Kyrgyzstan's president, under pressure from mass opposition protests for his resignation, said yesterday that authorities had uncovered evidence the opposition was plotting to seize control of key state buildings.
As hundreds resumed their protests after an overnight vigil outside parliament, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said audio transcript showed protest organizers and some non-governmental agencies had discussed seizing state TV, the main presidency and government building, and SNB state security headquarters.
"Let's not get overtaken by emotion. There is no threat here. There are no forces to carry out a coup. But there are intentions. There is proof," Bakiyev told parliament.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of the Central Asian capital on Thursday demanding the resignation of Bakiyev who they say has backtracked on promises of democratic reforms.
Bakiyev's opponents have staged frequent protests since he was swept to power in a coup last year. They say his administration is corrupt and he has backtracked on promises to share more power with parliament and push through reforms.
After a lengthy standoff with the opposition-dominated parliament, Bakiyev agreed this week to alter the Constitution to water down his powers and hand more influence to parliament.
Opposition leaders laughed off Bakiyev's charges they had been planning to seize key state buildings.
Edil Baisalov, head of the Coalition of Democracy and Civil Society and also a member of the opposition For Reform! movement which has been running the protests, said: "We have shown our peaceful nature ... the For Reform! movement will only use peaceful and non-violent means."
Bakiyev spoke in conciliatory tones, saying he wanted the judicial system to deal with the allegations. But he added: "Politicians who are speaking of constitutional reform should not act like this."
The prime minister told an evening television debate "any attempt to destabilize the situation, I tell you with authority now, will be resolutely stopped."
Bakiyev was elected president after his predecessor, Askar Akayev, fled the country following violent protests against a flawed parliamentary election.
Bakiyev's control of the country has been fragile from the outset, raising the possibility he could suffer a similar fate to Akayev if protests continue. But the parliamentary opposition lined up against him is itself riven by division.
"On the whole, I believe there are no grounds for concern, for people to be worried ... Frankly speaking, all we have here is a fight for power," Bakiyev said in a Thursday television interview.
Bakiyev told parliament he would present the new Constitution on Monday that would define the responsibilities of the president and those of the parliament.
The opposition has vowed to occupy the square until the adoption of the reforms, which will deny the president the right to nominate the government and to dissolve parliament.
Approximately 500 police officers continued to stand guard near the main government building on the main square, which houses the presidency and the government.
Most businesses in the city center were closed, as owners feared the protests would degenerate into scenes of looting similar to those that characterized the revolution that toppled Akayev.
A French-Algerian man went on trial in France on Monday for burning to death his wife in 2021, a case that shocked the public and sparked heavy criticism of police for failing to take adequate measures to protect her. Mounir Boutaa, now 48, stalked his Algerian-born wife Chahinez Daoud following their separation, and even bought a van he parked outside her house near Bordeaux in southwestern France, which he used to watch her without being detected. On May 4, 2021, he attacked her in the street, shot her in both legs, poured gasoline on her and set her on fire. A neighbor hearing
DEATH CONSTANTLY LOOMING: Decades of detention took a major toll on Iwao Hakamada’s mental health, his lawyers describing him as ‘living in a world of fantasy’ A Japanese man wrongly convicted of murder who was the world’s longest-serving death row inmate has been awarded US$1.44 million in compensation, an official said yesterday. The payout represents ¥12,500 (US$83) for each day of the more than four decades that Iwao Hakamada spent in detention, most of it on death row when each day could have been his last. It is a record for compensation of this kind, Japanese media said. The former boxer, now 89, was exonerated last year of a 1966 quadruple murder after a tireless campaign by his sister and others. The case sparked scrutiny of the justice system in
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this