Thousands call on Kyrgyz president to quit

Tens of thousands of angry demonstrators rallied outside the Kyrgyz president’s headquarters today, demanding he resign in a dispute over proposed political reforms that would cut his powers.

President Kurmanbek Bakiyev refused to step down and opposition forces kept up the pressure, pitching tents on the square in the capital Bishkek for an overnight presence and vowing to return in even greater numbers tomorrow.

As security forces arrived, shops and markets closed in fear of a repeat of the dramatic March 2005 protests that drove the former Soviet republic’s long-standing leader Askar Akayev from power – he fled the country as opposition supporters swarmed his headquarters – and were followed by massive looting in Bishkek.

Hundreds of police in riot gear and with dogs deployed around the presidential headquarters in a show of force, as protesters waving red flags of the opposition’s main For Reforms movement, chanted “Bakiyev, Go!”

Bakiyev was appointed after the uprising that forced out his predecessor and elected months later, but political tension has persisted.

The opposition has been urging Bakiyev to fulfil his election promises and conduct constitutional reforms curtailing presidential powers and giving parliament and the Cabinet broader authority.