President Askar Akayev, who offered his resignation after fleeing Kyrgyzstan two weeks ago as protesters stormed his office, said in a taped address shown yesterday that his nearly 15 years in power would someday be seen as a high point in the country's history.
The address, which Akayev recorded this week in Moscow after signing a resignation agreement, was aired at a parliament session broadcast live to this nation of 5 million. The legislature then began debating the resignation, which would allow Akayev to retain immunity from prosecution and benefits afforded to ex-presidents.
At the end of the 18-minute address, Akayev was shown standing at a podium next to the Kyrgyz flag, holding up the resignation agreement. Then parliament speaker Omurbek Tekebayev, one of Akayev's most prominent opponents, was shown taking the document from Akayev and shaking hands with him.
"I am convinced that in the future the Akayev period will be recognized by historians as a bright period in Kyrgyz history," Akayev said in the address. "I did all that I could, but let whoever comes next do more."
Akayev was regarded as the most liberal and reform-oriented of the ex-Soviet Central Asian countries' leaders. In his first years in power, Kyrgyzstan was widely referred to as an "island of democracy" in a region mostly characterized by authoritarian rule, but in recent years he showed increasing signs of cracking down on opposition.
In addition, allegations of widespread corruption against him and his family fueled opposition. Demonstrations broke out after this year's parliamentary elections that many alleged were manipulated to give him a compliant legislature, and the protests culminated in the March 24 storming of the presidential administration building.
Akayev said he had ordered police not to shoot the demonstrators and that he regarded this as a key decision of his presidency. "Even a drop of blood is not worth power," Akayev said.
"I am leaving you with a clean heart and spirit," he said.
The audience listened to the address quietly and there was no applause or other obvious reaction at its conclusion.
The resignation agreement was supposed to have been considered on Tuesday, but lawmakers failed to muster a quorum. The delay only added to the confusion since Akayev's ouster. Kyrgyz officials pushed hard to secure Akayev's resignation, seen as a significant step toward restoring political order and legitimizing the new leaders.
But some lawmakers are angry that 60-year-old Akayev might be allowed a dignified exit.
"For 14 years, he stole from the state budget and now we are going to continue to permit him to steal our money," said acting Prosecutor General Azimbek Beknazarov, referring to the state pension that Akayev would continue to draw if allowed to resign.
Lawmaker Omarbek Babanov argued against launching an impeachment, which would be a time-consuming process.
"No one will forgive us if we don't push ahead," he said, noting that this impoverished nation needs its parliament to focus attention on improving living standards and creating jobs -- not on impeaching a leader who has already fled.
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