Hunger strikers protest against the President in Bishkek Our office is closed until further notice. Hunger strikers in Aloo Ata Square, just a block from the office, are demanding President Bakiyev's resignation. The protestors accuse Baliyev of cronyism and corruption. The police and the army are out in force. We are keeping a low profile. Some stores are closed, their windows shuttered or screened-the furniture store on the ground floor of our building has black plastic taped up inside all the windows-and roadside stalls abandoned for the duration. It's hard to know what will happen. The previous demonstration in November last year brought ahout a promise by Bakiyev for changes but he has since reneged on these. So, a quiet few days at home perhaps for us, sitting in the garden in the sun under the cherry blossom.