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Asia
IRIN-AS Weekly Round-Up 12
19 - 25 March 2005


CONTENTS:

KYRGYZSTAN: Looters ransack capital following protests
KYRGYZSTAN: Protesters topple government, president flees
KYRGYZSTAN: Southerners unhappy about more than flawed polls
KYRGYZSTAN: Second city calm as 'people's brigades' maintain security
KYRGYZSTAN: Election protests reach the capital
KYRGYZSTAN: Second city firmly under opposition control
KYRGYZSTAN: Southern protests maintain momentum
KYRGYZSTAN: Pro-government demonstration in the capital
KYRGYZSTAN: Protesters seize government offices amid minimal resistance
AFGHANISTAN: Flood relief under way
AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: Karachi Afghans reluctant to repatriate
PAKISTAN: More violence in Balochistan
PAKISTAN: Tuberculosis sufferers need to take advantage of free
   treatment
PAKISTAN: Action needed to avert water scarcity
PAKISTAN: Edhi ambulance service to expand
UZBEKISTAN: Government and opposition concerned over Kyrgyz unrest
TAJIKISTAN: Opposition leaders support protests in Kyrgyzstan
NEPAL: No reduction in assistance to Bhutanese refugees - UNHCR
NEPAL: Focus on former bonded labourers
CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap


KYRGYZSTAN: Looters ransack capital following protests

Thursday's protests in Kyrgyzstan which toppled Askar Akayev's regime 
have been followed by a night of looting in the capital, Bishkek. Viktor 
An, a local businessman, stared at the remains of his shop, which was on 
one of capital's main streets. There was very little left but empty 
boxes and broken glass. "They stole and burned all of my goods and 
property," he told IRIN in despair. "I am finished and I cannot do 
anything about it," he added.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46329&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN


KYRGYZSTAN: Protesters topple government, president flees

Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev was reported to have fled the country on 
Thursday after thousands of opposition protesters took control of the 
capital, Bishkek, following a day of unprecedented disturbances. The 
Russian Interfax news agency reported Akayev was in northern Kazakhstan 
together with his family. Leading opposition figure, Felix Kulov, said 
that Akayev had wanted to go to Russia but was rejected. "He had a 
chance to resign, but he fled," Kulov, who was released from prison as 
Akayev's government was toppled, said in televised comments. "He wanted 
to go Russia, but the Russians didn't accept him, and he is now in some 
other country.''

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46312&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN


KYRGYZSTAN: Southerners unhappy about more than flawed polls

When asked why they wanted their president to go, people in Osh whom 
IRIN spoke to on Thursday responded that unfair elections were not the 
main reason. Most gave deepening poverty and unemployment, especially in 
the south, as the key reasons why they were prepared to risk everything 
on the streets in order to bring President Askar Akayev's regime down. 
"Kyrgyz people by tradition are very respectful towards authorities, but 
even their patience has run out. We've been waiting for Akayev to do 
something for 15 years. Ok, he is a good scientist, but he is not a good 
leader and good manager. He is not able to feed his nation," Akmataly, a 
resident of the nearby city of Jalal-Abad, now also under opposition 
control, told IRIN.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46299&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN


KYRGYZSTAN: Second city calm as 'people's brigades' maintain security

Opposition celebrations in the centre of the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh 
have become a daily ritual for those demonstrators who have not left the 
city to export the unrest north to the capital. On Thursday morning, 
people were sitting or sleeping on the ground, listening to music and 
watching performers on stage. Others chatted and waited for more news 
from Bishkek, where the government was rapidly capitulating to thousands 
of protesters. Security in Osh is being maintained by so-called people's 
brigades, which have been patrolling the city day and night, along with 
police, to deter looters and opportunist criminals.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46300&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN


KYRGYZSTAN: Election protests reach the capital

A peaceful anti-government demonstration in the capital, Bishkek, 
against flawed parliamentary elections was violently dispersed by Kyrgyz 
riot police on Wednesday. About 200 security personnel encircled an 
estimated 100 protesters in the central square, intent on bringing the 
demonstrations that have paralysed much of the south of the country to 
Bishkek. Some of the speakers and opposition supporters were arrested by 
the police after security forces had used a megaphone to order the 
crowds to disperse. "OMON [riot police] came in buses armed with shields 
and clubs. We tried to stop them attacking us, but they beat us and 
dragged our people away, one by one," Ulan, one of the protest 
organisers, told IRIN.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46276&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN


KYRGYZSTAN: Second city firmly under opposition control

The southern city of Osh, Kyrgyzstan's second largest, was being run by 
a so-called peoples' government on Wednesday, elected by protesters who 
have been in de facto control since Monday. The new "governor", Anvar 
Artykov, an ethnic Uzbek and a prominent opposition leader, has replaced 
the official governor, Kubanych Joldoshev. For the first time since the 
city's takeover, most government offices, schools and police stations 
were back at work. Shops, cafes and bazaars have also re-opened and food 
prices reverted to normal, while Osh international airport, under 
opposition occupation, remained closed.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46279&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN


