Day By Day

Sunday, March 20, 2005

Kyrgyzstan update -- any good recipes for crow?

Last week I was pretty sure the Kyrgyzstan election protests were winding down. It appears I was wrong. Gateway Pundit reports:

Riots in Kyrgyzstan

Protesters Take Over Jalal-Abad Police Stations

The AP is reporting:At least 10,000 pro-democracy protesters stormed a police station and forced workers to flee a governor's office in Kyrgyzstan on Sunday, a government spokesman said, in the biggest demonstration since allegedly fraudulent elections last month.

The government said it was ready to negotiate with the protesters who have demanded President Askar Akayev's resignation. Opposition leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev said talks would only be possible if Akayev himself sits down at negotiating table.


And this:

Russian News and Information Agency is just now reporting that:

Russian News and Information Agency is just now reporting that:

The Interior Department Building Has Been Burned Down:

The interior department building in Jalal-Abad has been practically burned down as a result of a storm by participants in a protest rally against the results of the parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan, witnesses report.


And this:
About 400 protesters broke through police cordons and seized control of a regional
governor's office in Kyrgyzstan, officials said. Three policemen were hospitalized with minor injuries during the rally Friday in the town of Osh, about 700 kilometers (430 miles) south of the capital, Bishkek, police said.

And this:
Opposition demonstrations have been taking place elsewhere in Kyrgyzstan, including in Bishkek, Jalal-Abad, Talas, Kochkor, Toktogul, Bazarkorgon, Batken, and Nooken.

Boy, was I wrong! I had argued that the Kyrgyzstan protests were poorly coordinated, had no clear focus, and were not gathering much international attention. The coordination is now apparent, Akayev has emerged as a common focus, and international attention [except in the American media] is developing.

Stay tuned!

No comments: