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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) -- Protesters demanding the president's resignation clashed with government supporters Tuesday, but fears that mounting tension could explode into deadly violence eased after lawmakers said representatives of both sides thrashed out a draft constitution billed as a compromise.
Opposition lawmakers said adoption of the proposed draft would end their weeklong protest, which has sparked a mounting standoff with the government and stoked concern that the Central Asian nation could be plunged into chaos less than 20 months after a March 2005 uprising drove its longtime leader from power.
The agreement came as fears of a major confrontation deepened when President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's national security chief warned that government forces would move within hours to clear opposition demonstrators from the central square they have occupied for six days in the capital, Bishkek.
The warning followed a clash between the protesters and government supporters, with demonstrators throwing bottles and rocks and attacking one another with sticks. Interior Ministry troops separated the protesters, setting off what appeared to be smoke bombs, releasing tear gas and wrestling them away from the scene of the fight.
Six people were hospitalized, most of them with shrapnel wounds from stun grenades and one with a brain injury from being hit with a heavy object, said Gulnara Tashiyeva, the chief doctor with the capital's ambulance service. Seven people were treated on the spot
The clash broke out after about 7,000 anti-government protesters massed in the main square, joining hundreds who have been spending nights in about 100 small tents and 15 yurts -- like those traditionally used by nomads --while about 1,000 Bakiyev supporters gathered at parliament for a pro-government rally, inside a cordon of armed police officers and soldiers.
Opposition protesters have occupied the square outside the presidential headquarters, known as the White House, since Thursday, demanding that Bakiyev resign and calling for political reforms that would decrease the powers of the president.
The standoff comes less than 20 months after opposition protests last year drove longtime President Askar Akayev out and brought Bakiyev and the rest of the current leadership to power on pledges of political reform in the ex-Soviet republic. His rule has been marred by high-profile killings, economic ills and battles for control of lucrative businesses, and reluctance to carry out the reform has kept political tension boiling.
After Bakiyev and the opposition each put forth their own version of a new constitution this week -- and swiftly rejected the other's proposal -- lawmakers on both sides said they had agreed late Tuesday on a compromise that could dispel the confrontation, and a vote is expected in parliament on Wednesday.
"If the new constitution is adopted tomorrow, the protests will end," Azimbek Beknazarov, a leader of the opposition movement For Reforms one of four opposition lawmakers who thrashed out the proposal with four pro-government legislators.
The plan would cut the president's powers and give parliament more clout, a key opposition demand.
Parliament speaker Marat Sultanov, who is aligned with Bakiyev's government, said that the draft constitution calls for a 90-member parliament instead of the current 75-seat body and stipulates that a party with a majority following parliamentary elections would form the Cabinet.
The top national security body, now under the president's control, would answer to the government, and top appointments such as the chief prosecutor and central bank head would also be controlled by parliament approval, according to opposition lawmaker Kanybek Imanaliyev.
"If the constitution is approved, this will be the final point in the political confrontation in Kyrgyzstan," Imanaliyev told The Associated Press. He said calls for Bakiyev's ouster would move off the streets and into parliament.
The agreement left potentially important details unclear, leaving plenty of room for farther disagreement and discord. Bakiyev and the current government would remain in place and no date was set for parliamentary elections, which are now not scheduled to be held until 2010.
But it eased tension hours after the security chief's warning.
Opposition leaders had grimly urged protesters to stand their ground in the square.
"This is a bridgehead in the fight for freedom. I call on men to stand around the tents and defend our tent city," said opposition leader Omurbek Tekebayev. Another opposition figure told demonstrators how to defend themselves against tear gas.
The crisis had deepened overnight, with opposition legislators meeting early Tuesday to vote on their proposal for a new constitution. Bakiyev called the vote on the draft -- which one lawmaker said would turn him into "a figure like the Queen of England" -- an illegal attempt to seize power. He had submitted his own proposal Monday, but the opposition said it fell far short of demands.
Late Tuesday, only about 300 protesters remained on the central square, and Beknazarov urged them to take a break until Wednesday, when Sultanov, the parliament speaker, said the draft constitution would face discussion and two successive votes, with its adoption requiring approval from two-thirds of the lawmakers. "Today it is important to maintain peace and stability," Beknazarov said.
Adinai Suzanbayeva, 35, a nurse, was concerned about the potential for more upheaval. "I fear that a civil war may break out followed by destabilization and chaos. I am sick and tired of revolutions. I want to lead a quiet life with my kids," she said.
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