Rumors of Bloodshed/Coup in Bishkek Groundless, So Far, as Gov Pushes Referendum
Calls are pouring in from all over Kyrgyzstan: “Is it true? Is there bloodshed in Bishkek?”
As of mid-afternoon on Tuesday, June 22, the city is quiet and shops are open. But nervous residents fear more violence as officials warn a malignant "third-force" is planning an uprising today. The alarming rumors have reached every corner of the country.
On June 21, deputy head of the interim government Omurbek Tekebayev said a coup was planned for today.
The coup has been appointed for June 22. We know who they are, but we cannot arrest them because they are still talking about peaceful protests, although their intentions are known to us.
The rumors look like a good excuse to push forward with the referendum. The plebiscite on the new constitution and president must be held on June 27, Tekebayev also said, despite widespread doubts southerners will feel safe voting. Privately, western diplomats are urging the government to postpone the vote. But with fears the government cannot last even until Sunday, officials show no will to abandon the home stretch.
Tekebayev admitted that the interim government was fracturing with policy disagreements, and that parliamentary elections scheduled for October must be moved forward.
We need to shorten the transition period in Kyrgyzstan and announce parliamentary elections in September. The Interim Government consists of 14 separate people independent from each other. ... We cannot agree to come to a consensus; there is not a focused single policy.
Fearing a low turnout, the interim government is making it as easy as possible to vote. Any registered voter can vote at any polling station in the country, AKIpress reported on June 21.
Moreover, last week, interim President Roza Otunbayeva changed the rules. Now, if less than 50 percent of the country is under a state of emergency, the vote must go on, she said.
The South remains tense and military actions are increasing anxieties, witnesses tell EurasiaNet.org. Reports of Kyrgyz military sweeps through Uzbek neighborhoods continue. In the Kalinino neighborhood of Osh today, witnesses describe young Uzbek men being rounded up and held for ransom by police forces who say they have not been paid since the beginning of the conflict on June 10. Two Uzbeks were killed in a mopping-up operation yesterday, one beaten to death, human rights activists said.
David Trilling is Eurasianet’s managing editor.
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