Kyrgyz politician calls for bringing in peacekeepers

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15/6 Tass 175

BISHKEK, June 15 (Itar-Tass) - Leader of the Kyrgyz political party
Ar-Namys ("Dignity") Felix Kulov called for bringing a peacekeeping
contingent into the country to contain the conflict and mass disturbances.
Kulov stated it during a conference here on Tuesday.
Two decades ago, Kulov, who was interior minister then, led the
government's efforts to normalize the situation in Osh during the clashes
between Kyrgyz residents and ethnic Uzbeks.
"The authorities may resort to semi-cirminal armed groups, if
peacekeepers are not deployed in the country," Kulov warned.
In his opinion, Zhanybek Bakiyev, brother of ousted President
Kurmanbek Bakiyev, is behind the tragic events in Osh and the Jalalabad
region, in which 171 people died and another 1,700 were injured.
Kulov is former director of the state guards service in which the
pro-president's parliament vested considerable authorities, such as the
right to conducted operations/search events and import weapons at
discretion.
"In the present situation, all the secret services of the republic and
their resources should be enlisted to catch Zhanybek Bakiyev, as the
mastermind behind the sanguinary events unfolding before us," he said.
He believes it is the Kyrgyz people who should make an international
request to bring in peacekeeping forces, not the government which has
remained "an illegitimate body."
Riots broke out in the southern regional center of Osh overnight to
June 11. The next day, they spread to the neighboring Jalalabad region.
The Kyrgyz authorities announced a state of emergency in the trouble areas
and imposed a curfew.
Tensions eased somewhat after the truce talks between the leaders of
the Kyrgyz and Uzbek communities. The authorities accused the brothers and
relatives of ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev of masterminding
the mass disturbances. Bakiyev said the interim government bears
responsibility for the riots.
The incumbent authorities arrested former Jalalabad region governor
Paizulla Rakhmonov as a mastermind behind the riots.
To stabilize the situation, the Kyrgyz authorities sent army and
police units to the Osh and Jalalabad regions, as well as the units
comprising police veterans and volunteers. Kyrgyzstan announced partial
mobilization, and more than 1,000 reservists have already completed the
necessary procedures to join the army.
The military were allowed to use weapons in case of threat to their
lives of the lives of civilians.
According to First Deputy Prime Minister of the interim government
Almazbek Atambayev, 60,000 Uzbeks have fled Kyrgyzstan. "Destructive
forces" may provoke riots in the capital of the republic and the northern
Chuisk region, Atambayev said.
Reports said police have seized many firearms and ammunition from the
population in Osh.
"As of today, several large-caliber machine guns, grenade launchers
and Kalashnikov assault rifles have been seized, along with several
thousand rounds of ammunition," an official at the Osh commandant's office
said.
The situation in Osh remains difficult, but servicemen and police
control it on the whole. A dozen people have been detained for the
commission of serious crimes in the past few days.
A operation to retrieve the weapons seized by crowds during Jalalabad
riots is underway. On Tuesday, police recovered 22 Kalashnikov rifles and
ammunition, seized by a group of youngsters at the military unit in the
Toktogul district.
A police officer was killed on Monday night in Osh, and a serviceman
was wounded.
Meanwhile, Tajikistan provided humanitarian assistance to residents of
the Kyrgyz areas where riots had occurred.
On Tuesday, Osh received 10,000 tons of flour from Tajikistan's Murgab
district (Gorno-Badakhanskaya Autonomous Area). More relief supplies from
the Sagdidi and Dzhergetal district of Tajikistan are expected within the
next days, a Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry official told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.
Russia sent 34 tons of relief supplies to Bishkek. Several days ago,
another 5.4 tons of humanitarian aid from Russia arrived in Kyrgyzstan.
According to the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry, Bishkek is expecting relief
supplies from Germany, Pakistan and China.
-0-myz/gor