Ousted Kyrgyz Leader Surfaces

Ousted President Askar A. Akayev, who fled this Central Asian country after protesters took over the main government building Thursday in a popular revolution, reemerged Tuesday in Moscow and gave an apparent boost to the new authorities’ bid to consolidate the dramatic political changes.

Akayev told Russia’s state-run Channel One television that he would be prepared to formally resign “provided I am given appropriate guarantees and if this fully complies with Kyrgyz law.” Akayev appeared to be referring to immunity from prosecution, which Prime Minister and acting President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has said Akayev would hold as an ex-president.

However, Akayev, who became president of Kyrgyzstan in 1990, when it was still part of the Soviet Union, asserted that he still ruled the nation. “I have not yet relinquished my duties, and I am still a legitimate president,” he said.

The lack of a formal resignation by Akayev has posed legal problems for the former opposition as it has tried to organize a government recognized as having a proper legal foundation.

Akayev said Tuesday that he was prepared to negotiate with representatives of the parliament chosen in balloting Feb. 27 and March 13, a disputed election that triggered the protests. The body was viewed as strongly pro-Akayev when elected, but on Monday it formally named Bakiyev prime minister.

Domestic and foreign democracy advocates had hoped that a smooth transfer of power through a presidential election later this year would set a precedent in a region known for authoritarian rule.

A successful transition to a freer system could result in a beachhead for democracy and greater U.S. influence in Central Asia.

Bakiyev, a former opposition leader, asserted his authority over government operations Tuesday and appeared to make progress toward establishing a new order.

He met with hundreds of tense employees at the main government building, admonishing them to avoid corruption and work hard, particularly at improving Kyrgyzstan’s economy.

“We are all servants of the people,” Bakiyev said in televised remarks. He took a strong populist tone and seemed in part to be making an appeal to the public. “We should bring a very good standard of living to every person, although it certainly also depends on how he works, his professionalism.”

He called fighting corruption his top goal, and said his second priority was reducing unemployment in the country of 5 million.

“If I see that a particular person or minister is hindering the process of production, I will immediately say goodbye to him,” Bakiyev said. “Whoever is ... on my staff, if I hear that they were appointed in return for money or because they are someone’s relative or because they belong to a particular clan, then this person will be dismissed immediately.”

Speaking with reporters after meeting with government workers, Bakiyev said he was certain that parliament firmly backed him and the new authorities and that it would not attempt to return Akayev to power.

In his comments in Moscow, Akayev offered a further indication that events in Kyrgyzstan were headed toward compromise by speaking favorably of Bakiyev, who has been prime minister before and who served under him before becoming his opponent.

“Kurmanbek Bakiyev is one of my disciples,” Akayev said. “He is a person with whom I have always had fair and businesslike relations.”