Kyrgyz opposition protest enters third day

BISHKEK, (AFP) - About 1,000 opposition protestors gathered for a third day Saturday near the presidential palace in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek to demand the resignation of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

As the political crisis in the Central Asian former-Soviet republic dragged on, opposition leaders announced they would boycott a parliamentary session on Monday where Bakiyev is expected to unveil proposed constitutional reforms.

Azimbek Beknazarov, one of the leaders of the For Reforms movement, said that 34 of 75 parliamentary deputies would observe the boycott Monday, leaving pro-government deputies with only the slimmest of margins to form the necessary quorum in parliament of 38.

Protests began Thursday when at the last minute Bakiyev went back on a decision to unveil constitutional reforms that had been negotiated with the opposition and would have introduced new limitations on the president's powers.

Bakiyev took office after a revolution just over a year and a half ago that toppled longtime ruler Askar Akayev.