U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Kyrgyzstan to protect human rights on Saturday after protesters shouted "help us" as he drove to the Central Asian state's parliament, Reuters reported. Ban's first tour of Central Asia has highlighted human rights issues in the vast Muslim region run by authoritarian leaders and emboldened local rights defenders to speak up. Addressing reporters and later members of parliament in the former Soviet republic, Ban said protecting human rights was a bedrock principle for the United Nations. -- SPA