Kyrgyzstan must learn from ethnic clashes: president

President Roza Otunbayeva on Friday said Kyrgyzstan must learn from the ethnic clashes that left hundreds dead last year as she unveiled a monument to mark the first anniversary of the violence. Otunbayeva expressed hope that the clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in June 2010 will never be repeated, as she opened the "Mothers' Tears" monument in the city of Osh that was the epicentre of the violence. "Today we unveiled the monument 'Mothers’ Tears' with the hope that we will master this history lesson and the tragic events in Osh and Jalalabad last June will not be repeated,' she said in an address on the central square in Osh. The monument features two weeping women of Uzbek and Kyrgyz ethnicity, embracing each other. Last year's violence in the multi-ethnic south between Uzbek and Kyrgyz communities left 470 people dead and some 411,000 displaced, according to international reports.