Kyrgyz protesters demonstrating against President Kurmanbek Bakiyev stormed a government office in the northwestern town of Talas on Tuesday and there were conflicting reports on the fate of the regional governor, Reuters reported. A local opposition leader and witnesses told Reuters that governor Beishen Bolotbekov had been taken hostage when opposition demonstrators seized a local government office. But Kyrgyz Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov denied to reporters in the capital, Bishkek, that the governor had been captured, although he confirmed that protesters had entered the building. "At the same time there are a lot of people outside the building trying to storm it," Usenov told reporters. He said the government would send 100 additional police to Talas and use all available means to restore law and order in the city, but added that the situation was largely under control. Discontent in the former Soviet Central Asian nation has been on the rise due to what the opposition says is growing public frustration with corruption, nepotism and high prices. The opposition, which supported Bakiyev when he came to power five years ago, is now demanding that he crack down on corruption, fire his relatives from senior government positions and abolish high utility fees. -- SPA
