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Baku echos 'Orange Revolution'
 Thousands of opposition supporters have rallied in the centre of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, in a bid to force a re-run of last weekend's disputed parliamentary elections. In a protest that echoed recent political upheavals in former Soviet bloc countries, demonstrators bore orange flags and flowers. Organisers said they hoped 15,000 people would turn out although some estimates suggested the crowd was bigger. Some in the crowd shouted âResign!â and âFreedom!â. âLet no one think that this struggle will end. We will wage it until the end," Ali Kerimli, leader of the Popular Front, one of the three parties in the Azadliq opposition bloc, told The Associated Press. Azadliq and other opposition groups were taking part in the rally. "We are protesting because the election was not fair," Fatma Mammedova, 43, said. "We want the world to help us." Security was tight with about 800 riot police, equipped with shields and truncheons, standing guard around the square. Opposition youth activists chanted: "The police are with the people!" Posted by: Fred 2005-11-14 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=134937 |