BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

20/04/2010

Belarus says ousted Kyrgyz president in Minsk

c 2010 The Associated Press

MINSK, Belarus - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says the ousted president of Kyrgyzstan is in Minsk.

Kurmanbek Bakiyev fled Kyrgyzstan during a bloody uprising on April 7 and last week took refuge in neighboring Kazakhstan.

He left Kazakhstan on Monday for a destination that had not been clear, a day after Lukashenko had said Bakiyev would be welcome in his country.

Lukashenko said in televised remarks Tuesday that Bakiyev was being protected in the Belarusian capital - which could exacerbate tensions with both the West as well as with neighboring Russia.

Bakiyev was deposed after an uprising in Bishkek that left 83 people dead.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) - Kyrgyzstan's interim authorities are warning the deposed president he will be imprisoned if he returns from abroad.

President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted in a bloody uprising last week and fled to neighboring Kazakhstan from his stronghold in the south.

On Monday he left Kazakhstan for an unknown destination, and the interim Kyrgyz leadership said Tuesday he should not come home.

Interim government member Edil Baisalov told Russian agency Interfax that if Bakiyev returns it would be "only in the capacity of a prisoner."

He accused Bakiyev of being responsible for the 83 deaths that occurred when gunfire broke out at an April 7 protest rally in the Kyrgyz capital.

Small-scale riots continue around Bishkek.

Source:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6966630.html


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