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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Kyrgyzstan: 'No emergency powers'
2005-03-23
Opposition supporters and police officers formed joint patrols to keep order in several southern Kyrgyz cities Tuesday, while President Askar Akayev pledged he would not impose a state of emergency amid mounting pressure for his resignation over allegations of fraud in recent parliamentary elections. A day after stone-throwing mobs stormed government buildings to underline their demand that Akayev resign, both sides in the Central Asian nation's tense stand-off appeared intent on re-establishing calm.

Kyrgyz politics is heavily clan-based and Akayev, a northerner, has strong support there. If the fractured opposition coalesced enough to carry protests across the mountain range bisecting the country and toward the capital Bishkek in the north, tension could increase significantly in a strategically important country where both the United States and Russia have military bases. Protests against Akayev began after the first round of parliamentary elections on Feb. 27 parliamentary elections and swelled after the March 13 run-offs that the opposition and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said were seriously flawed.
Posted by:Fred

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