Representatives of 35 of Kyrgyz youth groups announced in Bishkek today that they have united to oppose plans to send a 52-man international police force to the southern city of Osh.
Mavlyan Askarbekov, one of the leaders of the new combined movement, said President Roza Otunbaeva exceeded her authority by agreeing to allow the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to send the force, which is meant to help restore order in Osh after ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks clashed in June.
Askarbekov said the president was not listening to the opinions of political party leaders and other influential people who are against the introduction of a foreign force in Kyrgyzstan.
In Osh today, another union of youth groups attempted to set up yurts on the square in front of the regional administration building as part of a local protest against the OSCE police being sent to the city.
Police broke up that demonstration.
RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, with agency reports