Kurmanbek Bakiyev officially assumed the post of Kyrgyzstan's president yesterday by swearing an oath on the country's Constitution, one month after winning a landslide victory at a July 10 poll in the Central Asian republic.
"Taking on the functions of the Kyrgyz Republic's president, I swear before the people and the holy mountains to respect and defend the Kyrgyz Republic's Constitution and law, to guarantee the rights and liberties of all citizens, and to fulfill the president's functions, given me by popular trust, honorably and tirelessly," Bakiyev said, to cheers from onlooking troops.
Bakiyev, who has been acting president since a wave of protest ousted the country's first post-Soviet leader Askar Akayev in March, swept the board at the presidential poll with nearly 89 percent of the vote.
The inauguration ceremony, held on the capital's central square behind police cordons and attended by some 5,000 invited dignitaries, began with a military parade.
Neighboring Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev was the only foreign head of state to attend however.
Russia was represented by the chairman of the upper house of its Federation Council, Sergei Mironov, while the US sent Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez.
In a speech, Bakiyev hailed the occasion as a milestone for this impoverished mountain republic of some 5 million people, which lies on China's western edge.
"Despite ... difficulties, we have established democracy and the power of the people. It is our great victory. I congratulate all those who have fought for their commitment to democratic principles since the earliest days of independence ... " Bakiyev said.
"Above all our society should regain the principles of decency and honesty that are among the most ancient characteristics of Central Asia. This requires an honest state that works for the good of the people. We must restore respect for the authorities and the law," Bakiyev said.
A ship that appears to be taking on the identity of a scrapped gas carrier exited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, showing how strategies to get through the waterway are evolving as the Middle East war progresses. The vessel identifying as liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Jamal left the Strait on Friday morning, ship-tracking data show. However, the same tanker was also recorded as having beached at an Indian demolition yard in October last year, where it is being broken up, according to market participants and port agent’s reports. The ship claiming to be Jamal is likely a zombie vessel that
Japan is to downgrade its description of ties with China from “one of its most important” in an annual diplomatic report, according to a draft reviewed by Reuters, as relations with Beijing worsen. This year’s Diplomatic Bluebook, which Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government is expected to approve next month, would instead describe China as an important neighbor and the relationship as “strategic” and “mutually beneficial.” The draft cites a series of confrontations with Beijing over the past year, including export controls on rare earths, radar lock-ons targeting Japanese military aircraft and increased pressure around Taiwan. The shift in tone underscores a deterioration
LAW CONSTRAINTS: The US has been pressing allies to send warships to open the Strait, but Tokyo’s military actions are limited under its postwar pacifist constitution Japan could consider deploying its military for minesweeping in the Strait of Hormuz if a ceasefire is reached in the war on Iran, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi said yesterday. “If there were to be a complete ceasefire, hypothetically speaking, then things like minesweeping could come up,” Motegi said. “This is purely hypothetical, but if a ceasefire were established and naval mines were creating an obstacle, then I think that would be something to consider.” Japan’s military actions are limited under its postwar pacifist constitution, but 2015 security legislation allows Tokyo to use its Self-Defense Forces overseas if an attack,
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) yesterday faced a regional election battle in Rhineland-Palatinate, now held by the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD). Merz’s CDU has enjoyed a narrow poll lead over the SPD — their coalition partners at the national level — who have ruled the mid-sized state for 35 years. Polling third is the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which spells a greater threat to the two centrist parties in several state elections in September in the country’s ex-communist east. The picturesque state of Rhineland-Palatinate, bordering France, Belgium and Luxembourg and with a population of about 4 million,
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