A number of Bishkek businessmen engaged in trade, whose businesses sustained damages during violence and looting in the city early on March 25, staged a picket near the Kyrgyz government building on Thursday. About 70 protesters demanded that the government address the extension of loans granted to their businesses by commercial banks, the deferment of tax and customs duty payments, and the restoration of their licenses that were stolen or destroyed on March 25. \"Leaseholders at Bishkek\'s major shopping centers suffered damages varying from $5,000 to $100,000,\" picket activists told Interfax. (Interfax)