Kyrgyzstan’s provisional government wants to put former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, along with some of his top lieutenants and family members, on trial for various misdeeds, including the misappropriation of state funds. The looting that swept Bishkek on April 7-8 amid the administration’s downfall, however, promises to complicate the task of prosecuting Kyrgyzstan’s past leaders.
Kyrgyzstan's efforts to finally democratize following multiple bouts of authoritarianism will depend, to a great extent, on the country's small- and medium-sized business owners. These entrepreneurs, a relatively small group in Kyrgyzstan, have the potential to act as a collective engine of economic growth, and by extension political moderation.
As it tries to project its authority across fractious Kyrgyzstan, the provisional government in Bishkek is having difficulty presenting a united front.
After moving fast initially to dissolve the Constitutional Court and disband parliament, the interim government's actions now appear "uncoordinated," said Ajdar Kurtov of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISS) in Moscow.
A bid by the nominal Kyrgyz president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, to stage a comeback in Kyrgyzstan's second largest city, Osh, ended in fiasco on April 15 after he was forced to beat an ignominious retreat amid chaotic competing demonstrations.
Kurmanbek Bakiyev, whose administration collapsed April 7 amid rioting in Bishkek, has fled Kyrgyzstan and is headed for Taraz, a city in neighboring Kazakhstan, a source at the Kazakh Foreign Ministry tells EurasiaNet.org
Kurmanbek Bakiyev, whose administration collapsed April 7 amid rioting in Bishkek, left Kyrgyzstan for neighboring Kazakhstan on April 15, a source at the Kazakhstani Foreign Ministry told EurasiaNet.org. Before departing, Bakiyev formally resigned the presidency, provisional government representatives say.
A US congressional subcommittee is opening a wide-ranging investigation into the Defense Department's fuel contracting practices at the Manas Transit Center in Kyrgyzstan.
As Kyrgyzstan strives to break a vicious cycle of corruption and authoritarianism, representatives of the provisional government in Bishkek insist they are committed to creating a genuinely free press, one that is capable of fulfilling a watchdog role. But for that to happen, much more than just governmental will is needed.
Operations at the Manas Transit Center in Kyrgyzstan have returned to normal after days of uncertainty and disruptions. Yet, even though the key cog in the Northern Distribution Network is back in action, the re-supply line continues to encounter lengthy delays in delivering materiel to US and NATO troops in Afghanistan.
