Kyrgyz leader snubs opposition call for resignation

BISHKEK, Feb 20 (Reuters) Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev today rejected opposition demands to step down, saying such calls threaten stability in the ex-Soviet republic.

Former Prime Minister Felix Kulov yesterday accused his former revolutionary ally Bakiyev of usurping power in the impoverished Central Asian nation, and urged him to resign before his current term ends in 2010.

''Making such noisy statements which have nothing in common with the real state of things, such politicians do not realise ... that they deal a blow to the political future of our entire nation,'' Bakiyev's office said in a statement.

''The country's leadership, whose functions include safeguarding peace and stability in the country ... should and will carry on these functions to preserve the stability in the state and ensure security for its citizens.'' Kulov, who was sprung from jail and formed a partnership with Bakiyev after a 2005 coup which unseated former President Askar Akayev, brought Kyrgyzstan's political temperature to the boil last week when he joined the fragmented opposition.

Yesterday, a new opposition movement -- The United Front for Kyrgyzstan's Decent Future -- published a declaration signed by Kulov saying that the nation needed political reform and urging Bakiyev to quit.

Kyrgyzstan, home to US and Russian airbases, lacks a legal mechanism to replace Bakiyev.

Bakiyev, a southerner, and Kulov, a northerner, had signed a declaration on their political partnership in a symbol of unity in the nation of 5 million, to become president and prime minister -- though Kulov has since quit as premier.

Kulov, a former security chief, resigned in December to make way for a new constitution. Joining the opposition, he said he was angry with Bakiyev for failing to help him regain his post and nominating another candidate.

Bakiyev has overseen the adoption of a new constitution which in fact boosted his powers, despite all the opposition's efforts to balance them with those of parliament.

Kyrgyzstan, which borders China and lies near Afghanistan, had been increasingly volatile since Akayev's ouster.

REUTERS MS PM1450