Kyrgyzstan protesters storm state media offices

Seventeen killed as Kyrgyzstan protestors clash with police

Seventeen people were killed today and at least 140 wounded in violent clashes between riot police and protesters in Kyrgyzstan.

Riot police fought running battles with more than 5,000 demonstrators in the capital Bishkek as angry crowds demanded the resignation of President Kumanbek Bakiyev.

Larisa Kachibekova, a spokeswoman for Kyrgyzstan’s Health Ministry, confirmed the casualty figures.

Police fired teargas and stun grenades at stone-throwing protesters. Witnesses described clouds of teargas sweeping across the square outside the presidential offices as bursts of automatic gunfire filled the air.

Opposition groups stormed the state television centre, forcing all programmes off the air, as the confrontation threatened to spiral out of control.

Protesters attempted to ram an armoured vehicle stolen from police through the gates of the presidential administration. Reporters saw demonstrators carrying lifeless bodies away from the area as ambulances raced through the crowds picking up dead and wounded.

Moldomus Kongantiyev, the Interior Minister, was reported to have been killed by protesters in the northwestern city of Talas, where riots first erupted yesterday.

The truth of the report could not be confirmed. The first deputy prime minister, Akylbek Zhaparov, was also said to have been taken hostage after being beaten up.

The protesters were demanding Mr Bakiyev’s resignation five years after the 2005 “Tulip revolution” that brought him to power at the head of a pro-democracy movement in the impoverished Central Asian republic.

Opposition groups accuse him of restoring authoritarian rule in response to public protests against government corruption, nepotism and sharply rising living costs.

Krygyzstan plays a vital role in the war in Afghanistan because the United States uses an air base in Bishkek as a supply line for troop operations against the Taleban. Russia also has a military base in the former Soviet republic.

The US expressed "deep concern" and Russia appealed to all sides for calm. Kyrgyz authorities said that three opposition leaders had been arrested for “serious crimes”, including the former presidential candidate Almazbek Atambayev.

Witnesses said that hundreds of police fought demonstrators who tried to take over the main government building in Bishkek. Water cannon and rubber bullets were used as groups of young men dressed in black attacked officers and seized their weapons and armoured personnel carriers.

The Government imposed a state of emergency and curfew in Bishkek as well as in Talas and Naryn, another regional city where protests broke out yesterday. Demonstrators in Talas seized control of the local government building and held off police for several hours; they burnt portraits of Mr Bakiyev.

The 2005 revolution that overthrew President Askar Akayev started in a similar way in a regional town before spreading to the capital. One demonstrator, Aibkek Mametov, told AFP news agency: "Ordinary people want justice and freedom. They want a better future than now, so they are fighting for it."

Daniyar Usenov, the Prime Minister, called the protestors “bandits", not an opposition movement.

The clashes erupted just four days after Ban Ki Moon, the United Nations Secretary-General, visited Bishkek and urged the Government to do more to protect human rights.

YEAH, run pigs , run!

It´s finally kicking off, beautiful.

reply to post by Compulsionist


things will get worse before they get better.

fuel is rising in the UK will this make the hard working man think **** this, your not helping me at all. I am ready to fight back ?

I know i'm feeling it.

reply to post by thecrow001


Things can't get any worse, so I'm ready.

These bastards that run the world need to stopped , and now is the time.

If enough people stand up then any resistance is futile.

reply to post by thecrow001


Amen to that! This time last year it was about 35-40 quid to fill my tank, now it's over 50 quid. They oil companies were told to stop fixing pries (token comment from the goverment I presumed at the time, oh look, I was right! )

There will be fuel protests here, will they be as severe as what we're seeing now, I don't kow. But I'm willing to take to the streets (as I have many times before)

reply to post by Acidtastic


same here my friend, i'll be right next to you if you need be.

I say bring on change, lets punch them in there greedy faces and make sure they dont get back up without being taught respect.

reply to post by Compulsionist


things can get alot worse

but things need to change.

They wonder why it results to riots and protests to get change, its because asking them doesnt work

Although I'm taking the news bulletins with a pinch of salt, this shows what can happen if you have a real opposition party. The "Democratic Republican Party" as Michael Moore likes to refer to the two major US parties, and the UK's Tory and Labour parties are all the same - loyal to the elite who pay them handsomely for that loyalty.

I've noted a strong consensus on ATS that the day of reckoning is coming soon and this might be the catalyst that the disaffected but heavily armed in the US are waiting for.

reply to post by JohnJasper


As much as i dont people to get hurt, maybe that what it takes these days.
I have predicted things to get worse in the UK to my friends for years.

