Tensions mount in Kyrgyzstan's Jalalabad - official

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19/5 Tass 257
BISHKEK, May 19 (Itar-Tass) - Chairwoman of the Kyrgyzstan's interim
government Roza Otunbayeva said tensions had mounted in the regional
centre of Jalalabad.
Several thousand people gathered for a rally at the city racetrack.
"But now the crowd is moving toward the building of the university, whose
rector is Kadyrzhan Batyrov, one of the leaders of the Uzbek community,"
Otunbayeva told a interim government meeting on Wednesday.
According to her, the crowd is trying to break into the building and
set it on fire.
"We denounce all the attempts of violence and ethnic strife,
especially between the Kyrgyz and the Uzbeks, as it is happening in
Jalalabad now," Otunbayeva said.
She expressed confidence that "reason will prevail" in the long run.
Law-enforcement bodies and local authorities are working with the
protesters. Otunbayeva hopes the authorities will be able to prevent
plunder.
She also urged all the citizens to remain calm and assured that the
law-enforcement bodies would do everything possible to prevent emergencies
in Jalalabad.
-0-myz/usn