek. Local media reports that authorities detained 31 protesters as they were eating breakfast at a café near the scene of the stand-off. Officials said the detainees were being held for passport checks, Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe reported. Meanwhile, police have cordoned off the main Ala-Too Square in central Bishkek, where the presidential administration offices are located. Security forces in central Bishkek have been reinforced at key points in the center, the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights reported.

The demonstrators who gathered at the Bishkek suburb of Voyenno-Antonovka included friends and relatives of those killed during the Ak-Sui events. The bulk of the protesters are supporters of Sydykov and of MP Azimbek Beknazarov, who has spearheaded anti-government protests in southern Kyrgyzstan. Political allies of jailed opposition leader Feliks Kulov have also joined the protest. The Akayev administration's lack of response to protesters' complaints is prompting calls for the president's resignation to intensify, opposition leaders contend.

At a November 15 news conference, presidential adviser Bolot Januzakov assailed the protesters, saying they were engaging in "political extremism."

"Today their main goal, their main task is carrying on the struggle for power – at any price" Januzakov said.

The previous day, Prime Minister Nikolai Tanayev sought to justify the government's action, saying police barricades were necessary to "avoid riots in Bishkek, to prevent provocation," the Interfax news agency reported.

Tanayev said top government officials had tried to enter into negotiations with protest leaders, but the anti-government representatives "refused." Other officials have issued veiled warnings about potential violence if the demonstrators do not disperse.