Kyrgyz parliament calls for restraint
Source: Reuters
(Adds Bakiyev's quote) By Olga Dzyubenko BISHKEK, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Kyrgyzstan's parliament called for restraint on Wednesday ahead of any debate on a new cabinet after the government resigned in a technical move needed to enforce a new constitution. The West is watching developments in Kyrgyzstan, home to both a U.S. and a Russian military base. It has been unstable since President Kurmanbek Bakiyev came to power last year after his long-serving predecessor was overthrown in a coup. Kyrgyzstan was calm on Wednesday as parliament held a special planning session, but new tension could arise in the volatile Central Asian state when the chamber, packed with Bakiyev's opponents, starts discussing a new government team. Kubanychbek Isabekov, a deputy speaker, urged MPs and officials to give up personal ambitions and focus on reform. "We want to make sure the republic stays stable and calm," he said after the closed-door meeting. Isabekov did not say when the chamber planned to start discussing the new team. Parliamentary sources have told Reuters the line-up was likely to stay largely unchanged. Bakiyev, determined to show his willingness to hold open talks both with allies and critics, called a special meeting with key members of parliament. "The president agreed...the situation should not be over-dramatised," his press service quoted him as saying. Mass protests by the opposition last month forced Bakiyev to adopt the new constitution that cut his powers and transferred the right of forming and electing a new cabinet to parliament. Prime Minister Felix Kulov and his government resigned on Tuesday in line with the constitution. They should have resigned immediately after the constitution was adopted but stayed in office in order to change legislation accordingly. Tairbek Sarpashev, another deputy speaker, said he believed Kulov's ultimate goal was the chamber's dissolution. The new constitution makes it impossible to dissolve parliament at this stage unless it does so voluntarily. Some in the government and even in parliament have called on the chamber to dissolve voluntarily but most deputies said they had no such plans. "He believes it's difficult to work with this parliament," Sarpashev said. "He thinks it will be easier to work with a different parliament. Obviously he believes he will remain in office."
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