As Yahya Jammeh's  "BALLEH WAING AK RATOH KURAN" [METAL BROOM AND ELECTRIC
RAKE] Yahya's words not  mine, swept through various departments yesterday and
today, netting more than  40+ senior civil servant and SOS [including our Mafy
Jarju and Hydara], Uncle  Tom Boy [Tombong] Saidy, they were paraded around
town and taken to Baaba Jobe's  residence for processing and then to NIA and or
Police Stations; Boy the  criminal mind at work! Most of them were released
and some were fired and other  hanging loose waiting for instructions from Mansa
Jammeh. No wonder, a brother  said to me: Jammeh's administration is a
heirachy of DOFF, DOFF, DOFF AND  CLEVER, DOFF, DOFF, in continum. The million $$
question being asked around town  is: WHAT'S YAHYA JAHANAMA TRYING TO PROVE?
That he's clean and those following  are all corrupt and criminals? Think again!
Only a sick and criminal-minded  person thinks like Gambia's Ayatollah or Paa
Bi [The old man in the  house] as he's now called around office corridors.
Could you imagine Gambians  stooping so low out of fear and contempt to call
Jammeh, Paa Bi? There's a  cloud of darkness hanging around Gambia and Gambians,
especially the coalition,  should capitalize on these opportunities and send
these  rascals/criminals/mercenaries to follow the footsteps of Kyrgyzstan's
President.  Aprill 10-1, 2000 was a missed opportunity for the students to change
Gambia  forever, but the opposition were not able, willing and ready to take
charge. The next time around, People should lead and leaders will follow for
good.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Please read  on:
Updated: 03:47 PM EST
President Said to Have Fled Kyrgyzstan

By STEVE GUTTERMAN,  AP

(http://ar.atwola.com/link/93179288/html?badsc=B0g3HYAwL_45bndvSxsWLTFmmfb1rbAWaCATDCMG6LHtq-pyFa3XUMTAsS_NrwXCncWISK-53hYSCND4d9pw2B2fJ-ziX3M3AKBHpv2vh3pw
kw0MiQsF3XE0bzvoCvY56qjTCOIVaMQr7Jvro9u4Y5cn8lfccapzHLKgUMAeyJFARHh6Qlr1OPVg$$
)
(http://ar.atwola.com/link/93179288/785037563/aoladp?target=_blank&border=0)
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (March 24) - President Askar Akayev  reportedly fled on
Thursday after protesters stormed his headquarters, seized  control of state
television and rampaged through government offices, throwing  computers and air
conditioners out of windows.

