03 Jul 2010 11:11:43 GMT
* Referendum held last week after a wave of violence
* Swept to power in popular revolt in April
* Aims to create first parliamentary democracy in region
By Olga Dzyubenko
BISHKEK, July 3 (Reuters) - Roza Otunbayeva was sworn in as Kyrgyzstan's interim president on Saturday after guiding it through three months of revolt, ethnic violence and a referendum intended to build Central Asia's first parliamentary democracy.
A former foreign minister, Otunbayeva, 59, came to power on April 7 during a popular revolt that overthrew the government of the small but strategically-placed central Asian state, which houses both U.S. and Russian military bases and borders China.
She was sworn in to act as president until the end of 2011 under the terms of a new constitution that voters backed in a referendum last week, creating a parliamentary system in a region otherwise dominated by authoritarian presidents.
The referendum was held despite violence between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in the south of the country that saw villages burned, hundreds of people killed and hundreds of thousands driven from their homes.
"We are living though one of the most dramatic periods in our history," said Otunbayeva at the ceremony held in a concert hall in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital.
She pledged to support a liberal economy and guarantee private property rights.
The first woman to lead a Central Asian state, Otunbayeva, has faced severe challenges since taking power in the wake of a street revolt that toppled President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
Nearly 300 people were killed, and probably hundreds more, in several days of violence in southern regions of the country that began on June 10, triggered by attacks by unidentified individuals in balaclavas in the south's biggest city Osh.
The United Nations estimated that 400,000 people fled. About a quarter crossed into Uzbekistan, which shares a border with Kyrgyzstan. Most of the refugees have since returned.
The violence is alarming for both the United States and Russia, which have competed for influence in Kyrgyzstan. The U.S. base is one of the main logistical hubs for the war in Afghanistan, while Russia wants American influence curbed in its ex-Svoiet hinterland.
Under the new system adopted in the referendum, parliamentary elections are planned for October 10 of this year. The power of the presidency will be reduced, giving parliament and the cabinet more authority.
Until now, the five states of former Soviet Central Asia have all been run by presidents with vast powers, many of whom are criticised by human rights watchdogs for stifling dissent.
(Reporting by Olga Dzyubenko; Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Peter Graff)