Career diplomat Roza Otunbayeva was sworn in as conflict-torn Kyrgyzstan's president Saturday, making her the first female leader in the history of ex-Soviet Central Asia. Standing before an audience of more than 1,000 cheering onlookers in a packed Soviet-era concert hall in the capital Bishkek, Otunbayeva solemnly took her oath and promised a new political era for increasingly-unstable Kyrgyzstan. “As president, I will spare no effort to create a new political culture for the country based on a strict adherence to the rule of law,” she told the assembled crowd. “I must be principled and consistently make demands on all branches of government to ensure it. The new policy cannot be built on fantasies and illusions. It must become real and effective.” A former foreign minister and ambassador to Britain who was swept to power in a wave of bloody street riots in April that ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Otunbayeva takes office at a delicate moment. Kyrgyzstan has been wracked by violence and political instability in recent months, and the inauguration comes just days after the approval of a new constitution making Kyrgyzstan the region's first parliamentary democracy. The new charter, passed overwhelmingly in a referendum Sunday, slashes the powers of the president and sets the stage for parliamentary elections that authorities have scheduled for early October to bring in a permanent government. Otunbayeva will serve as the country's caretaker president until after 2011 presidential elections.