KYRGYZSTAN: Southern protests maintain momentum

The provincial capital of Osh was returning to normal on Tuesday 
although protests and disturbances led by opposition supporters 
continued in the key city and in other parts of the south. Cleaners were 
sweeping away pieces of broken glass in police buildings that had been 
stormed by protesters the day before. Pieces of posters of President 
Askar Akayev, which were ripped down by protesters, were still lying on 
the pavements. Most of the government offices were closed. Public 
transport was up and running again, but not all of the city minibuses 
were operating and those working were full of passengers. Shops and the 
biggest bazaar in the region opened again after protesters took over 
government offices and the local airport.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46260&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN


KYRGYZSTAN: Pro-government demonstration in the capital

An estimated 10,000 people gathered in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek in 
support of President Askar Akayev on Tuesday as the south of the country 
slipped further under the control of opposition protesters. The majority 
of the people who filled the Ala-too square in central Bishkek to give 
Akayev their backing were students from state-funded universities and 
state employees. Security was tight as main roads were blocked, the 
authorities fearing counter-demonstrations or violence from opposition 
supporters who have attacked government buildings and abducted officials 
in many southern cities.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46262&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN


KYRGYZSTAN: Protesters seize government offices amid minimal resistance

Election protesters stormed or set fire to government buildings in two 
southern Kyrgyz cities on Monday, but met little resisitance from 
security forces, as demonstrators continued to call for the end of 
president Askar Akayev in what some observers are calling the genesis of 
a velvet revolution in authoritarian Central Asia. Thousands of 
protesters took over two more government offices in Osh, the country's 
second largest city. "We have been here for almost 10 days. Our demands 
are ignored and disrespected," Erkin, a protestor who arrived in Osh 
from the town of Uzgen, some 60 km from Osh, told IRIN.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46228&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN


AFGHANISTAN: Flood relief under way

Humanitarian relief began to be distributed on Tuesday to victims of 
Afghan floods, which have left at least four confirmed dead, 200 missing 
and thousands homeless, interior ministry officials said. "As of 22 
March, three men and a woman have been reported dead in the Gezab 
district of [the central province of] Uruzgan and 750 houses destroyed 
in Dehrawood district of that province," Dad Mohammad, a spokesman for 
the interior ministry, told IRIN in Afghan capital Kabul. The UN's World 
Food Programme (WFP) had already made contingency plans to provide 
assistance to people affected by the floods, which were expected to hit 
as the snow melted, but have been exacerbated by heavy rains over the 
last few days.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46261&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN


AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: Karachi Afghans reluctant to repatriate

For 63-year-old Gul Bibi, returning to her homeland couldn't be more 
natural. Arriving in the southern port city of Karachi 20 years earlier, 
she now hopes to start her life anew with her children in Afghanistan's 
northern Konduz province. "I believe in God. I believe our future will 
be brighter in Afghanistan," the mother of nine and widow told IRIN 
outside her simple mud-brick home in Jadeed, a multi-ethnic makeshift 
community of 30,000 Afghans in the dusty Gadap township of Karachi. But 
most Afghans in Pakistan's largest city don't share her optimism. "When 
there is complete stability then I will return," Abdul Manan, a 
95-year-old Pashtun elder, told IRIN outside Jadeed's local mosque, 
citing a lack of jobs and instability as the primary impediments to his 
return.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46302&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN


PAKISTAN: More violence in Balochistan

Paramilitary forces on Monday continued to engage militiamen of the 
Bugti tribe in the southwestern town of Dera Bugti in Pakistan's remote 
Balochistan province, following a fierce gun battle four days earlier 
that left eight security personnel and 21 tribesmen dead, according to 
the interior ministry. At least 34 people were injured in the incident. 
"Political consultations to resolve the crisis have accelerated at both 
central and provincial levels. However, the situation in Dera Bugti is 
still tense. Paramilitary forces and Bugti militia are standing face-to 
face in their respective pickets," Raziq Bugti, the spokesman of the 
provincial government of Balochistan told IRIN from the provincial 
capital, Quetta.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46222&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN


PAKISTAN: Tuberculosis sufferers need to take advantage of free 
treatment

An aggressive nationwide campaign to raise awareness about the killer 
disease tuberculosis (TB) is vital to boost access to free treatment at 
public health centres to cure the condition, health professionals said 
on World TB day. "TB is curable, treatable. We want patients to visit 
health centres to cure it, particularly women. If any one comes across a 
person with a cough, throat problem or fever for more than three weeks, 
they should go for a proper medical examination for TB," Dr Wajeeha 
Qureshi, medical officer at the National Tuberculosis Control Programme 
(NTCP), told IRIN in the city of Rawalpindi, adjacent to the capital 
Islamabad.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46301&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN


