Kyrgyz Police Detain Opposition Politicians

Demonstrators threw rocks and bottles at the government building on April 19 (ITAR-TASS)

BISHKEK, April 23, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Kyrgyz opposition leader and former Prime Minister Feliks Kulov said police detained two of his close aides today, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported.

Speaking at a press conference in his home village of Baitik near Bishkek, Kulov urged the authorities to release Omurbek Subanaliev and Omurbek Abdrakhmanov.

"The authorities should slow down already and stop taking silly actions on this wave of euphoria," he said. "They should release Subanaliev and Abdrakhmanov and other people immediately, and they should take a normal, civilized path. This criminal case against the organizers and active participants of the rally has no legal prospects."

Kulov is the leader of the opposition United Front for a Worthy Future for Kyrgyzstan.

Meanwhile, opposition lawmaker Temir Sariev met with Prime Minister Almaz Atambaev today and urged him not to persecute opposition supporters.

The move comes a day after Atambaev vowed to bring to justice opposition protesters who clashed with police in Bishkek last week.

Late on April 19, police fired tear gas at demonstrators who were throwing rocks and bottles at the government building. The protests were called to demand constitutional reforms and the resignation of President Kumanbek Bakiev.

(with material from AFP, Reuters)