BISHKEK, 28 March 2005 — Two rival parliaments competed for power yesterday in Kyrgyzstan, fueling political uncertainty three days after the ex-Soviet country’s longtime leader fled for Russia and his government collapsed amid massive demonstrations.
Police and civilian volunteers appeared to have stemmed the looting that raged through Bishkek after demonstrators stormed the presidential headquarters on Thursday and sent President Askar Akayev fleeing to Russia.
But disorder persisted in the political sphere, and the country’s law-enforcement coordinator, appointed by one Parliament, demanded the other body be recognized as legitimate in an apparent split in the opposition.
Some fear the split — and the competing parliaments — could fuel simmering tension and plunge the shaken Central Asian country into deeper turmoil.
Both parliaments — the new one elected in the disputed vote that sparked massive discontent and the one that was supposed to have been dissolved after the election — met in separate chambers over the weekend, each claiming to represent the people.
Felix Kulov, a former opposition leader who was freed from jail Thursday, warned lawmakers in the old Parliament — led by his own allies — that they should step down.
“The new Parliament is legitimate and the old Parliament’s term has expired,” said Kulov, now in charge of law enforcement agencies. He warned the former Parliament that “if you get people out, I will take measures to arrest you.”
Kulov later apologized when Prosecutor-General Azim Beknazarov challenged him, saying: “These are the people who freed you, will you arrest them?”
“I am too tired. I apologize for that,” Kulov said.
The disputed elections led to the upsurge of protests that culminated in Thursday’s storming of the presidential and government headquarters. Akayev took refuge in Russia while the former parliament reclaimed its expired mandate and quickly named a new interim leader — former opposition party leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
The split among the new leadership may reflect the deep divisions between north and south Kyrgyzstan. Kulov is from the north, whereas most of the opposition leaders are from the south.
Beknazarov, the prosecutor-general who is closely allied with Bakiyev, conceded that the new Parliament — dominated by Akayev’s allies — would now have to be officially recognized. But he cautioned that decisions taken by the former parliament were still valid, apparently ruling out any challenge to Bakiyev.
The secretary-general of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Jan Kubis, arrived in Bishkek. OSCE, of which Kyrgyzstan is a member, has offered to help find a resolution to the crisis.
OSCE envoy Alojz Peterle said the organization was sending three independent constitutional and legal experts whose advice could help unravel the “very, very sensitive” conflicts over legitimacy. “We think the need for them is urgent,” he said.
The organization had sent international observers to monitor the disputed elections, and its criticism of the vote helped fuel the then-opposition’s complaints.