PAKISTAN: Action needed to avert water scarcity

If natural low water supply, high population growth and inappropriate 
management are not rapidly addressed, Pakistan could become a 
water-deficient country in the next five years, water experts said at a 
gathering in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Tuesday. "Development 
partners should seek ways to introduce the latest water conservation 
technology and share information about successful models from other 
countries to improve efficiency," Asif Khan, director-general of 
Pakistan's Environment Protection Agency (PEPA), said.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46263&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN


PAKISTAN: Edhi ambulance service to expand

The Karachi-based Edhi Foundation ambulance service, already the largest 
private ambulance service in the world, looks set to expand further in 
Pakistan with the purchase of another 150 vehicles this year. "There are 
very few government ambulances in Pakistan, "Anwer Kazmi, secretary to 
the foundation's head, Abdul Sattar Edhi, told IRIN in the port city of 
Karachi. "People depend on the ambulances of Edhi." But with 120 
ambulances in Karachi and over 1,000 nationwide, backed by 28 rescue 
boats and an air rescue service comprising of one helicopter and three 
fixed-wing aircraft, the word 'depend' is nothing short of an 
understatement.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46265&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN


UZBEKISTAN: Government and opposition concerned over Kyrgyz unrest

Fearing the spread of ethnic discord in the region, the Uzbek government 
has voiced concern over political unrest in southern Kyrgyzstan, where a 
large Uzbek minority lives. At the same time, the country's fragmented 
opposition backed their counterparts in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, who 
have been protesting about flawed parliamentary polls since 27 February. 
But they were fearful that an official crackdown in Kyrgyzstan might 
give Tashkent an excuse to further tighten the screws on opposition 
parties, rights groups and NGOs at home.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46277&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=UZBEKISTAN


TAJIKISTAN: Opposition leaders support protests in Kyrgyzstan

Opposition leaders in Tajikistan say they support the people's protests 
in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, but condemn acts of violence. "Violation of 
the law by the Kyrgyz government and the Central Elections Commission 
made the people in Kyrgyzstan go to the streets. They simply did not 
have any other choice," Rakhmatullo Valiev, deputy head of the 
Democratic Party of Tajikistan (DPT), one of the major opposition 
parties in the country, told IRIN in the Tajik capital Dushanbe on 
Wednesday. "Protesters both in [the southern Kyrgyz cities of] Osh and 
Jalal-Abad saw that they couldn't achieve their demands through legal 
means."

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46278&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=TAJIKISTAN


NEPAL: No reduction in assistance to Bhutanese refugees - UNHCR

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 
in Nepal told IRIN on Thursday that Bhutanese refugees living in seven 
camps in eastern Nepal would not be faced with a cut in the supply of 
key commodities and services. "There will be no reduction in essential 
assistance, like food, water, sanitation and health. But after 14 years 
of working with the refugees, we need to reprioritise resources as needs 
continue to grow and UNHCR has budgetary constraints," Abraham Abraham, 
UNHCR country representative, said. His comments followed receipt of a 
letter to UNHCR Nepal from Bhutanese refugees, disheartened by an 
announcement in early March that that they would face a reduction in 
assistance, including fuel for cooking, medicines, and the repair and 
maintenance of huts in the camps.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46290&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=NEPAL


NEPAL: Focus on former bonded labourers

In July 2000 Nepal's government made a historic move to outlaw the 
'Kamiaya' bonded labour system, which was akin to slavery. Kaliram Tharu 
breathed a sigh of relief that his family of Kamaiyas had been finally 
freed from bondage to his landlord and debilitating debts. The law has 
been in operation for five years but the situation hasn't improved and 
many still suffer. Kaliram's family had been bonded as agricultural 
labourers since the time of his grandfather, more than four decades ago 
and lived under the same oppressive regime suffered by all Kamiaya's. 
The low caste indigenous community of Tharus were turned into Kamaiyas 
by exploitative landowners.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46224&SelectRegion=Asia


CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap

Unrest over the past week in Kyrgyzstan, triggered by what the 
opposition claimed were flawed parliamentary elections, resulted in 
protesters taking over initially in the south at the beginning of the 
week, and then in the capital, Bishkek, on Thursday. Reports about the 
developments in the former Soviet republic dominated news from Central 
Asia, a region where rulers have clung to power since the fall of the 
Soviet Union in 1991. Neighbouring regimes in Central Asia gave little 
or no media coverage to the lightning revolution in Kyrgyzstan on 
Thursday, but opposition parties were jubilant, hoping the seeds of 
democratic change had been sown in the region, the AP reported.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46326&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=CENTRAL_ASIA


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