Speech #1030000118

He became tho focus of the opposition. for he was the same pre1985 party leader ousted by Gorbachev for his corruption and opposition to change. After a spring of demonstrations and counterdemonstrations. violence erupted between the supporters of the old regime largely from the region of Kulyab against the opposition stronghold in KurganTyube. The rubsequent battles left the economy in shambles. well over 50.000 dead. and perhaps as many as a half million refugees. By September. Nabiyev was forced to resign. but the subsequent government formed by Acting President Imomali Rakhmanov. an associate of Nabiyev. was composed exclusively of supporters of the old regime. They occupied Dushanbe. ordered the opposition to put down its arms. and continued the carnage. In the southern part of the country. thousands of refugees sought to flee the country. Hundreds have been reported drowned in the icy waters of the AmuDarya as desperate people sought to reach Afghanistan. In the meantime.