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Deposed Kyrgyz President Flies to Kazakhstan

   VOA News 15 April 2010
   Bodyguards  of  Kyrgyzstan's  deposed President Kurmanbek Bakiyev fire
   into  the  air during a rally in the city of Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan,
   15 Apr 2010

Photo: AP

   Bodyguards  of  Kyrgyzstan's  deposed President Kurmanbek Bakiyev fire
   into  the  air during a rally in the city of Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan,
   15 Apr 2010

   Officials  say  Kyrgyzstan's  ousted president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, has
   flown  to  Kazakhstan,  just hours after he was forced to flee a rally
   where he was speaking.
   The  former  president  left the southern region of Jalalabad Thursday
   and  departed  for  neighboring  Kazakhstan.   His departure comes as
   envoys  for  Mr. Bakiyev and the interim government began negotiations
   on the country's political crisis.  Â
   Earlier  Thursday,  Mr.  Bakiyev  had  to  be  whisked to safety after
   gunfire broke out at a rally of his supporters in southern Kyrgyzstan.
   Witnesses  say  Mr.  Bakiyev's bodyguards lined up in front of him and
   fired  the  shots  in  the air, possibly out of concern for a group of
   Bakiyev  opponents approaching his podium.  Supporters of the interim
   government  had  been  holding a rival rally just a few hundred meters
   away.
   Mr.  Bakiyev  fled  Kyrgyzstan's  capital,  Bishkek,  last  week after
   several  days  of anti-government protests during which pro-government
   forces fired on the demonstrators, killing at least 84.
   The  interim  government,  led  by  Roza  Otunbayeva, has demanded Mr.
   Bakiyev leave the country and stand before an international tribunal.
   Mr.  Bakiyev  has  signaled  he  may  formally  resign  if the interim
   government guarantees his and his family's safety. Â
   Thursday's  unrest  comes  as  international  concern  grows  over the
   possibility of renewed bloodshed.
   U.S.  Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake, who is in the country
   for  talks,  said Thursday that the United States is prepared to offer
   assistance to the interim government.
   On Wednesday, Blake said the U.S. would support a new constitution and
   parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan.
   Russia  has  already  backed  the  interim  government,  promising $50
   million in aid.

   Meanwhile,   the   deputy   prime  minister  of  Kyrgyzstan,  Almazbek
   Atambayev,  arrived  in  Turkey Thursday, seeking more economic help.Â
   He  said his country faces many problems, and renewed accusations that
   the former government had plundered state funds.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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