Kyrgyzstan's president steps down amid political unrest

October 15, 2020

MOSCOW (AP) — Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbai Jeenbekov announced his resignation Thursday in a bid to end the turmoil that has engulfed the Central Asian nation after a disputed parliamentary election.

Jeenbekov, who has faced calls to step down from protesters and political opponents, said in a statement released by his office that holding onto power wasn’t “worth the integrity of our country and harmony in society.”

“For me, peace in Kyrgyzstan, the country’s integrity, the unity of our people and the calm in the society are above all else,” Jeenbekov said. Kyrgyzstan, a country of 6.5 million people located on the border with China, was plunged into chaos following an Oct. 4 vote that election officials say was swept by pro-government parties. The opposition said the election was tainted by vote-buying and other irregularities.

Protesters then took over government buildings, looting some offices, and the Central Election Commission nullified the election. Opposition then announced plans to oust Jeenbekov and form a new government.

Jeenbekov kept a low profile in the first few days after the vote, using the infighting among protest leaders to dig in. He introduced a state of emergency in the capital, Bishkek, which was endorsed Tuesday by parliament.

Authorities deployed troops to Bishkek over the weekend and introduced the curfew. The move eased tensions in the city, where residents feared looting that accompanied previous uprisings and began forming vigilante groups to protect property. Stores and banks that were closed last week have reopened.

In an effort to stem the unrest, Jeenbekov on Wednesday endorsed the appointment of Sadyr Zhaparov, a former lawmaker who was freed from jail by demonstrators last week, as the country's new prime minister and Zhaparov's new Cabinet.

Zhaparov promised his supporters to push for Jeenbekov's resignation and held talks with the president hours after Jeenbekov signed off on his appointment. After the talks, Jeenbekov said he would stay in the job until the political situation in Kyrgyzstan stabilizes.

But hundreds of Zhaparov's supporters rallied in the capital Wednesday, demanding the president's resignation and threatening to storm his residence. Zhaparov promised on Wednesday he would meet with the president again on Thursday to convince him to step down.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the meeting took place, but the protests demanding Jeenbekov's resignation continued Thursday morning. Jeenbekov said in his statement that the situation in Bishkek “remains tense" despite the fact that the new Cabinet was appointed the day before, and that he doesn't want to escalate these tensions.

“On one side, there are the protesters, on the other — law enforcement. Military personnel and law enforcement services are obligated to use weapons to protect the State Residence. In this case, blood will be shed, it is inevitable," Jeenbekov's statement said. “I don't want to go down in history as a president who shot at his own citizens and shed blood.”

The turmoil marks the third time in 15 years that demonstrators have moved to oust a government in Kyrgyzstan, one of the poorest nations to emerge from the former Soviet Union. As in the uprisings that ousted presidents in 2005 and 2010, the current protests have been driven by clan rivalries that shape the country’s politics.

Kyrgyzstan bans rallies, imposes curfew to end turmoil

October 10, 2020

MOSCOW (AP) — Authorities in Kyrgyzstan on Saturday arrested a former president, banned rallies and imposed a curfew in the Central Asian nation's capital, seeking to end a week of turmoil sparked by a disputed parliamentary election.

The declaration of the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. curfew in Bishkek followed President Sooronbai Jeenbekov's decree on Friday announcing a state of emergency in the city until Oct. 21. On his orders, troops deployed to the capital on Saturday to enforce the measure, but it's unclear whether the military and the police would obey the president's orders or side with his rivals if the political infighting escalates.

Jeenbekov has faced calls to step down from thousands of protesters who stormed government buildings a night after pro-government parties reportedly swept parliamentary seats in last Sunday's vote. The demonstrators also freed former President Almazbek Atambayev, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in June on charges of corruption and abuse of office that he and his supporters described as a political vendetta by Jeenbekov.

Atambayev was arrested again on Saturday on charges of organizing riots, the State Security Committee said in a statement. The turmoil marks the third time in 15 years that protesters have moved to topple a government in Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian nation of 6.5 million people that is one of the poorest to emerge from the former Soviet Union.

As in the uprisings that ousted Kyrgyz presidents in 2005 and 2010, the current protests have been driven by clan rivalries that play a dominant role in the country’s politics. After an initial attempt to break up protesters in the hours after the vote, police have pulled back and refrained from intervening with the demonstrations. Residents of the capital began forming vigilante groups to prevent looting that accompanied previous uprisings in the country.

Under pressure from protesters, the Central Election Commission has overturned the parliamentary vote results and protest leaders have moved quickly to form a new government. An emergency parliament session on Tuesday nominated lawmaker Sadyr Zhaparov as new prime minister, but the move was immediately contested by other protest groups, plunging the country into chaos.

On Friday, supporters of Zhaparov assailed pro-Atambayev demonstrators on Bishkek’s central square, hurling stones and bottles. A man with a pistol fired several shots at Atambayev’s car as it sped away, but the former president was unhurt. Two other politicians affiliated with Atambayev also had their cars shot at as they left the square, their party said. They weren’t injured.

Lawmakers voted again Saturday to seal Zhaparov's appointment, using proxy votes by those who were in the hall to achieve the necessary quorum. Zhaparov told the session that the president promised him he would submit his resignation within several days. Amid the political infighting, Jeenbekov said Thursday he could step down, but only after the situation stabilizes.

The presidential decree introducing the state of emergency needs to be approved by parliament, but lawmakers didn't consider the issue at Saturday's session in apparent defiance of the president. Jeenbekov, who kept a low profile for most of the past week, used the infighting between his foes to dig in. He met with the new chief of the military General Staff on Friday, saying that he relies on the armed forces to help restore order.

