Kyrgyzstan fears more violence as thousands gather for opposition congress
BISHKEK. August 5. KAZINFORM Volunteers from self-defense squads and police patrolled streets of the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek on Thursday amid growing fears that an opposition congress may end up in another outbreak of unrest in the ex-Soviet state. Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.
The event, to start later in the day, sparked a wave of rumors about the possibility of another violent uprising in Kyrgyzstan, which has seen several outbreaks of political and ethnic clashes this year.
The congress was organized by businessman Urmat Baryktabasov, who was put on the country's wanted list and charged with an attempt to overthrow the government after the 2005 Tulip Revolution.
Baryktabasov allegedly fled to "an Arab country" after his supporters stormed the republic's government building and held it for several hours. The move was in protest against the central election commission's decision to bar the businessman from running in the 2005 presidential elections over his double citizenship.
Though organizers repeatedly affirmed the peaceful nature of the event and pledged to maintain public security with their own resources, Kyrgyz people are cautious about the congress which is to gather over 10,000 delegates from all parts of the republic.
"We invited representatives of all layers of society, political parties and the authorities to discuss the present situation and perspectives of Kyrgyzstan's development," a source in the organization committee of the congress told RIA Novosti.
The situation in Kyrgyzstan remains strained following several unrests which swept through the country this year.
In mid-June, the country saw its worst interethnic clashes in two decades that killed some 2,000 people, according to unofficial reports. About 100,000 people fled to neighboring Uzbekistan and hundreds of houses have been destroyed in the riot-hit Osh and Jalalabad regions. Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See. www.en.rian.ru for full version.