Kyrgyz President Says Opponents Seek 'Coup'

President Bakiev (file photo) (RFE/RL) BISHKEK, April 10, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Kyrgyzstan's President Kurmanbek Bakiev today accused opposition groups of wanting to stage a "coup d'etat" by rejecting his offer of talks and pressing ahead with plans to hold protests, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported.

Bakiev defended the government's progress in improving the situation in the country, saying the economy was becoming stable, Kyrgyz state television was undergoing reforms the opposition demanded, and a draft of a new constitution has just been completed.

Bakiev said protests are being organized against the president and the government by "dissatisfied politicians who are trying, under the guise of a battle for reform, to get power for themselves."

In a statement, Bakiev said demonstrations planned for April 11 calling on him to resign will be allowed to go ahead in Bishkek, but that police would take the "very strongest measures" against anyone breaking the law.

In other news, Prime Minister Almaz Atambaev told journaliststoday in Biskek that a
working group led by him has submitted draft proposals for amendments and
changes to the Kyrgyz Constitution to Bakiev.

"These changes, mainly, were based on the ideas of the November [2006] constitution," he said. "As a the result of the changes, there would be a strong
parliament, a strong government, a strong judiciary, and a strong president in
our country. We made an effort to reach a maximum balance between the branches
of state power."