Hundreds continue protest in Kyrgyzstan
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-09 21:13

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan - Hundreds of opposition supporters demonstrated Wednesday in southern Kyrgyzstan against alleged election violations and demanded that President Askar Akayev step down, police and civic activists said.

The protests began Friday after the accusations were raised by opposition candidates in the Feb. 27 parliamentary election. The vote was criticized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe as falling short of democratic standards.

About 1,000 people rallied Wednesday in front of the regional government building in Jalal-Abad, which has been occupied by more than 100 protesters for a sixth day, said Orozaly Karasartov, spokesman for the regional administration.

The protesters refuse to recognize their candidate's election defeat, saying it was a result of fraud, and they demand he be allowed to stand in the March 13 run-offs.

About 1,000 people protested Wednesday in front of the district administration in the town of Uzghen, calling for Akayev to resign and demanding free elections, according to police and human rights activists.

Several hundred people demonstrated in front of the Osh regional administration on Wednesday, also demanding Akayev's ouster, said the coalition of civic groups for Democracy and Civil Society.

Supporters of another opposition candidate ended their three-day blockade of a key road that links the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek with China.

The government has said the protesters' demands were unlawful.

On Tuesday, the OSCE's Bishkek office criticized the protesters for occupying government buildings and blocking roads.

"The election shortcomings may not be a reason for occupying government buildings and blocking roads," said, in a statement, OSCE Ambassador Markus Muller.

In 2002, police killed six people in the Jalal-Abad region during the a peaceful protest of the arrest of an opposition lawmaker. Those killings triggered public demonstrations that the opposition says has forced authorities to tighten control.

Close

Today's Top News     Top World News
Peace paramount in anti-secession law         Australia grants visa to 104-year-old Chinese         Russia: Chechen leader Maskhadov killed         Official accountability system to be stricter         Petition cases rise 23.6% last year in China         Special peninsula envoy heads for US	Hundreds continue protest in Kyrgyzstan       Syrian army evacuates bases in Lebanon       Suicide truck bomb kills three in Baghdad       Russia: Chechen leader Maskhadov killed       Iraqi official: Saddam may be tried in '05       Thousands answer Hezbollah call in Beirut