News

Tense atmosphere in Bishkek

© REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov.

Burning mall in Bishkek’s center.

In Bishkek, DanChurchAid’s Regional Representative, Tatiana Kotova, is back in the office after yesterday’s upsetting events.
“Our office is untouched. It’s unbelievable, because so many offices and literally every shop in Bishkek have been looted during the night”, she says.

Unstable situation

© REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov.

Burned police station i Bishkek’s center.

After the President left, opposition leaders took steps to create a provisional government, however, it will be a tough job to control the demonstrants. Their plans and wishes are uncertain and they are armed with "Kalashnikovs", which they took from police yesterday.

Fire in the streets

Tatiana Kotova reports:
”I just came back from a short walk around the city. The city center is destroyed and many houses are on fire. The opposition is sitting in the building of Parliament, while the crowd is burning down the White House.”

Observes report seeing many trucks filled with young men headed towards Bishkek from the North and the South, where the former President Bakiyev comes from. Other observers report that some (possibly Bakiyev supporters?) distribute machine guns.

Operational Preparation

Tatiana Kotova has decided to close down DanChurchAid’s office for the time being and send her colleagues home.

DCA and ACT Alliance partner ICCO are in contact with implementing partners to determine their capacities and readiness to respond if the situation deteriorates further. With a focus on elderly, street youth, and immigrant labourers in its development programmes, DCA may well be able to reach some of the most vulnerable segments of the population should the situation grow worse. Tatiana Kotova is therefore trying to contact partners and other stakeholders in the difficult security and communications environment to determine their readiness and what operational and staff resources they may be able to deploy.

Press Contact

Press contact in Denmark is being handled by Country Coordinator Jørgen Thomsen. He is available on +45 29 70 06 27.
Journalists are also able to contact Tatiana Kotova directly in Bishkek at:
Home apartment landline: +996 312 32 32 67 or mobile +7 921 953 14 91.