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OSCE says Akayev should resign; warns new leaders against infighting

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  • OSCE says Akayev should resign; warns new leaders against infighting

    OSCE says Akayev should resign; warns new leaders against infighting

    AP Worldstream
    Mar 31, 2005

    STEVE GUTTERMAN


    The head of a key European security organization called on ousted
    Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev to resign and urged the Central Asian
    nation's new leadership on Thursday to avoid dangerous infighting
    before a new election.

    The current chief of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
    Europe said Akayev should cooperate with efforts to secure his
    resignation and that the "cooperation should be effective and as short
    as possible," in order to ease persistent uncertainty in Kyrgyzstan.

    In the third visit by a high-level OSCE official to Kyrgyzstan since
    the upheaval that led Akayev to flee to Russia, current chairman
    Dimitrij Rupel said the 55-nation organization backs the new
    parliament's effort to hold talks to win Akayev's resignation.

    "The OSCE supports negotiations; excluding President Akayev from this
    volatile period would be dangerous," he said. But he stressed that the
    OSCE recognizes the new leadership as legitimate and legal.

    Akayev fled to Russia after opposition protesters stormed his
    headquarters a week ago and took power in the ex-Soviet republic. He
    has said is prepared to resign if he receives guarantees of security
    and immunity from prosecution.

    He urged the new Kyrgyz leaders to work together and avoid infighting
    that could lead to new unrest as competition begins before a June 26
    presidential election.

    "I have urged against _ and this is perhaps the most serious challenge
    _ against taking the elections to the street," Rupel said. "I would
    say that competition in the group is worrying; something that should
    concern us all," he said.

    Rupel cut short a visit to Armenia to come to Kyrgyzstan to meet with
    acting President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva,
    parliament speaker Omurbek Tekebayev and Felix Kulov, who resigned as
    law enforcement coordinator Wednesday.

    Kulov's resignation was interpreted by some as sign he could be
    planning a presidential bid against Bakiyev, who has announced plans
    to run. Bakiyev said Wednesday that it would be dangerous for Akayev
    to return in the near future; Kulov indicated he should come back to
    resign.

    Rupel said the legal status of Kulov, who was imprisoned under Akayev
    and released a week ago during the power seizure, should be cleared up
    in time for him to run in the election if he chooses. He said Kulov
    gave him the impression in their meeting that he would run.

    Rupel, who is Slovenia's foreign minister, said that until recently
    the new Kyrgyz leaders been united largely by their criticism of
    Akayev's regime.

    Now, he said, their differences should be "recognized and channeled"
    toward a good elections process and should not lead to "exclusion."

    He also expressed concern about disorder on the nation's borders,
    although he did not go into details, and about persistent power
    struggles in provinces outside the capital, where he said he was told
    that in some cases two or more people were claiming regional and local
    leadership.

    The OSCE has struggled to keep up with the fast-moving situation in
    Kyrgyzstan. One top envoy arrived before Akayev's ouster to seek a
    settlement between the government and opposition and a second came
    last week during a conflict between two parliaments over legitimacy.
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