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Kyrgyz opposition demands partially granted - senior MP

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MOSCOW, April 19 (RIA Novosti) - Mass protest rallies in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek have succeeded in securing several opposition demands, the country's parliament speaker said Thursday.

"Opposition rallies have not been in vain. Parliament has agreed to negotiate. Some results have been achieved," said Marat Sultanov during a Bishkek-Moscow satellite hookup organized by RIA Novosti.

He said the parliament may not consider the opposition's demands concerning the reform of the country's Constitution, because by law legislation can only be initiated by at least 300,000 voters, a majority of MPs (at least 38) or the president.

"There are no other legal mechanisms," he said, adding that the opposition has now effectively withdrawn its draft Constitution.

He said the situation in the country is being influenced by certain external forces, specifically in the EU, the U.S., Kazakhstan, China and Russia.

"But the opposition is not homogeneous, and this support is rather symbolic," he said.

Sultanov ruled out the dissolution or self-dissolution of parliament.

Kyrgyzstan's opposition began a mass rally earlier Thursday outside the parliament building in the country's capital.

About 2,000 people gathered on Bishkek's central square, calling for immediate constitutional reform and early presidential elections.

On Wednesday, the opposition erected roadblocks and demanded access to national television.

The United Front of Kyrgyzstan, a major opposition movement, claimed it had blocked a major highway connecting Bishkek with Lake Issyk-Kul, and called on President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and the governor of the Issyk-Kul Region to resign.

With the arrival of additional supporters from the provinces, an estimated 3,000 protesters then moved peacefully downtown in a column, led by heads of the country's most prominent NGOs and chanting anti-presidential slogans.

The rally continued near the national television headquarters with calls for fair media coverage of the street action as police stood by.

Since April 9, the opposition has been demanding the adoption of a new Constitution curbing presidential powers and accusing pro-Bakiyev MPs of foot-dragging.

Pressured by the new prime minister, Almaz Atambayev, who helped draft the new Constitution, Bakiyev signed it April 10 and handed it over to the legislature. However, lawmakers have resisted debate, citing street pressure.

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