Friday 15 International Friday, October 9, 2020 ’s leader missing as power vacuum persists Central Asian country in the throes of a turmoil after elections

BISHKEK: The whereabouts of Kyrgyzstan’s police were not searching for the head of state. pro- president were unknown yesterday The government-appointed interior minister as a power vacuum persisted after disputed par- Kashkar Junushaliyev, a rival of Asanov, had “fled liamentary elections plunged the Central Asian like a coward” when the unrest began, Asanov country into a new bout of political chaos. claimed, without offering proof. Asanov also Sooronbay Jeenbekov has not been seen in pub- pledged to ensure there would be no repeat of lic since unrest began over Sunday’s vote which ethnic violence that left hundreds dead following was won by his supporters but opponents as well an uprising in 2010. But there was no visible po- as monitors said was marred by widespread lice presence outside key government buildings vote-buying. in the capital yesterday. Jeenbekov’s of- Clashes have already left at least one dead fice insisted in a statement that the incumbent and hundreds injured, with a decision to annul the president was in Bishkek and “personally in talks results of the polls doing little to ease the ten- with political forces”. Yet Jeenbekov has made no sions. The crisis is the latest political turbulence public appearances since the unrest started. to sweep through the volatile ex-Soviet state bordering which has seen two revolutions Confusion over PM and three of its presidents either jailed or sent Jeenbekov is believed to enjoy the support of into exile since independence. Jeenbekov has key ally Russia, which has called for a return to called for a return to a rule of law, but several stability in the republic and beefed up security at lawmakers in the parliament have said that there a military base it maintains not far from the cap- BISHKEK: A people’s patrol member wearing a Kyrgyz flag guards in the yard of the main government building, known is no way to solve the growing impasse without ital. He has ruled Kyrgyzstan since 2017. Kremlin as the White House, in Bishkek on Wednesday. — AFP his resignation or impeachment. As of yesterday, spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in candidates from self-styled opposition parties that Russia was “deeply concerned” claimed to control the state prosecutor’s office, about a “situation resembling a mess and chaos”. with no majority for impeachment. Confrontations traordinary session of parliament, as hundreds of the national security committee and the interior But he said it was premature to discuss whether between groups of supporters in Bishkek have his supporters flooded into the capital. But at least ministry. Kursan Asanov, who has positioned Jeenbekov should be offered refuge in Russia. continued as rival groups contest the prime min- two other groups-one consisting of several losing himself as acting interior minister, said that Jeen- A meeting of Kyrgyz lawmakers on Wednes- ister position. , a populist politician parties-have since put forward their own candi- bekov’s location was “unknown” but added that day night was seen failing to resolve the deadlock, claimed the position on Tuesday following an ex- dates for the post. —AFP

Election bot counters Feuding presidents sexist abuse in NZ, fuel Kyrgyz unrest one tweet at a time BISHKEK: Clashes and angry demonstrations forced Kyrgyz officials to annul the results of an election this week, but the protests are fuelled by WELLINGTON: An abuse-fighting bot has sent out longer-term tensions stemming from a rivalry between the incumbent pres- hundreds of positive messages on social media to counter ident and his predecessor. Police used stun grenades, tear gas and a water the online harassment of women candidates in New cannon to disperse the crowds, leaving one dead and hundreds injured, Zealand’s general election. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, WELLINGTON: An abuse-fighting bot has sent out hundreds of pos- after parties loyal to President Sooronbay Jeenbekov secured a majority in her main rival the opposition leader Judith Collins and Sunday’s parliamentary vote. more than 260 female parliamentary candidates have be- itive messages on social media to counter the online harassment of women candidates in New Zealand’s general election. Protesters seized control of the presidential offices on Monday and come a target for online hatred and sexism ahead of the freed from jail former president , who was convicted Oct. 17 national polls. of corruption earlier this year. On Tuesday, the incumbent prime minister That prompted the launch in August of the Parity Bot, women like you running to make NZ a better place”. resigned and was replaced by Sadyr Japarov, also freed from jail by pro- which was first used in Canada’s elections last year and The abusive tweets jumped from about 20 a day to a testers a day earlier. Jeenbekov said he was “in control” of the situation. tweets a positive message every time it detects an abusive high of 100 during election campaigns against women can- tweet against a female candidate. didates, said Comer. A study this week by Plan Interna- ‘Playing with fire’ “A whole bunch of studies out there show women can- tional, a girls’ rights group, showed one in five girls and At first, the succession between Atambayev and Jeenbekov appeared to didates get exponentially more toxic tweets than men, young women had cut down or quit using social media run smoothly. Both were long-standing members of the Social Democratic which is why we have created this for women,” said after experiencing online harassment. Party and Atambayev stepped down in 2017 after his first term as president. Jacqueline Comer, creative technologist of the bot. “We haven’t treated online spaces as spaces where we His six years in power brought relative stability to a country that had wit- “It is not to say that men don’t suffer from this, but it is live and work,” said Golriz Ghahraman, an Iranian-born nessed revolutions in 2005 and 2010. Atambayev backed his protege and a bigger problem for women,” she told the Thomson lawmaker who came to New Zealand as a child refugee former prime minister Jeenbekov for president. The election of Jeenbekov Foundation by phone. Since launching in New and has been called a “terrorist” and “jihadist” online. The later in 2017 was a historic moment - the first peaceful transfer of power Zealand, the first nation to give women the right to vote in Green Party lawmaker, who is seeking re-election in the between two elected presidents in the country’s history. 1893, the bot has analyzed 95,000 tweets and detected upcoming polls, called for “some form of legal regulation” But the tranquillity did not last. Former president Atambayev wanted to more than 1,800 abusive tweets, most of them targeting on the online attacks against women. retain power by using his network of influence and making Jeenbekov his Ardern and Collins. After the bot, developed by the “For women, the failure to regulate online spaces has puppet, according to political analyst Medet Tulegenov of the American Canada-headquartered Areto Labs, detects such tweets it led to very serious breach of our rights to equality and ac- University of . —AFP puts out pre-written positive messages such as “great cess to equal opportunity,” said Ghahraman. — Reuters