A leading opponent of the Akayev regime, Felix Kulov, was  freed from prison
and praised the ''revolution made by the people.'' Kulov said  Akayev had
signed a letter of resignation, the ITAR-Tass news agency  reported.
Members of the reinstated parliament that was in power  before February's
disputed election met Thursday night to discuss keeping order  in the nation and
conducting a new presidential vote, perhaps as early as May or  June.
Legislators in the upper house elected a former opposition  lawmaker,
Ishenbai Kadyrbekov, as interim president, but the lower chamber did  not immediately
approve the choice.
Kadyrbekov, a Communist lawmaker in the previous bicameral  parliament, had
been disqualified by authorities from running in the disputed  elections in
February and early March, which fueled the protests.
Opposition activist Ulan Shambetov, who briefly sat in  Akayev's office chair
to celebrate, praised the latest uprising to sweep a  former Soviet republic.
''It's not the opposition that has seized power, it's the  people who have
taken power. The people. They have been fighting for so long  against
corruption, against that (Akayev) family,'' he said.
The takeover of government buildings in Bishkek followed  similar seizures by
opposition activists in southern Kyrgyzstan, including the  second-largest
city, Osh. Those protests began even before the first round of  parliamentary
elections on Feb. 27 and swelled after March 13 run-offs that the  opposition
said were seriously flawed. U.S. and European officials  concurred.
Later Thursday, Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court declared the  election invalid and
recognized the former parliament as the legitimate  legislature, said former
parliamentary speaker Abdygany Erkebayev.
Akayev's whereabouts were not known. Both the opposition  and Russian news
agencies said he had left the country but U.S. officials raised  doubts about
whether he was no longer in Kyrgyzstan.
Opposition leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev appeared on state TV  and declared:
''Akayev is no longer on the territory of Kyrgyzstan.''
The Interfax news agency, without citing sources, said  Akayev had flown to
Russia but later said he had landed in Kazakhstan.
However, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was asked  about the reports
during a stop in Guatemala.
''The intelligence reports do not verify what you cited  from press reports.
I'm confident there will be no issue with respect to U.S.  forces,'' Rumsfeld
said.
Bakiyev also said the prime minister had resigned but that  those in charge
of the Security, Interior and Defense ministries were working  with the
opposition.
Politics in Kyrgyzstan depends as much on clan ties as on  ideology, and the
fractious opposition has no unified program beyond calls for  more democracy,
an end to poverty and corruption, and a desire to oust Akayev,  who held power
in the former Soviet republic for 15 years.
The fragmented opposition has shown no signs it would  change policy toward
Russia or the West - and unlike in recent anti-government  protests in Georgia
and Ukraine, foreign policy has not been an issue.
But any change would have impact, since both the United  States and Russia
have cooperated with Akayev and have military bases near  Bishkek. There are
about 1,000 U.S. troops at Manas air base outside Bishkek.  Defense Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld said he didn't believe they would be  adversely affected by
the turmoil.
Kyrgyzstan's role as a conduit for drugs and a potential  hotbed of Islamic
extremism, particularly in the impoverished south, makes it  volatile. There is
no indication, however, that the opposition would be more  amenable to
Islamic fundamentalist influence than Akayev's government has  been.
''The future of Kyrgyzstan should be decided by the people  of Kyrgyzstan,
consistent with the principles of peaceful change, of dialogue  and respect for
the rule of law,'' State Department spokesman Adam Ereli  said.
The takeover began with a rally Thursday morning on the  outskirts of
Bishkek, where about 5,000 protesters roared and clapped when an  opposition speaker
said they soon would control the entire country.
''The people of Kyrgyzstan will not let anybody torment  them,'' Bakiyev told
the crowd. ''We must show persistence and strength, and we  will win.''
Interior Minister Keneshbek Dushebayev addressed  demonstrators and urged
them to obey the law, but he also departed from his  warnings a day earlier of a
violent crackdown, saying no force would be used  against peaceful protesters.
About 1,000 people surged toward the hulking, Soviet-era  building that
contained Akayev's offices and met little resistance from the  helmeted riot police
who held truncheons and shields next to a protective fence.  About half of
the crowd entered through the front. Others smashed windows with  stones, tossed
papers and tore portraits of Akayev in half and stomped on  them.
Some demonstrators were injured during a clash with a group  of
truncheon-wielding men in civilian clothes and blue armbands - the color of  Akayev's
party. One demonstrator had a serious head injury and a broken leg, and  another
had broken ribs, said Iskander Shamshiyev, leader of the opposition  Youth
Movement of Kyrgyzstan.
Vincent Lusser, a spokesman for the International Red Cross  in Geneva, said
its staff had seen ''a few dozen wounded'' in Bishkek hospitals  - most with
injuries sustained in falls or fistfights.
Hundreds of police watched from outside the fence, where  thousands more
protesters remained, appearing disorganized and unwilling to act  against the
demonstrators. Neither side visibly carried any firearms.
Officials left through a side door, protected by Interior  Ministry troops.
Some camouflage-clad troops also left peacefully.
Many of the demonstrators wore pink or yellow headbands  signifying their
loyalty to the opposition - reminiscent of the orange worn by  protesters who
helped bring in a pro-Western president in Ukraine last year and  the rose hues
worn in Georgia in 2003.
At one point, a protester charged through the square on  horseback, a yellow
opposition flag waving, and protesters chanted, ''Akayev,  go!''
Dozens of youths rampaged inside the building, some  smashing furniture and
looting supplies, ignoring protest organizers urging them  to stop. Broken
glass littered the floors and a drugstore in the building was  ransacked.
''It's the victory of the people. But now we don't know how  to stop these
young guys,'' said Noman Akabayev, who ran unsuccessfully in the  elections.
Several hours after the takeover, thick plumes of black  smoke rose from two
burning cars nearby, apparently belonging to government  officials. A fire
truck responded.
After nightfall, thousands milled peacefully in Ala-Too  Square outside the
presidential headquarters, occasionally breaking into cheers.  But a large
store on a main street was looted, with mostly young men carting out  crates of
food, juice and cookies, as well as mattresses, mirrors and coat  hangers.
''You have to understand, people are living in poverty,''  Kulov said.
Kulov's release could be a key element in unifying the  Kyrgyz opposition,
which until now has lacked a single clear leader.
He had been serving 10 years in prison for embezzlement and  abuse of power -
charges he says were fabricated by the Akayev regime. A former  vice
president, interior minister and mayor of Bishkek, Kulov was arrested after
announcing his candidacy to oppose Akayev in the 2000 presidential election.
''It is a revolution made by the people,'' Kulov said on  state television,
adding, ''Tomorrow will come, and we must decide how to live  tomorrow.''
Topchubek Turgunaliyev of the opposition People's Movement  of Kyrgyzstan,
said new parliamentary elections would be held in the fall.
Edil Baisalov, head of a prominent non-governmental  organization that
monitored the disputed elections, told The Associated Press  that a new presidential
vote might occur in May or June, to be followed later by  parliamentary
elections.
The opposition accused the 60-year-old Akayev, who was  prohibited from
seeking another term, of manipulating the parliamentary vote to  gain a compliant
legislature that would amend the constitution so he could stay  in office
beyond an October presidential election. Akayev has denied that.
Akayev was long regarded as a reform-minded leader, but in  recent years he
turned more authoritarian. In 2002, his reputation was tarnished  after police
killed six demonstrators protesting the arrest of an opposition  lawmaker.
''I am very happy because for 15 years we've been seeing  the same ugly face
that has been shamelessly smiling at us,'' said Abdikasim  Kamalov, holding a
red Kyrgyz flag outside the presidential building. ''We could  no longer
tolerate this. We want changes.''
AP reporter Bagila Bukharbayeva contributed to this  story from Bishkek.
AP-NY-03-24-05 15:20 EST

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