Looters ransack capital following protests

Thursday's protests in Kyrgyzstan which toppled Askar Akayev's regime have been followed by a night of looting in the capital, Bishkek. Viktor An, a local businessman, stared at the remains of his shop, which was on one of capital's main streets. There was very little left but empty boxes and broken glass. "They stole and burned all of my goods and property," he told IRIN in despair. "I am finished and I cannot do anything about it," he added. "I came to my shop in the morning and everything was stolen - nothing is left. This is chaos!" Ermek, another businessman who used to run a computer shop in Bishkek, told IRIN. Many big department stores, grocery shops, Internet cafes and kiosks in Bishkek, along with shoping centres allegedly belonging to Akayev's family, were looted. City residents are shocked and angry that the police could not do anything and allowed the looting to take place. Aisalkyn, manager of the Silkway shopping centre in Bishkek, allegedly belonging to Akayev's son Aidar, said she in a way understood the anger of the protesters. "What do you expect from the crowd that suffered under Akayev's regime for 15 years? But life goes on and I will continue doing business," she said. On Sovietskaya street, one of the main roads in the city, some shops owners said they managed to defend their property. They put up signs saying: “We are with the people!" hoping to protect them from looters. “We stood here arm in arm, explaining to the rioters that there were no valuables in our kiosks. We did not even have to fight," a shop owner told IRIN. On Friday, the shop owners were wearing red ribbons to distinguish themselves from the rioting crowd. They said they supported the ousting of Akayev's government and understood that protesters and looters were not the same people. “People who came to rob were neither revolutionaries nor protesters who came from the south. They are people from nearby villages, local hooligans and all kinds of vagabonds," Nurlan, a shop owner, explained to IRIN. Dordoi, one of the biggest retail and wholesale markets in Central Asia, is the next possible target for looters. “Since this morning we have started to form brigades to defend the bazaar. All entrances are secured, there is not even a hole for them to get in," Amanbai Kaiypov, Dordoi market's general manager, told IRIN. About 3,000 people, most of them merchants from Dordoi, were blocking every entrance with wooden clubs. They intend to stay there day and night until the situation in the city calms down. “We are not interested in politics and we do not care who is president. We want our security and stability to allow us to do our business," Kaiypov maintained. Temir Moldoshev, the police officer responsible for the security of the bazaar, told IRIN that most of the police officers were still on duty. "I gave an oath to serve the people and I am not running anywhere, I am always here doing my job," he said. Other vendors said that they would rather rely on themselves for protection. "We are now the police ourselves. No one will defend our goods better then us," one of the vendors told IRIN. Some university students volunteered to clean up the mess in the ransacked buildings. They were also wearing red ribbons to distinguish themselves in the crowd. "We are shocked by the looting, but still very happy about the political changes that are taking place. We want to help the people and we are appealing to other students to join us and start cleaning up the city," one student told IRIN. Most of the shops in the city remained closed on Friday and there were very few vendors in the markets. Those that were open were charging double or triple prices compared to previous days. People are rushing to buy foodstuffs as bread is already hard to find. City residents were forming voluntary 'brigades' to maintain order in their neighbourhoods over the weekend. Three people were reported dead following the night of lootings, according to local authorities. The total number of people affected during the night was 380, with 180 hospitalised. While the total damage caused by night disturbances is yet to be estimated, some claimed that it could reach millions of dollars. In addition, all of the country's banks have halted operations until 28 March. While acting president Kurmanbek Bakiev said presidential elections would be held in June, the country's deposed leader, who is believed to have fled the country, denied he had resigned and said in a statement sent to the Kyrgyz national news agency Kabar that his absence was 'temporary' and described the opposition's takeover as a coup.