<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/asia-pacific/4379441.stm>
The BBC Thursday, 24 March, 2005, 14:13 GMT Protesters oust Kyrgyz government The opposition in Kyrgyzstan says it has taken control of the capital, Bishkek, after overrunning the president's palace. Protesters confronted supporters of President Askar Akayev before flooding into government offices. A prominent Kyrgyz opposition leader, Felix Kulov, appeared live on television after being freed from jail. State television, which appears to have fallen to opposition supporters, announced the government had collapsed. Mr Kulov was once Mr Akayev's vice-president, before he was jailed in 2000 under embezzlement charges. An unconfirmed report by Interfax news agency said Mr Akayev and his family have left Bishkek by helicopter and are heading towards Kazakhstan. Palace stormed At the palace - also the seat of government - police opposition melted away as hundreds of protesters flooded into the compound, waving a flag from a second floor window and scattering documents. Frontrunners for top job Officials were seen fleeing by the back door. Mr Akayev had been due to hold talks in Bishkek with a special envoy from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), but the meeting did not take place. Until now the state television channel has not covered the growing protests on the news, showing nature programmes instead. But unidentified people appeared on Kyrgyz TV for a special news bulletin at 1700 (1200 GMT) announcing that power had passed to the opposition and government leaders had gone. The events in the capital follow growing unrest in the south. The protests were sparked by disputed elections in February, and a second round on 13 March, which saw the opposition reduced to just a handful of seats in the 75-member parliament. "People have lost the patience to live in poverty with no hope for any change" Mirgul, Almaty, Kazakhstan Turmoil electrifies press The unrest in Kyrgyzstan, a poor and mountainous country which is seen as strategically important, is being stoked by its economic problems and alleged government corruption. The protests have drawn comparisons with two other former Soviet states, Georgia and Ukraine, where popular uprisings toppled the government. Protesters were also reported to have taken over a government building in the south-western city of Batken, the third major city in the south where protesters have taken control. BBC Central Asia correspondent Monica Whitlock said the demonstration in Bishkek grew rapidly from a few hundred people to as many as 10,000. Reporters said Akayev loyalists wearing civilian clothes with blue armbands chased protesters away, before the demonstrators returned and fought back. Reuters correspondent Dmitry Solovyov said: "It's volatile and people are running in all directions, chasing each other with sticks and stones." He said he heard several gunshots but could not say who had fired them. Russia expressed concern over the unfolding crisis. Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov urged calm, saying: "We wouldn't like to see force prevail as a method of resolving the conflict." Are you in Bishkek or do you have friends and family there? Are you taking part in the demonstrations, and do you think the elections were fair? Send us your comments using the form below. -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' ------------------------ Yahoo! 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