Rally to support President Rakhimov held in UFA

Novisti, 16 April 2005

UFA, April 16 (RIA Novosti's Alik Shakirov)—On Saturday Ufa's central square hosted a rally to support Bashkir President Murtaza Rakhimov.

The rally was organized by the Ural Bashkir people's center, the Union of Bashkir Youth, the Eurasian Youth Union, the Association of Bashkir Women, the Assembly of Bashkir Ethnic Groups and other public organizations of the republic.

Representatives of Bashkir diasporas from the Samara, Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Saratov and Perm regions also attended the rally.

According to preliminary estimates, over 5,000 people took part in the rally.

Commenting on the purposes of the rally, chairman of the Ural Bashkir people's center Rif Isyanov said that the rally was held in response to the opposition rallies organized by the so-called Bashkir people's front.

“The Bashkir people's front claims that Bashkirs are dissatisfied with the existing regime, the president and the situation in the republic. We decided to protest against these statements,” Isyanov said.

In his opinion, the opposition intends to ruin the Russian Federation beginning with Bashkiria.

This rally will mark the beginning of massive public response to the opposition, Isyanov said. In his words, such rallies will be held in other Bashkir towns and districts.

“Extremist actions of the so-called united opposition based on lie and deceit, disinformation and slander will do people no good. Appeals to the use of force to seize power have nothing to do with democracy and struggle for human rights and are a serious violation of the law and Constitution of Russia and Bashkiria,” reads the resolution adopted at the rally.

The rally participants are convinced that Russia has no problems which cannot be solved by civilized methods.

“The opposition has no reasons to demand the dismissal of the incumbent president. Nobody gave the right to a group of swindlers to put forward this demand on behalf of the four-million Bashkir nation. We claim that Bashkiria is not a site for practicing the overthrow of the legitimate power,” the resolution says.