Roza Otunbayeva was sworn in as Kyrgyzstan's interim president yesterday after guiding it through three months of revolt, ethnic violence and a referendum intended to build Central Asia's first parliamentary democracy.
A former foreign minister, Otunbayeva, 59, came to power on April 7 during a popular revolt that overthrew the government of the small but strategically placed central Asian state, which houses both US and Russian military bases and borders China.
She was sworn in to act as president until the end of next year under the terms of a new Constitution that voters backed in a referendum last week, creating a parliamentary system in a region otherwise dominated by authoritarian presidents.
The referendum was held despite violence between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in the south of the country that saw villages burned, hundreds of people killed and hundreds of thousands driven from their homes.
“We are living though one of the most dramatic periods in our history,” said Otunbayeva at the ceremony held in a concert hall in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital.
She pledged to support a liberal economy and guarantee private property rights.
The first woman to lead a Central Asian state, Otunbayeva has faced severe challenges since taking power in the wake of a street revolt that toppled president Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
Nearly 300 people were killed, and probably hundreds more, in several days of violence in southern regions of the country that began on June 10, triggered by attacks by unidentified individuals in balaclavas in the south's biggest city, Osh.
The UN estimated that 400,000 people fled. About a quarter crossed into Uzbekistan, which shares a border with Kyrgyzstan. Most of the refugees have since returned.
Under the new system adopted in the referendum, parliamentary elections are planned for Oct. 10. The power of the presidency will be reduced, giving parliament and the Cabinet more authority.
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