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Kyrgyz Block OSCE Police

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Lawmakers in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh, which was wracked by deadly ethnic violence in the spring, voted Friday against an international police deployment.

The decision followed days of protests against the decision of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe to send some 50 unarmed police advisers to help maintain stability.

It remained unclear whether Osh authorities have power to enforce the decision, but the decision laid the ground for a confrontation with the central government. Interim leader Roza Otunbayeva, who visited the city on Friday, insisted on the deployment of an OSCE consultative police team.

(AP, Interfax)


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