Revolutionary mood sweeps Kyrgyz press

Jubilant crowds hail a new era

The day after the Kyrgyz regime was swept from power, most of the country's newspapers cry out with enthusiasm at the momentous changes.

"Tulips are blooming" declares the headline in Kyrgyz Ruhu, with aerial shots of thousands of protesters crowding through city squares and into the presidential White House.

It depicts banners demanding President Askar Akayev's resignation and a woman offering soldiers tulips - the symbol of the country's upheaval.

Let us not stain our flag with blood Kyrgyz Ruhu

"Today the whole world is looking at us," the formerly pro-government paper says in its editorial.

"The rich come and go ¿ the people stay. Let us unite, compatriots, under the red flag of the Kyrgyz Republic, for the peace and unity of the country. We should be united. Let us not stain our flag with blood."

'People's power'

"The people seized power" says the headline in Erkin Too, a paper which used to back Mr Akayev, adding "preserving peace is most important".

Akayev and his clique thought they were ruling a nation of slaves and plebeians who would never rise from their knees. They were mistaken. Bishkek's MSN

Its main photo shows a tulip against the backdrop of the Kyrgyz flag.

Meanwhile the front page of MSN, a leading pro-opposition paper, heralds "The spring of our freedom".

It runs a picture of a child with a pink wristband yelling and raising a fist into the air, and its editorial matches the mood.

"Now the whole world knows that the people of tiny Kyrgyzstan are brave, resolute and courageous. Kyrgyz people are very patient, but their patience cannot be tried forever. Akayev and his clique thought that they were ruling a nation of slaves and plebeians who would never rise from their knees. They were mistaken and their mistake will cost them dearly."

Sense of shock

The speed at which events unfolded in the capital, after gaining momentum in the south, surprises Slovo Kyrgyzstana - a Russian-language newspaper leaning previously towards the ousted government.

"It is hard to tell who is to blame for what is happening," it comments.

We need restraint; we must think about nation's future Kyrgyz Tuusu

"Is it the government that forced the people to rise out of its inertia or is it the opposition that directed the popular wrath against one person, the president of the country, and not against the system? History will have the answer."

But Kyrgyz Tuusu a paper which used to support Mr Akayev, urges the opposition to be careful.

"We need restraint," its headline says. "We must think about nation's future... We will have everything in our fatherland, if we have peace."

Mr Akayev's disappearance

For many papers, such as the Russian-owned Komsomolskaya Pravda V Kyrgyzstane, the main question now is, "Where is Akayev?"

It shows an Antonov passenger plane which is says was preparing to fly Mr Akayev into hiding.

The same angle is taken up by Aalam, formerly a pro-Akayev paper. "There is a plane at Kant air base ready for Askar Akayev's evacuation," it says.

"Let them live somewhere out of harm's way," comments Bishkek's MSN. "Surely, the millions they've stolen from their people will be enough for this horde to have a piece of bread and black caviar."

BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaus abroad.