Freed Kyrgyz opposition leader
urges Akayev to step down
BISHKEK, March 24 (AFP) - A top opposition leader in Kyrgyzstan who was
freed Thursday after being in jail since 2000 appealed to President Askar Akayev on live
television to step down.
Felix Kulov, a former vice president who many observers believe will
become the leader of the nation's fractious opposition, also appealed for calm after
opposition supporters armed with rocks and clubs overran the government's main seat of
power in the capital of Bishkek.
The leader of the Ar-Namys (Dignity) party urged Akayev to "meet
with opposition leaders in order to peacefully and constitutionally transfer power."
"If he comes to us, we guarantee the security of him and his
family," he said.
Kulov, who was jailed on corruption charges that many believed to have
been politically motivated, was freed after Thursday's demonstration, which followed more
than a week of intensifying protests over a disputed parliamentary vote.
After the television address, he addressed some 4,000 protesters
gathered in front of the White House, which houses both the Kyrgyz government and the
presidency.
"Let's keep the peace, let's not lose our head," he said into
a megaphone. "I want to thank you that you weren't afraid and were peaceful and
civilized."
The exact whereabouts of Akayev, a 60-year-old physicist by training
who has ruled this impoverished mountainous nation since 1990, were unknown in the hours
after the storming. Conflicting reports, unconfirmed, said he had left for Russia or
neighboring Kazakhstan.
Observers expect Kulov to become the natural leader of the nation's
fractious opposition.
"He has all the chances of becoming a leader, he is the principal
face of the opposition and the fact that he was freed shows that," said Alexei
Malashenko, an analyst specializing in Central Asia at Moscow's Carnegie Center.
"Felix Kulov at the moment is half martyr, half national hero in
the eyes of the people," he said. "His strength is that he spent the past
several years in prison, and is thus not linked to the existing regime."
Agence France Presse
25 Mar 2005 |
