Bloody clashes between opposition protesters and law enforcement bodies took place in Bishkek on April 7, 2010.  Mass riots of thousands of people led to the resignation of the Prime Minister, the dissolution of parliament and the establishment of a new interim government. While the opposition is slowly consolidating its power, the ousted President Bakiyev refuses to resign.

The planned arrests of most of Kyrgyzstan’s opposition leaders throughout the country on the night before the protests ignited disorganized and spontaneous riots of thousands of people in Bishkek, leading to bloody clashes between the protesters and the police. As the crowd attempted to seize the main government building, police opened fire on the protesters. According to the latest reports, 82 people were killed and more than 1500 were wounded.

The mass riots and seizure of governmental buildings started in the Talas region as a result of the arrest of opposition leader Bolot Sherniyazov on April 6, after he had arrived in the city of Talas to prepare for the following day’s opposition protests in the region. With no indication from the police that the opposition leader would be released, protesters seized the regional administration building and police headquarters. Deputy Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov and Minister of Interior Moldomusa Kongantiev, who had arrived to repress the riots, were taken as hostages and severely beaten.

After seizing the White House and other state offices in Bishkek, the opposition leaders who were eventually released during the riots formed the Interim People's Government, headed by the leader of the opposition minority in Kyrgyz Parliament, Roza Otunbayeva. The new provisional government, consisting of 14 members, issued a decree “On the transition of power to the Interim Government and Constitution implementation order”. According to the decree, the powers of the President, the Kyrgyz Government and Parliament were transferred to the Interim Government.

On April 8, the new government made initial statements about their plans, indicating that switching from a presidential to a parliamentary system of government will be a priority.  Deputy head of government Omurbek Tekebaev, who is responsible for drafting a new version of the Constitution, states that the President's powers will be significantly limited, saying “he will no longer appoint high officials and be in charge of state spending”.

Additionally, members of the new government promised to repeal the previous price increases for electricity and other utilities, and to nationalize the energy and communication companies that were recently sold by the previous government. These price increases for public utilities and the privatization of strategic state-owned companies were the main reasons for protests throughout the country over the last few weeks that led to the uprising on April 7.

Meanwhile, the situation in the country remains uneasy. The riots were followed by large-scale looting in Bishkek. Most of the stores, along with state and business offices, were destroyed. In response to the looting, the new provisional government organized police and army patrols in the city during the first nights following the bloody events. In response to the government’s inability to control the situation, ordinary Bishkek residents mobilized themselves into special volunteer security groups that were helping police to protect the city from looting. According to Alexander Voinov, one of the organizers of these groups, more than 2,000 volunteers were patrolling the city during the nights of April 8 and 9.

In the meantime, President Bakiyev, who is currently in his hometown in Jalalabad oblast, refuses to resign. In an interview to the Russian Radio Service “Ekho Moskvy,” Bakiyev accused the opposition forces of organizing acts of murder, calling the April 7 events an “armed seizure of power and a well-planned operation by the opposition and external forces”. He denied accusations by the interim government that he ordered the police to open fire on protesters. In his latest interview to Al-Jazeera News Agency, the deposed Kyrgyz President appealed to the UN to send peacekeeping forces and demanded that they invite an independent international commission to investigate the bloody events. If he is found guilty as a result of the investigation, he promises to step down. 

Bakiyev has also stated that he is willing to negotiate with the provisional government, which claims there will be no negotiations with Bakiyev. “He has to resign. Criminal cases will be brought against President Bakiyev, his relatives and allies,” the acting head of the National Security State Committee Keneshbek Duyshebaev said in a press conference. “We have enough evidence proving that the order to open fire at the protesters was given by the President's younger brother Zhanysh Bakiyev and Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov,” he concluded.  However, the members of the interim government noted the complications of putting President Bakiyev on trial. “Bakiyev is guaranteed immunity by the Constitution and it will be hard to bring him to trial,” deputy head of the Interim Government Omurbek Tekebaev said.