“We are witnessing a real threat to the existence of our state,” Jeenbekov said in a statement late Friday. “The peaceful life of our citizens mustn’t be sacrificed to political passions.” Kyrgyzstan is strategically located on the border with China and once was home to a U.S. air base used for refueling and logistics for the war in Afghanistan. The country is a member of Russia-dominated economic and security alliances, hosts a Russian air base and depends on Moscow’s economic support.

The Kremlin voiced concern about the turmoil in Kyrgyzstan, emphasizing the need to quickly stabilize the situation to prevent chaos.

Kyrgyz court confirms life sentence for journalist

January 24, 2017

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) — A court in Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday upheld a life sentence for an ethnic Uzbek journalist in a case that has drawn international criticism. Azimzhan Askarov was convicted in 2010 for stirring up ethnic hatred, a charge related to ethnic unrest in the south of Kyrgyzstan in 2010 when more than 450 people, mostly ethnic Uzbeks, were killed and tens or even hundreds of thousands were displaced.

The majority of those convicted for taking part in the deadly clashes have been ethnic Uzbeks. Askarov, who can appeal the ruling in the Supreme Court, shouted out after Tuesday's decision that he would go on hunger strike in protest.

Askarov's case was sent for review last year after the U.N. Human Rights Committee in April urged Kyrgyzstan to release him, finding that he had been arbitrarily detained, tortured and denied his right to a fair trial.

Askarov's lawyer, Tolekan Ismailov, told reporters that his client would appeal the ruling, which he dismissed as unlawful. Askarov had been documenting human rights violations by the police and prison authorities in his hometown near the Uzbek border for more than 10 years before he was arrested in 2010.

Kyrgyzstan ministry says cargo plane crash kills 37

January 16, 2017

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) — A cargo plane crashed Monday in a residential area just outside the main airport in Kyrgyzstan, killing at least 37 people, the Emergency Situations Ministry said on Monday.

The Turkish Boeing 747 crashed just outside the Manas airport, south of the capital Bishkek, killing people in the residential area adjacent to the airport as well as those on the plane. Reports of the death toll on Monday ranged from 37 people according to emergency officials in the Central Asian nation, to 31 reported by the presidential press office which also said rescue teams had recovered parts of nine bodies. Fifteen people including six children have been hospitalized.

Images from the scene showed the plane's nose stuck inside a brick house and large chunks of debris scattered around. Several dozen private houses cluster just outside the metal fence separating the cottages from the runway. Manas has been considerably expanded since the United States began to operate a military installation at the Manas airport, using it primarily for its operations in Afghanistan. American troops vacated the base and handed it over to the Kyrgyz military in 2014.

"I woke up because of a bright red light outside," Baktygul Kurbatova, who was slightly injured, told local television. "I couldn't understand what was happening. It turns out the ceiling and the walls were crashing on us. I was so scared but I managed to cover my son's face with my hands so that debris would not fall on him."

More than a thousand rescue workers were at the scene by late morning in the residential area where 15 houses were destroyed, Deputy Prime Minister Mukhammetkaly Abulgaziyev said. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. Kyrgyz Emergency Situations Minister Kubatbek Boronov told reporters that it was foggy at Manas when the plane came down but weather conditions were not critical. The plane's flight recorders have not yet been found.

The plane, which had departed from Hong Kong, belonged to Istanbul-based cargo company ACT Airlines. It said in an emailed statement that the cause was unknown. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday called his Kyrgyz counterpart, Erlan Abdildaev, to offer Turkey's condolences, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

Suzan Fraser contributed to this report from Ankara.

Kyrgyzstan bans Islamic sermons!

29 May 2015 Friday

North of the holiday resort region of Issyk-Kul region, any speech making reference to Islam has been forbidden.

Local media reports that this law introduced by the local Biskek government. The report mentioned that "any form of religious preaching or sermons by visitors in the touristic region of Issyk Kul is against the law. Any religious sermons and religious education are to be performed by Islamic vocational preachers".

Bishkek government officials also said that local towns and villages have been given orders to prohibit the visit of any preachers or anyone who will give sermons to prevent the danger of a religious nature.

It it has been common in Kyrgyzstan and other independent nations of Central Asia for people from the Tablig Jamaat and Hizbut-Tahrir representatives to be active in the preaching of Islam.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/159917/kyrgyzstan-bans-islamic-sermons.

Russia to expand Kyrgyzstan military base: official

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (AFP)
Oct 26, 2013

Russia will expand its airbase in Kyrgyzstan at the end of the year ahead of the shutdown of a US base in the country, a senior commander said Saturday.

The number of planes at Russia's Kant airbase in the country "will at least double by this December," Viktor Sevastyanov, a senior Russian air force commander, said at a ceremony marking the base's 10-year anniversary.

Russia will also send in more pilots, he said in televised remarks.

The Kant airbase last year was a source of disagreement between Kyrgyzstan and Russia, which is competing for influence in the region with the United States, whose lease at its Manas base expires in July.

Last year Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev complained that the Russian base was not benefiting Kyrgyzstan and instead owed Bishkek $15 million (11 million euros) in back rent.

However in September Russia and Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement allowing Moscow to continue operations at Kant until 2032 in exchange for Moscow's writing off nearly half a billion dollars in debt owed by the Central Asian country.

The base, located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Bishkek, currently has 10 Sukhoi fighters, two Mi-8 helicopters, and about a dozen other transport and training airplanes. It is Russia's only airbase in Central Asia.

The United States is meanwhile planning to pull its flight operations from the Manas base ahead of the expiration of its lease, and use an alternative airbase in Romania as a transit point for troops leaving Afghanistan.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Russia_to_expand_Kyrgyzstan_military_base_official_999.html.