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US Envoy in Kyrgyzstan for Talks with Interim Government

   VOA News 14 April 2010
   Armed  men  stand  guard  in  the  courtyard  of  Kyrgyzstan's deposed
   President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's family home

Photo: AP

   Armed  men  stand  guard  in  the  courtyard  of  Kyrgyzstan's deposed
   President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's family home, in the village of Teyit, in
   the Jalal-Abad region, southern Kyrgyzstan, 13 Apr 2010

   A  senior U.S. diplomat has pledged U.S. cooperation with Kyrgyzstan's
   interim government, which took power after the country's president was
   ousted in violent protests that left at least 83 people dead.
   U.S.  Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs
   Robert  Blake  and  interim  leader Roza Otunbayeva spoke to reporters
   after meeting Wednesday in Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek.
   Blake  said  the U.S. would support the interim government in its goal
   of rewriting the constitution and holding parliamentary elections.
   The  interim  leaders  have  said  they  want constitutional reform to
   diminish the power of the presidency. Â
   Ms.  Otunbayeva  said  Wednesday  she  hopes  to see deposed President
   Kurmanbek  Bakiyev  held accountable through an international tribunal
   and  that  he  should  leave  the  country.  She also said she is not
   ruling out holding talks with Mr. Bakiyev.
   Mr.  Bakiyev  fled  the  capital last week and remains in the south of
   Kyrgyzstan.  He  has  offered  to  "go into retirement" if the interim
   government guarantees his safety and that of his family and that there
   will be no seizure or redistribution of property.
   Ms.  Otunbayeva  told  the Associated Press she is willing to give Mr.
   Bakiyev  security guarantees if he steps down and leaves the country.Â
   But  she  would  not  offer immunity to his family. A Kyrgyz court has
   issued  a warrant for Mr. Bakiyev's brother and son in connection with
   the deaths of protesters in Bishkek.
   Russian  President Dmitri Medvedev said Tuesday he believed Kyrgyzstan
   was  "on  the  brink  of  civil  war" and could develop into a "second
   Afghanistan."
   In  a  speech at Washington's Brookings Institution, Mr. Medvedev said
   the  task  is  to  help  the  Kyrgyz people find a calm way out of the
   current crisis.
   U.S.  official Blake is in Kyrgyzstan until Thursday. He plans to meet
   with  other  officials as well as civil society leaders.  He has said
   he does not plan to meet with Mr. Bakiyev.

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