If petrol gets to 1.30 i aint paying for it and i'll march down and tell them.

According to CNN the death toll now stands at over 20:

Civil unrest engulfed the politically troubled central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan Wednesday, with the government declaring a state of emergency and street fighting resulting in more than 20 deaths, the Interfax news agency reported. At least 21 people died and more than 180 people were wounded in fighting between demonstrators and police, Russia's Interfax news agency reported, citing Kyrgyz media.

Interfax said Kabar, the Kyrgyz news agency, reported that the building of the National Security Service in Bishkek, the capital, had been seized and that detainees had been released from its pretrial jail. It also said the building housing the Office of the Prosecutor General burned down. Eyewitnesses also said that opposition supporters occupied the second floor of the parliament building.

The country has experienced political tensions for years, and the United States has a military base there that serves as a critical supply link to Afghanistan...

Source

I have a nasty feeling the authorities have so far applied the 'soft touch' compared to what they may well unleash if this goes on much longer. You can't occupy a parliament, kill a government minister & take the President hostage without expecting a visit from the special forces.


[edit on 7/4/10 by pause4thought]

I have a nasty feeling the authorities have so far applied the 'soft touch' compared to what they may well unleash if this goes on much longer. You can't occupy a parliament, kill a government minister & take the President hostage without expecting a visit from the special forces.


[edit on 7/4/10 by pause4thought]

too right there, but the people can up a another level, they have the numbers and motive.

reply to post by thecrow001


There's no escaping the reality: rocks vs. SLRs = civilians in coffins

...The opposition has taken control of at least one television channel.
Another opposition leader, Omurbek Tekebayev, said in a broadcast that talks were under way with PM Daniyar Usenov.

Mr Tekebayev said the president must step down and reported that at least 100 demonstrators had been killed. This cannot be independently confirmed.

The health ministry was quoted by Associated Press news agency as saying 40 people had died and more than 400 were injured.

One doctor in Bishkek, Akylbek Yeukebayev, told Reuters news agency there were "dozens of dead bodies, all with gunshot wounds"...

Source = BBC News (i.e. the updated OP article)

(NB the BBC video is gradually being added to - it now includes the voice of a *tense* reporter on the ground)

An update on the situation. Its getting much worse.

Anti-govt protests sweep Kyrgyzstan, 100 said dead

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan -Anti-government unrest rocked the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday as thousands of protesters stormed the main government building, set fire to the prosecutor's office and took over state television.
The eruption of violence shattered the relative stability of this mountainous former Soviet nation, which houses a U.S. military base that is a key supply center in the fight against the Taliban in nearby Afghanistan.

www.aolnews.com...

reply to post by pause4thought


thats true, but what happens when they start using deadly force and the people think if they can we can, they start organising attacks or running home to pick up their weapons to fight back.

I see it as this, when they start using fire power its time for me to start using fire power. Do what they want people will still fight for whats right.

But i do understand what you mean many people have no chance.

If SHTF here in America it'll be a F'n bloodbath. Our citizens don't have to hurl rocks, our citizens will break out the guns. The question then becomes, will the military/LEO's fight against their own citizens, or join the citizenry and overthrow the fat cat elites.
If the latter, then the elite won't have much of a chance and would be wise to sack it up and escape ASAP.

reply to post by Romans 10:9


thats true even without guns there are many things lethal, if the public have enough support it would be a blood bath of bombs, home made guns and stabbings ect.

ALL YOU NEED IS A BELIEF AND PEOPLE WILL FIGHT.

Its when the government think the people wont fight back, it become there greatest weakness.


[edit on 7-4-2010 by thecrow001]

Any news on whos behind the revolution? Like the Chinese, Yanks, Russians etc?

reply to post by ufoorbhunter


Cynicism reaches new heights on ATS!!

Mind you, the Russian are making noises about helping to restore law & order.

As has already been mentioned, the US has a strategic interest in this territory (e.g. for shipping supplies into Afghanistan). Could the Russians & the US perhaps both see the situation as pivotal? (Lets not go there.)

reply to post by pause4thought
Just thinking along the lines that the Brits and Yanks have been behind much of the unrest first in the former Warsaw Pact satellites, then in the ex USSR states themselves. Wonder what name they'll term this one assuming they haven't run out of colours yet?

reply to post by ufoorbhunter


That's a very stimulating angle — but have you got any hard evidence of what you're saying? (Let's keep it real: people are dying on the streets.)