BISHKEK, April 17, (AFP)-Kyrgyzstan's new leaders tighten their grip on power, arresting top allies of ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, as Washington pledged to work with the regime to develop a “prosperous democracy”.
Officials from the interim government which replaced Bakiyev after he was toppled in deadly protests last week said they had arrested his ex-defence minister Baktybek Kaliyev and were seeking to detain a dozen close allies.
They were also hoping to secure international recognition, with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warning them to avoid the faults of their predecessors. But they received a boost from Washington when the United States pledged to work with the new leadership to develop a “prosperous democracy”.
”The United States remains committed to the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kyrgyz Republic and to helping the courageous Kyrgyz people achieve their aspirations for developing a peaceful, economically prosperous democracy,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said. The interim government announced on Friday that it would extend the US air base agreement by one year when the accord expires in June, reassuring the United States after fears the unrest could endanger its future.
Bakiyev himself was airlifted to the city of Taraz in neighbouring Kazakhstan in a move jointly coordinated by Russia and the United States in a bid to quell Kyrgyzstan's flaring tensions.
After arriving in Kazakhstan Thursday, Bakiyev formally resigned, “taking into account my responsibility for the future of the Kyrgyz people” while bitterly blaming his foes for the bloodshed that left 84 dead.
The resignation letter was triumphantly read out by Roza Otunbayeva, the head of the country's new interim government, brandishing a copy of the handwritten text. |
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