Kyrgyz PM Says New Constitution Unclear

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, center, walks after signing a new constitution in the parliament in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2006. At left is Kyrgyz prime minister Felix Kulov. Kyrgyzstan's president on Thursday signed into law constitutional reforms demanded by the opposition that will curb his own powers, in a bid to defuse a week-old standoff that had threatened to plunge the Central Asian nation into chaos. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze) (Misha Japaridze - AP)

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan -- The prime minister of this turbulent ex-Soviet state said Friday that the new constitution approved after a weeklong opposition rally was adopted under pressure and needs clarification.

"Fear and pressure are bad assistants when it comes to making decisions," Prime Minister Felix Kulov said during talks with Markus Mueller, an envoy from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. "Many matters need clarification."

A week of increasingly angry opposition protests demanding the resignation of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev ended Thursday when he agreed to sign constitutional amendments that curtail his powers and give broader authority to parliament and the Cabinet.

"The adoption of a constitution within minutes deserves to be in the Guinness Records Book," Kulov said, referring to two quick votes late Wednesday after which parliament adopted the amendments. "We have to be wise to avoid groundless aggravation of the situation and prevalence of unsatisfied ambitions over reason."

The OSCE envoy said he was impressed to find that "people's right to rally was respected."

"Now there is a better foundation to continue reforms," Mueller said after the talks. "There are many unresolved questions, like corruption or transformation of state television into a public channel, but I am confident they will be worked out."

Parliament appointed Bakiyev as president in March 2005 following opposition protests that ousted longtime ruler Askar Akayev. Bakiyev subsequently won an election seen as democratic, but his rule has been marred by corruption, lawlessness and a weak economy.

The demonstrations were swelled by unemployed people who see no economic prospects in the impoverished, mountainous country of 5 million people.

Kyrgyzstan is strategically located near China and Afghanistan and is seen as an example of secular democracy in a region dominated by autocratic regimes and the growing threat of Islamic militancy.

Renewed instability would be a worry for the United States, which maintains a military base in Kyrgyzstan to back up anti-Taliban operations in nearby Afghanistan. Russia, which has strong influence in Kyrgyzstan, also has an air base in the country.