The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has expressed concern over the situation in Kyrgyzstan, which has been hit by bloody civil unrest, and called for the early restoration of peace in the Central Asian state.
Opposition protests began in the northwestern Kyrgyz town of Talas on Tuesday and spread to other regions of the country, including the capital, Bishkek, on Wednesday and Thursday. At least 75 people have been killed and more than 1400 injured in the unrest.
"The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is expressing concern over the recent events in the Kyrgyz Republic which have caused human casualties, and conveying sincere condolences to the families and friends who have lost their loved ones. Peace, security and political stability in the Kyrgyz Republic, that is a member state of the SCO and a close neighbour to other SCO states, is of overriding importance for the whole region," the organization's secretary-general, Muratbek Imanaliev, said in a statement published on the SCO's website.
The Kyrgyz opposition, which has taken power in the country and named Roza Otunbayeva the new prime minister, has claimed to have the support of the armed forces, border guards and police.
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who has fled Bishkek and is now hiding in the country's south, said on Thursday he no longer has any real power but vowed not to resign. He has said he is ready for talks with the self-appointed provisional government.
"The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is hoping for the earliest restoration of law and order, national harmony, and also believes that this matches the interests of the people of Kyrgyzstan and will benefit the maintenance of peace and stability in the SCO region," the organization, which comprises Russia, China, and Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, said.
Earlier, Russia and the United States, which both have military bases in Kyrgyzstan, expressed concern over the recent events in the country.
BEIJING, April 9 (RIA Novosti)
