The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
April 7, 2010

5 Killed in Kyrgyz Anti-Gov’t Protests
--------------------------------------



In Kyrgyzstan, at least five people have been killed in a government
crackdown on a protest in the capital Bishkek earlier today. Thousands
of demonstrators reportedly tried to seize a government building as part
of a wave of protest calling for the resignation of Kyrgyz President
Kurmanbek Bakiyev. There were reports of police firing live ammunition
into the crowds. The Kyrgyz government has declared a nationwide state
of emergency. The US has backed Bakiyev since he took office five years
ago. The Obama administration has been largely silent on alleged fraud
and other abuses in Kyrgyzstan since the Kyrgyz government reversed the
closure of a US military base last year. The base has been vital to the
US occupation of Afghanistan.



.