Kyrgyz vote arouses fear of unrest

Kyrgyzstan is to vote in a constitutional referendum Sunday that interim authorities insist is vital for easing tensions after deadly ethnic clashes but that some fear could spark new unrest.

Kyrgyzstan's provisional government, which came to power after former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted in riots in April, has pushed ahead with the vote despite the violence this month.

At least 264 people were killed in the clashes, according to the health ministry. But officials have admitted that many killed were not registered and have said the real death toll was probably much higher.

Proposed Reforms

The new constitution proposed in the referendum would significantly reduce the powers of the president and make the country Central Asia's first parliamentary republic -- moves the interim government says are essential for stability and fighting top-level corruption.

It will also limit any single political party from holding more than 50 seats in Kyrgyzstan's 90-seat parliament in a bid to prevent the kind of super-majorities that previous leaders enjoyed.

The referendum would set the stage for parliamentary elections that authorities this week moved forward by a month, from October to early September, in an effort to bring in a legitimate government as quickly as possible.

But many in the south, where the clashes earlier this month between the majority Kyrgyz and minority Uzbek populations also forced tens of thousands from their homes, are deeply sceptical of the referendum.

When she travelled to the region to discuss the vote this week, interim leader Roza Otunbayeva was confronted by hundreds of angry protesters demanding the referendum be shelved and a presidential vote held instead.

On Thursday Otunbayeva made an urgent plea for Kyrgyz voters to approve the constitution.

"By saying 'yes' to the new constitution the Kyrgyz people will opt for a fundamental change of the country's political system, for the preeminence of the rights of the people and for a responsible State," she said in an address to the nation broadcast by television.

Without the new constitution order cannot be restored, she said, adding that "destructive forces do not want real changes and tried to fan civil war".

She was also confident that the government would take the necessary steps to stabilize the situation in the south of the country.

Referendum could reignite violence

But analysts warned the government's decision to go ahead with the vote would raise tensions and could provoke further violence.

"Continuing to hold the referendum in the current difficult circumstances is unrealistic.... The vote should be delayed until later," said Bishkek-based political analyst Karybek Baybosunov.

Holding the vote in the current context risks "worsening the political situation" in the country, he said.

Large-scale violence has ceased and authorities say nearly all of those who fled the violence to neighbouring Uzbekistan have returned in recent days.

But tensions remain high in the south, where security forces have continued to carry out raids in search of weapons and human-rights groups have accused police of abusing the local Uzbek population.

The clashes were the worst ethnic violence to hit the impoverished country since it gained independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union nearly two decades ago.

Victims of the unrest have told AFP that the violence was a brutal and orchestrated campaign by armed Kyrgyz militias targeting Uzbeks, who make up about 14 percent of Kyrgyzstan's population of 5.3 million.

Kyrgyzstan authorities have accused former president Bakiyev of hiring "provocateurs" to instigate the clashes. Bakiyev has denied any involvement.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the West's main election monitoring body, said it will not send a planned mission of 300 observers to the Kyrgyz vote because of security concerns.