Kyrgyzstan: 'Parliamentary elections were held in the former Soviet state of Kyrgyzstan yesterday, amid allegations of political and media repression. Opposition politicians were optimistic about following in the footsteps of Ukraine and Georgia, and about effecting a "tulip revolution" that would sweep the country's Soviet-era president, Askar Akayev, peacefully from power. Once hailed as the most liberal of central Asia's potentates, in recent years he has been accused of ruthlessly eliminating political opposition and of stifling a free press.' (Independent)