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Protesters want Kyrgyz president's resignation

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 12, 2007

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan - Thousands of protesters demanding the president resign set up traditional yurts and tents in the main square of Kyrgyzstan's capital on Wednesday, threatening political upheaval in a country of strategic importance to Washington and Moscow.

President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who came to power himself after a popular street revolution two years ago, sought to head off the protest by signing constitutional amendments curtailing his power Tuesday. The opposition, however, rejected his move and rallied about 6,000 protesters to Bishkek's Ala Too square near the presidential headquarters.

The protesters carried banners reading "No to Bakiyev!" and chanted "Bakiyev, go!"

"We must drive him out," said Abdysaly Satybaldiyev, 47, complaining about unemployment and poverty in the northern Talas region where he lives.

Both the United States and Russia have air bases in the Central Asian ex-Soviet republic, making the prospect of political instability in the country a major concern. The U.S. base supports combat operations in Afghanistan; Russia's was established under a regional security treaty.

Bakiyev was elected in July 2005 on a democracy and anti-corruption platform after the mass demonstrations of the so-called "Tulip Revolution" ousted his predecessor, Askar Akayev.

The clan-dominated nation of 5-million people is divided by historic rivalries between the north and the south. Bakiyev and his entourage come from the south, while many opposition leaders, including former Prime Minister Felix Kulov, are from the north.

"We want a government that would be honest and open ... and not divide the nation into the south and the north," Kulov told the opposition rally.

[Last modified April 12, 2007, 02:07:27]