The political opposition in Kyrgyzstan claimed this evening to have seized power in the Central Asian country after a second day of anti-government unrest around the country. Media reports from the capital Bishkek cited an opposition politician, Temir Sariyev, as claiming the power changeover, with the Kyrgyzs government of Premier Daniyar Ussenov handing in its resignation. The new government was being headed by former foreign minister Rosa Otunbayeva, 59. She is the head of the Social Democratic Party faction in parliament. According to a spokeswoman, Otunbayeva was temporarily being taken into safe hiding in order to protect her from possible arrest. Otunbayeva was considered a leading figure in the so-called Tulip Revolution five years ago which toppled Askar Akayev and brought President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to power. The developments in the Central Asian country Wednesday evening came after a day of increasing chaos as protests against Bakiyev's government grew more violent, with attacks against government buildings in Bishkek as well as in other major cities as Naryn and Talas. There were conflicting accounts of casualites. After anti- government protesters apparently seized control of national television, the opposition said that around 100 demonstrators had been killed. But other reports cited the Health Ministry as giving a figure of around 40 dead. In the course of the day, several opposition politicians who had been taken into custody were released by police in order to permit them to meet negotiate with the government. Meanwhile Bakiyev's whereabouts were unknown. "We don't know where he is, but he is not in Bishkek," Sariyev said.
