Reform demonstrations planned for weekend

Opposition groups and civil society activists are gearing up to hold nationwide demonstrations on Saturday to call for greater reform in Kyrgyzstan, more than one year after public protests swept former president Askar Akayev from power. "There definitely will be protests throughout the country - in provincial capitals and in the capital, Bishkek," Jyrgalbek Turdukojaev, an activist from the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society, a prominent NGO, said in Bishkek, on Tuesday. "In the capital people are planning to gather at several points at 11:00 [local time] and then we will march to the central square," Turdukojaev added. Earlier, the People's Coalition of Democratic Forces (PCDF) - a movement uniting several political parties, civic groups and opposition lawmakers - said that they expected to draw thousands of supporters from throughout the country, demanding that current President Kurmanbek Bakiev and his government start constitutional reform and boost the fight against organised crime and corruption. "This demonstration is very important because when our president was elected he made a lot of promises to make reforms, but nothing changes," Turdukojaev claimed. "Soon it will be one year since he was elected and it is not clear when the reforms will be undertaken." Such protests are nothing new in the former Soviet republic, which has witnessed an upsurge in people demonstrating openly since last year's so called Tulip Revolution. In early April, opposition and some civil society groups held a protest against organised crime in the country. But organisers of this weekend's demonstrations consider it a way to push the country's leadership for real reforms, while ordinary citizens ponder what impact it will really have. "Of course, the government should carry out reforms. We are fed up with this life, everything is getting more expensive. Nobody is helping us," Usenbai, a 56 year-old farmer from Talas, said in Bishkek. "We need this demonstration because our government has not done anything to improve our lives. Everything is getting worse. Food prices are going up," Aleksandr, a local taxi driver, complained.