I admit, I don’t know diddly about Kyrgyzstan. I even have serious difficulty spelling its name (when copying it from a news article). But, it sure is making dramatic news today.
nytimes.com/2010/04/08/world … shkek.html
[quote]Large-scale protests on Wednesday appeared to overthrow the government of Kyrgyzstan, an important American ally in Central Asia. Government officials said at least 41 people had been killed in bloody fighting between riot police and demonstrators . . .
While the opposition declared that it was forming its own government, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev left Bishkek in the presidential plane, though it was not clear whether he was leaving the country or heading to another Kyrgyz city. Earlier in the day, the police used live ammunition, tear gas and stun grenades against a crowd of thousands that massed in front of the presidential office. . .
more than 350 people had been wounded in Bishkek alone. Opposition leaders said as many as 100 people may have died. The upheaval raised questions about the future of an important American air base that operates in Kyrgyzstan in support of the NATO mission in nearby Afghanistan. . .
It also posed a potential embarrassment for the Obama administration, which angered the Kyrgyz opposition last spring by courting Mr. Bakiyev in an ultimately successful attempt to reverse his decision to close the base, angering the opposition.
Tensions had been growing in Kyrgyzstan over what human rights groups contended were the increasingly repressive policies of President Bakiyev, but it appeared that the immediate catalyst for the violence was anger over a reported quadrupling in the prices for utilities. . . [/quote]
Amazing what a mob of angry people can do.
Live ammunition couldn’t stop the mob
Police cowering from stone throwers
Then fleeing from them
This cop was not so lucky
Nor this one
Or him
