The opposition in Kyrgyzstan said on Thursday it has taken over the government in the Central Asian state after violent protests forced President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to flee the capital, Bishkek. Below are questions and answers about what is going on in Kyrgyzstan: Why is the unrest significant? Kyrgyzstan, which lies at the heart of Central Asia, is central to Western efforts to contain the spread of militancy from Afghanistan. The United States rents an air base in Kyrgyzstan, which it uses to support its fight against Taliban insurgents in nearby Afghanistan. Russia also has an air base in the country. A change of leadership in Bishkek could complicate the base agreements. Last year, Kyrgyzstan demanded the United States close the Manas base, but later agreed to let Washington keep the base for a higher rent. Both the United States and Russia have expressed concern about what they regard as a rise in militancy in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan shares the volatile Fergana Valley with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and was the target of cross-border raids by guerrillas in 1999 and 2000. Foreign powers are nervous that if violence sweeps through Kyrgyzstan – which borders China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan – it could have unpredictable consequences for the entire region. What has sparked the unrest? Bakiyev, a former opposition leader, came to power after the 2005 “Tulip Revolution” ousted Kyrgyzstan's first post-Soviet president, Askar Akayev. He has since been accused by the opposition of tightening his grip on power, jailing political opponents and failing to root out corruption. “After the Tulip Revolution in 2005, the hope was that after Akayev, Kurmanbek Bakiyev would be a different kind of leader and that didn't work out,” said Reinhard Krumm, director of the Freidrich-Ebert Foundation think tank in Moscow. Bakiyev won a second term by an overwhelming margin in July last year, but Western observers criticised the election. Bakiyev has come under fire for failing to improve the fate of the nation's 5.3 million inhabitants, a third of whom live below the poverty line. The average monthly wage is about $130 and discontent has grown after utility price hikes. Kyrgyzstan's $4.7 billion economy has also been badly hit by a sharp drop in remittances, which accounted for almost 30 percent of Kyrgyzstan's gross domestic product in 2008. Economic growth slowed to 2.3 percent in 2009, after a rise of 8.4 percent the year before, but the economy would have contracted by 2.9 percent without the contribution of the Kumtor gold mine, which is operated by Centerra Gold Inc. Former parent company, Canadian uranium miner Cameco Corp, divested its stake in Centerra last year. Centerra spokesman John Pearson said Kumtor, 430 km (270 miles) from Bishkek, was so far unaffected by the violence and that the company was monitoring the situation. What will happen next? The opposition says it has seized power and is demanding Bakiyev's resignation. The president has fled Bishkek, but his whereabouts are unknown. He has not made any public statements since the protests began. Kyrgyz opposition leader Roza Otunbayeva plans to run an interim government for six months that will draft a new constitution.
