Kyrgyz president hands over control

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan -- President Askar Akayev reportedly fled on Thursday after protesters stormed his headquarters, seized control of state television and rampaged through government offices, throwing computers and air conditioners out of windows.\nA leading opponent of the Akayev regime, Felix Kulov, was freed from prison and praised the "revolution made by the people." Kulov said Akayev had signed a letter of resignation, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.\nMembers of the reinstated parliament that was in power before February's disputed election met Thursday night to discuss keeping order in the nation and conducting a new presidential vote, perhaps as early as May or June.\nLegislators in the upper house elected a former opposition lawmaker, Ishenbai Kadyrbekov, as interim president, but the lower chamber did not immediately approve the choice.\nKadyrbekov, a Communist lawmaker in the previous bicameral parliament, had been disqualified by authorities from running in the disputed elections in February and early March, which fueled the protests.\nOpposition activist Ulan Shambetov, who briefly sat in Akayev's office chair to celebrate, praised the latest uprising to sweep a former Soviet republic.\n"It's not the opposition that has seized power, it's the people who have taken power. The people. They have been fighting for so long against corruption, against that (Akayev) family," he said.\nThe takeover of government buildings in Bishkek followed similar seizures by opposition activists in southern Kyrgyzstan, including the second-largest city, Osh. Those protests began even before the first round of parliamentary elections on Feb. 27 and swelled after March 13 run-offs that the opposition said were seriously flawed. U.S. and European officials concurred.\nLater Thursday, Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court declared the election invalid and recognized the former parliament as the legitimate legislature, said former parliamentary speaker Abdygany Erkebayev.\nAkayev's whereabouts were not known. Both the opposition and Russian news agencies said he had left the country but U.S. officials raised doubts about whether he was no longer in Kyrgyzstan.\nOpposition leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev appeared on state TV and declared: "Akayev is no longer on the territory of Kyrgyzstan."\nThe Interfax news agency, without citing sources, said Akayev had flown to Russia but later said he had landed in Kazakhstan.\nHowever, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was asked about the reports during a stop in Guatemala.\n"The intelligence reports do not verify what you cited from press reports. I'm confident there will be no issue with respect to U.S. forces," Rumsfeld said.\nBakiyev also said the prime minister had resigned but that those in charge of the Security, Interior and Defense ministries were working with the opposition.\nPolitics in Kyrgyzstan depends as much on clan ties as on ideology, and the fractious opposition has no unified program beyond calls for more democracy, an end to poverty and corruption, and a desire to oust Akayev, who held power in the former Soviet republic for 15 years.\nThe fragmented opposition has shown no signs it would change policy toward Russia or the West -- and unlike in recent anti-government protests in Georgia and Ukraine, foreign policy has not been an issue.\nBut any change would have impact, since both the United States and Russia have cooperated with Akayev and have military bases near Bishkek. There are about 1,000 U.S. troops at Manas air base outside Bishkek. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said he didn't believe they would be adversely affected by the turmoil.\nKyrgyzstan's role as a conduit for drugs and a potential hotbed of Islamic extremism, particularly in the impoverished south, makes it volatile. There is no indication, however, that the opposition would be more amenable to Islamic fundamentalist influence than Akayev's government has been.\n"The future of Kyrgyzstan should be decided by the people of Kyrgyzstan, consistent with the principles of peaceful change, of dialogue and respect for the rule of law," State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said.\nThe takeover began with a rally Thursday morning on the outskirts of Bishkek, where about 5,000 protesters roared and clapped when an opposition speaker said they soon would control the entire country\n"The people of Kyrgyzstan will not let anybody torment them," Bakiyev told the crowd. "We must show persistence and strength, and we will win"