Hundreds of thousands of people, some holding banners proclaiming "Down with Russian dictatorship," Saturday packed the central square of Baku, capital of the Azerbaijan republic, protest organizers said.
The gathering was called by the unofficial Azerbaijani Popular Front to back its demands for greater local autonomy and continued control of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.Popular Front spokesman Nazim Ragimov told Reuters by telephone from Baku that at least 600,000 people were taking part in the protest, which was due to last until 1 a.m. (2 p.m. MDT). No independent crowd estimate was available.
Ragimov said the gathering was much larger than a similar protest in Baku's Lenin Square Monday at the end of a one-day protest strike. An estimated 150,000 people took part in that demonstration.
He said Azerbaijani Communist Party chief Abdul Vezirov had lost the trust of the people. "He is a czar without an empire."
Ragimov said talks between the Popular Front and the Azerbaijani leadership had achieved nothing. "They are not prepared to agree to any one of our demands."
The Popular Front has threatened to call a general strike across the republic unless the authorities support their calls for greater political and economic autonomy and the recall of parliamentary deputies they say are unrepresentative.
They are also demanding an end to Moscow's direct control over Nagorno-Karabakh, imposed last year after clashes between Azerbaijanis and Armenians, and the end to a curfew and military presence in Baku and other Azerbaijani towns.
Another Popular Front member said crowds at Saturday's demonstration were waving banners proclaiming "Down with Russian dictatorship" and "Establish Political Sovereignty in Azerbaijan."
The Front's leadership said as many as 60 major enterprises closed down during Monday's warning strike, but local officials said the number was much lower.