Representatives of Kyrgyzstan\'s opposition and free-speech advocates demonstrated in Bishkek on 19 and 21 February in defense of the independent newspaper \"MSN,\" RFE/RL\'s Kyrgyz Service reported. The newspaper faces a number of defamation lawsuits, and President Askar Akaev recently threatened to file suit as well. The protest on 19 February drew 200 people, who passed an appeal calling the president\'s intention to sue \"MSN\" part of a series of \"threats and other repressive measures planned during upcoming [27 February parliamentary] elections and...aimed at retaining power by any and all means.\" Protestors charged that the lawsuits against \"MSN\" are aimed at depriving Kyrgyz citizens of access to objective information. In a briefing on 21 February, presidential spokesman Abdil Segizbaev told journalists that the only way \"MSN\" can avoid a lawsuit from the president is if it fully retracts a recent article that alleges that President Akaev and members of his family control numerous businesses in Kyrgyzstan.(RFE/RL)