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June 13 (Reuters) – Exiled former Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev denied on Sunday any involvement in a wave of ethnic violence in the south of Kyrgyzstan that has killed at least 82 people.
Bakiyev said in a statement that reports of his involvement were “shameless lies” and that the interim government that replaced him after an uprising in April were proving incapable of quelling the unrest.
(Reporting by Andrei Makhovsky; Writing by Conor Humphries;
The Kremlin’s chief foreign policy adviser on Wednesday told Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to refrain from “political demagoguery” after Tehran admonished Russia for supporting new sanctions.
The public clash came after Ahmadinejad chided Russia for bowing to U.S. pressure over new sanctions against Tehran and bluntly warned Kremlin chief Dmitry Medvedev to be more cautious.
But Medvedev’s top foreign policy advisor, Sergei Prikhodko, dismissed the criticism, saying Russia was neither pro-American nor pro-Iranian and that Moscow’s policy was governed by the national interest.
“No one has ever managed to preserve one’s authority with political demagoguery. I am convinced, the thousand-year history of Iran itself is evidence of this,” Prikhodko said in a statement.
“The Russian Federation is governed by its own long-term state interests. Our position is Russian: it reflects the interests of all the peoples of greater Russia and so it can be neither pro-American nor pro-Iranian,” he said.
In a clear rebuke to Tehran over its failure to allay fears about its nuclear programme, Prikhodko said that Russia could not accept inconsistency and a lack of transparency in resolving major world issues.
“Any unpredictability, any political extremism, lack of transparency or inconsistency in taking decisions that affect and concern the entire world community is unacceptable for us,” he said.
“It would be good if those who are now speaking in the name of the wise people of Iran… would remember this,” Prikhodko said.
(Reporting by Denis Dyomkin, writing by Guy Faulconbridge, editing by Conor Humphries)
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday he was studying an Iranian fuel swap deal brokered by Brazil and Turkey but that questions remained, including whether Iran intended to continue enriching uranium.
“One question is: will Iran itself enrich uranium? As far as I understand from officials of that state, such work will be continued. In this case, of course, those concerns that the international community had before could remain,” Medvedev said.
Iran agreed with Brazil and Turkey on Monday that it would send some of its uranium abroad, abruptly ending its refusal to countenance such a deal just as the U.N. Security Council readied tougher sanctions.
“The question arises — is the level of this swap operation sufficient? Will all members of the international community be satisfied? I don’t know,” Medvedev said. “We need to see what follows this declaration.”
Medvedev said consultations were needed with Iran and all major powers involved in the negotiations about the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme.
“After this, we need to decide what to do: Are those proposals sufficient or is something else needed? So I think a small pause on this problem would not do any harm,” he said.
Medvedev spoke by phone to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva late on Monday to discuss the issue, the Kremlin said in a statement.
Medvedev “positively assessed joint efforts by Brazil and Turkey to promote a political and diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear problem,” the statement said.
“Russia will use all opportunities to support a joint search for, and the development of, a constructive resolution (to the Iranian nuclear problem) that satisfies the international community,” the statement said.
(Reporting by Denis Dyomkin, writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Conor Humphries, editing by Jon Boyle)
Kyrgyzstan will hold elections on October 10 after a referendum aimed at reducing the powers of the president, the interim government said on Thursday.
The interim government has struggled to restore order after an April 7 uprising ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, leaving at least 85 people dead and disrupting flights through a key U.S. airbase supporting operations in Afghanistan.
Omurbek Tekebayev, a deputy prime minister who is in charge of constitutional reform, said joint parliamentary and presidential elections could take place on October 10 after a referendum on constitutional change to be held on June 27.
“A referendum will take place on June 27 and parliamentary elections on October 10, possibly jointly presidential,” Tekebayev said by telephone. “The government has approved the timetable.”
Tekebayev has said the government plans to reduce the power of the president and create a parliamentary republic with strong checks and balances.
But diplomats say that the new leaders of Kyrgyzstan will have an uphill battle to create a beacon of democracy in Central Asia, a region dominated by authoritarian leaders.
Bakiyev, in Belarus after fleeing Kyrgyzstan last week, claims he is still president. The interim government says he has resigned, but has not appointed a replacement.
(Reporting by Olga Dzyubenko, writing by Guy Faulconbridge, editing by Conor Humphries)
BISHKEK, April 8 (Reuters) – The head of Kyrgyzstan’s self-proclaimed government on Thursday said it would keep an existing agreement to allow the United States operate a military air transit base.
“Its status quo will remain in place. We still have some questions on it. Give us time and we will listen to all the sides and solve everything,” said Roza Otunbayeva, who led opposition to President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s government, from inside the country’s parliament building.
The United States has a military air base supporting troops in Afghanistan in the Kyrgyz city of Manas and is a major donor to Kyrgyzstan. (Reporting by Maria Golovnina; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Conor Sweeney; Editing by Louise Ireland)
BISHKEK, April 8 (Reuters) – The interim Defence Minister of of Kyrgyzstan’s self-proclaimed government on Thursday said the country’s armed forces and border guards were under its control.
“The entire army and border guards are now under our control. Military force will be never again be used to solve domestic matters,” said Ishmail Isakov, the interim Defence Minister. (Reporting by Maria Golovnina; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Conor Sweeney; Editing by Louise Ireland)
BISHKEK, April 8 (Reuters) – The head of Kyrgyzstan’s self-proclaimed government on Thursday said President Kurmanbek Bakiyev had returned to his home region of Jalalabad in the south to rally supporters and defend his position.
“We want to negotiate his resignation,” Roza Otunbayeva, who led opposition to Bakiyev’s government, told reporters in Bishkek. “His business here is over.”
“The people who were killed here yesterday are the victims of his regime,” she said. (Reporting by Maria Golovnina; Writing by Conor Humphries and Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Louise Ireland
Melbourne, Feb 06 (ANI): An Australian winery has unveiled a new range of wines with labels featuring terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden.
Another label reproduces an image that surfaced from the torture scandal at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, of a hooded prisoner with electric wires attached to his hands.
Tasmania’s Moorilla winery, owned by millionaire gambler David Walsh, at Berriedale in Hobart’s northern suburbs, is the producer of the wines.
The images are taken from political graffiti from the streets of Hobart and Melbourne.
The stencil image of Bin Laden goes next to a graffiti message reading “all you need is love”.
Beneath the torture image are the words “Iraqi liberation”.
Previously, Moorilla has produced an erotic sex-and-death themed “Muse” wine series.
Moorilla winemaker Conor van der Reest said the temporary and contemporary nature of street art suited the drink-now ethos of the new “Praxis” wines.
“It’s not a question of us trying to confront people. It’s more a chronicling of stuff that’s current, either in art or world events,” News.com.au quoted Conor van der Reest, as saying.
Conor van der Reest said the reaction would be interesting.
“It’s really hard to tell and I guess it always comes down to how does anybody react to any sort of art. I hope people will get the idea and look at the whole label,” he said.
“It would also be interesting to see how the US responded to both the Muse and Praxis labels when the company applied for export,” he added. (ANI)
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