BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) — Several thousands have rallied in a southern Kyrgyzstan town that has been rocked in recent years by political and ethnic violence, demanding the resignation of the government. Demonstrators at Tuesday's rally in Jalal-Abad held signs protesting the failure of the government of the impoverished former Soviet Central Asian nation to hold promises to issue low-interest loans to farmers and improve the economy. Local residents said around 5,000 people attended the peaceful rally, which was addressed by several major opposition leaders. Rowdy mass open-air political rallies are common in Kyrgyzstan as the weather begins improving. Discontent over living conditions and corruption spiraled in 2010 into street violence that led to the overthrow then President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
