Kyrgyzstan Marks 15th Anniversary Of Independence

Addressing a crowd of up to 20,000 people in Bishkek's central Alatoo Square, President Kurmanbek Bakiev vowed to avoid the "mistakes" he said had been made by his predecessor, Askar Akaev.

Akaev was ousted from power in March 2005 in the midst of street protests triggered by controversial parliamentary polls.

A former prime minister who had subsequently joined the opposition to Akaev, Bakiev was elected president in July 2005 with a landslide.

He recently took steps he says aim at restoring order in the country. But Bakiev's opponents criticize him for strengthening security ties with the authoritarian government of neighboring Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov.

In his speech, Bakiev highlighted efforts to revive industry and create jobs as the "priority" of his government.