Kyrgyzstan’s interim president, Roza Otunbayeva, said the ethnic violence that broke out June 10 was triggered by supporters of former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev seeking to derail the constitutional vote. The United Nations, Washington, and others have strongly backed the referendum, a necessary step before parliamentary elections can be held in October.
The capital, Bishkek, also was tense yesterday amid fears of new unrest before Sunday’s vote. By midafternoon, most shopkeepers had packed up their wares and covered their store windows with metal shutters. Residents trace the fears to a tape released by the government weeks ago on which two men identified as Bakiyev’s son and brother are heard discussing plans for causing public unrest in Bishkek on June 22.
Kyrgyz authorities said they conducted the sweep in Nariman to track down suspected criminals hiding in the village. They said seven people were detained on suspicion of involvement in the killing of the head of the local police precinct a week ago.
They did not immediately comment on the Uzbek charges of violence and brutality, but released images of men lying face down on the ground in a courtyard as uniformed troops armed with assault rifles stood by.
Emil Kaptaganov, the interim government’s chief of staff, said two people had resisted and were killed, and 23 asked for medical assistance following the sweep in Nariman.
Aziza Abdirasulova of Kalym-Shaly, a respected human rights group based in the Kyrgyz capital, provided the same casualty count. She said she believed the mostly ethnic Kyrgyz police were taking revenge for the killing of their chief. “They were driven by revenge and were acting like wild animals,’’ she said.
There have long been tensions between the two ethnic groups, both are Sunni Muslims but speak different Turkic languages. The Uzbeks, traditional farmers and traders, have been more prosperous than the Kyrgyz, who come from a nomadic background. In June 1990, hundreds were killed in a land dispute between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in Osh.
