'Unshaken' Kyrgyz President Flags Constitutional Vote

Bakiev said he knows "very well" what the organizers of the protests and ordinary Kyrgyz think, but that they too "know perfectly well" what he and his government are doing to improve life in Kyrgyzstan.

Bakiev made his comments in a televised debate with leading members of the opposition about plans for reform. During the debate, Bakiev promised there would be a referendum on constitutional amendments this autumn.

Prime Minister Feliks Kulov and the speaker of parliament, Murat Sultanov, also took part in the debate.