What is happening in Kyrgyzstan? “Japarov learns from the Kremlin” |
The Kyrgyz government first agreed on a border with neighboring Uzbekistan protest targeted the activists. Later, he expanded this campaign political opponents and the country free began to attack the media. RFE/RL’s Reid Standish writes that Kyrgyzstan may face yet another turmoil.
The arrest of 26 people and the killing of many media outlets, including RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz service the president What is behind the recent persecution that has drawn the wrath of the Sadir Japarov administration?
“It is no secret that Kyrgyzstan is gradually becoming more authoritarian. Japarov’s aim is to cling to the power they have in the country’s domestic and foreign policy as much as possible. – Researcher of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Temur Umarov he says.
20 when Japarov came to power20Since 2010, he has been trying to strengthen his power by intensifying pressure on civil society and the media. All this resulted in the decline of the country in the field of democracy.
According to the border agreement announced with Uzbekistan in early October, Bishkek must hand over control over the strategic Kempirabad reservoir to Uzbekistan. This is a very big test for Japarov. Three years in prison the president that the country’s resources are in the hands of foreigners protest came to power with the support of nationalists.
The deal could help improve relations between the two neighboring countries, which have previously been embroiled in bloody border clashes. But on the other hand, it could pit Japarov against the nationalists who brought him to power.
15% of the border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan remained undemarcated. The handover of the reservoir is part of the agreement on the final demarcation of the border.
On November 3, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Vladimir Norov and his Kyrgyz counterpart Jeenbek Kulubayev signed several border delimitation agreements. The agreement on Kempirabad is one of them.
The Kempirabad Reservoir is located near the city of Osh in southwestern Kyrgyzstan. First to the contract protest those who do include well-known activists, human rights defenders, bloggers and politicians. They are primarily concerned about the loss of access to water resources and control over water content. Protesters pre-trial imprisonment have been done. They are expected to remain in detention for at least two months.
These arrests caused new protests in Bishkek and Osh on October 24. The protesters demanded the release of the detainees and more information about the agreement, which envisages the loss of land along with the water reservoir to Kyrgyzstan.
Defending the agreement, the Kyrgyz government says it is in the country’s favor, that according to the agreement the country gets 15,000 square kilometers of territory, the countries will jointly manage the water reservoir, and both will have access to water.
Pressure against the media, activists and opposition groups is not new for Japarov. These actions correspond to the authoritarian trend observed in Kyrgyzstan’s politics in recent years.
2020-in, political the former who left power during the crisis the president Sooronbay Jeenbekov also tried to influence the Kyrgyz parliament. Japarov deepened this trend by officially turning the country into a presidential republic with the referendum he held in 2021.
However, the current tension in Kempirabad Japarov and his allies Kamchibek Tashiyev is a serious test for Tashiyev State, one of the dominant forces in the politics of Kyrgyzstan National Supervises the Security Committee.
Land, water and mineral resources are valuable in the country political is considered capital. What is happening now is a time when Japarov is facing difficulties related to the difficult economic situation. Relations with Moscow have been strained by Kyrgyzstan’s border conflict with Tajikistan in mid-September. During that border clash 10More than 0 people lost their lives and hundreds of people were injured.
Japarov was able to maintain his rating against the background of these crises. Recent polls show that 76% of voters support his leadership.
Senior analyst of the global consulting company “Eurasia Group”. Zachary Whitlin says that Japarov feels serious pressure in front of numerous problems. economic situation, Russia relations with Tajikistan, tensions with Tajikistan, scandal over the management of the nationalized Kumtor gold mine, attempts to pressure opposition figures over the past year – all add up to instability.
In June, responsible for the implementation of the controversial new law on disinformation, Culture and information Ministry blocked the websites of “ResPublica” newspaper for two months, and “24.kg” in August news tried to block the site. Moreover, at this time, an anonymous complaint about false information posted on the Internet was the basis.
Before that, there were attempts to intimidate and silence independent journalists. In particular, journalists who criticized Japarov and his allies were targeted.
Investigative journalist in January Bolot Temirov on drug charges imprisonment was done. Shortly before that, his team published a research paper on the fact that Tashiyev’s family has taken a share of government contracts since taking office. In September judge of this work National The Security Committee concluded that it was fabricated and Temirov was released. The General Prosecutor’s Office filed an appeal against the court’s decision.
Against the background of all this tension, the government ordered the Kyrgyz and Russian websites of RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz service to be blocked for two months, and at the end of October, the service bank have frozen their accounts.
The government explained this step by the use of hate speech and false information in the video during the coverage of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border conflict, and said that the radio “mainly covered the position of the Tajik side.” Although the government demanded the destruction of that video, RFE/RL refused to do so.
One deputy He demanded the closure of Radio Liberty and two other independent media organizations – “Kloop” and “Kaktus.Media”.
The government is trying to amend the law on mass media. Law draft will increase and complicate registration requirements for foreign media organizations. Several media experts point out that these amendments are almost identical to the Russian media law. Using that law, the Kremlin managed to significantly narrow the scope of independent journalism in Russia.
“Law practically transferred from Russia. This is not Moscow’s pressure on Japarov, but on the contrary, he is watching and learning how the Kremlin controls its population…”, – says Umarov.