Kirghiz Opposition Unites

A constituent session of Kirghizia's Popular congress consisting of four major right-wing opposition parties took place Saturday in Bishkek. According to organizers' idea, the principal task of the Popular congress is creation of conditions for Kirghizia to pass from presidential to parliamentary presidential republic. Well-known human rights champion and leader of one of the parties Topchubek Turgunaliyev said at the session that the presidential republic model has not justified itself in Korghizia. According to him, it led to deviation from democratic norms, increase in corruption and decline in the national economy. Kirghizia's Popular congress leaders plan to unite their political parties into one. Informal leader of the Kirghiz opposition Felix Kulov who is now serving his sentence in one of Kirghizia's colonies was elected chairman of the congress.