Kyrgyzstan's Parliament holds Landmark First Session

    By Tolkun Namatbayeva
    Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday held a landmark first session of its newly-elected parliament after weeks of political wrangling that had led to fears of fresh unrest in the Central Asian state.
    Five parties won seats in last month's historic elections to create the region's first parliamentary democracy, but lengthy delays in releasing the results led to accusations of foul play and tensions.
    President Roza Otunbayeva appealed to legislators in the Zhogorku Kenesh parliament, the most powerful legislature in a region dominated by strongmen presidents, to work swiftly to form a government to lead the battered country.
    "Today Kyrgyzstan demands investment so as to safeguard the social-political environment, but investors are waiting for us to have a legitimate government," Otunbayeva told the packed hall.
    "Because of that I ask you to be above personal and political ambitions and to choose a premier and form a government before November 27."
    Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic long considered the region's most politically volatile, has been wracked by unrest since former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted in a bloody coup in April.
    Clashes between the ethnic Kyrgyz majority and the Uzbek minority in the south of the country in June left at least 400 dead and thousands homeless, and helped to reinforce a historical divide between the north and south of the mountainous country.
    Otunbayeva, who has struggled to impose order since she took control of the impoverished state, resisted calls to postpone the elections despite fears they could spark fresh unrest.
    The virulently nationalist Ata-Zhurt party finished first in the poll and will have 28 seats in the legislative body, followed by the pro-government Social Democrats with 26 seats.
    The pro-Kremlin Ar-Namys party received 25 seats, followed by Republic with 23 seats and rounded out by the pro-government Ata-Meken party with a disappointing 18 seats.
    The unexpected victory of Ata-Zhurt, a party closely associated with Bakiyev, has been viewed as a rebuke to the provisional government, although it is unclear whether they have the support from other parties to form a ruling coalition.
    Still, Otunbayeva used the historic nature of the session to appeal to lawmakers on all sides to put aside their differences and work together.
    "Today there is no single party of power in government, as it always was before. In the constitution the participation of the opposition parties is guaranteed... and because of that all parties should be able to cooperate," she said.
    But her words seemed to do little to cool the anger running through the centre of Kyrgyz politics and more than a hundred demonstrators protested outside the building against Ata-Zhurt and its ties to the ousted government.
    Protestors waving signs with slogans such as "our people didn't die so that they could return the Bakiyevs" attempted to block the entrance to the building and insisted they would return for more rallies.
    For their part, only seven of Ata-Zhurt's legislators even bothered to show up to receive their mandates before the session, a possible sign of further deadlock to come.
    Kyrgyzstan is strategically located, sharing a border with China and close enough to Afghanistan to serve as a supply hub for US forces. It hosts both Russian and US military bases, Agence France Presse states.