09:39 msk, 19 june 2013

Central Asia news

Sergey Abashin: Osh events at crossroads of oblivion

Sergey Abashin: Osh events at crossroads of oblivion

11.06.2013 01:37 msk Analytics Politics Kyrgyzstan

Sergey Abashin, PhD in history, is a leading fellow at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology under the Russian Academy of Sciences. In his piece below, he ponders lessons and challenges of the bloody events in Southern Kyrgyzstan in June 2010.

“Negotiations” lead to scuffle and power usurpation in Kyrgyzstan

“Negotiations” lead to scuffle and power usurpation in Kyrgyzstan

03.06.2013 01:37 msk Business Politics Kyrgyzstan

Disorders and disturbances, clashes between the “opposition” and law enforcement bodies, police officers fleeing from rally participants, freed “hostages,” loudmouthed speakers and hasty statements on the part of politicians. Does this all not sound too familiar? Yes, we did – here in Kyrgyzstan. This is how the first and the second revolutions here started. Could one say the incumbent authorities triggered the third one?

Silent approval: Judges “sustain” beating advocates in Kyrgyz courts

Silent approval: Judges “sustain” beating advocates in Kyrgyz courts

19.04.2013 22:06 msk Human Rights Politics Kyrgyzstan

Beating lawyers is becoming somewhat of a norm if they are defending suspects tried for June 2010 events in Kyrgyzstan. In 2010 alone, about 150 lawyers refused to represent and defend interests of ethnic Uzbeks, fearing harassment and beating by claimants and their supporters. Fergana wrote about specific incidences and attacks on lawyers, which were most frequent in the country’s south. But not all lawyers are backing down under such an enormous pressure and hazard. Unfortunately, their requests for protection at court are usually ignored. Fergana has written about several trials there. Over the last three years that elapsed since the June 2010 events, ethnic Uzbeks’ cases were tried at all judicial levels and some even reached the Supreme Court in Bishkek, in the country’s north. The lawyers were hopeful judges in the capital would be more civilized and would demand order in their courts. However, it was not so.

Kyrgyz state communications agency chief allows unblocking Fergana access

Kyrgyz state communications agency chief allows unblocking Fergana access

29.03.2013 11:15 msk Politics Internet Kyrgyzstan Russia

The head of the State Communications Agency (SCA) of Kyrgyzstan, Mr. Almaz Kadyrkulov, told the Vecherniy Bishkek newspaper that local ISPs “have the right” to unblock access to the Fergana news agency’s website: “[Communications] operators have the right to unblock [access to] the website, and I don’t care at all.” Mr. Kadyrkulov said these words after a local court ruled to stop hearings on blocked access due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

Kyrgyzstan: Revolutions no more?

Kyrgyzstan: Revolutions no more?

13.03.2013 09:00 msk Analytics Politics Kyrgyzstan

It is impossible to say whether Kyrgyzstan is to face another, third this time, coup d’état this spring. There are “revolution prerequisites” along with indications that nothing will happen. Events taking place in Kyrgyzstan today are almost mirroring the events that precipitated the two “revolutions” three and eight years ago, respectively. Like then, everything starts with spring. And the explanation behind the choice of time is quite straightforward: It is much easier to rally on warm days as opposed to cold and rainy/snowy days or under the hot sun. The latter factors knock-off one’s desire to demand anything, let alone a lengthy process of regime change.

Kyrgyzstan: Rights activists continue insisting authorities objectively reconsider Azimjan Askarov case

Kyrgyzstan: Rights activists continue insisting authorities objectively reconsider Azimjan Askarov case

01.03.2013 01:23 msk Human Rights Kyrgyzstan

Mr. Azimjan Askarov, a human rights activists and a journalist from Kyrgyzstan, has been imprisoned for over two years. All this time, Mr. Askarov’s both local and foreign colleagues have been pushing the Kyrgyz government to reconsider his case and hold an impartial investigation. Mr. Askarov is an ethnic Uzbek and he was charged with having allegedly committed a number of crimes, including murdering a police officer, in the aftermath of the tragic events in Southern Kyrgyzstan in June 2010. His lawyers have gathered piles of evidence on his innocence. However, these documents were handed to people, who have had a grudge against Mr. Askarov for a very long time because he published a number of serious crimes law-enforcing officers committed in the past. It is, therefore, no wonder that they denounced the lawyers’ evidence as irrelevant. But the human rights activists and advocates community is not losing hope. On 27 Feb. 2013, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) voiced another appeal to reconsider Mr. Askarov’s case. The letter was addressed to the Prosecutor General of Kyrgyzstan Ms. Aida Salyanova.

Kyrgyzstan’s “own” aliens from abroad

Kyrgyzstan’s “own” aliens from abroad

12.02.2013 10:56 msk Migration Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan

The tragic events of June 2010 in Southern Kyrgyzstan impacted not only the lives of those involved, but also of those abroad. Ethnic Kyrgyz citizens of Uzbekistan moved to Kyrgyzstan. The major reason is discrimination on part of Uzbeks and fear. However, having “returned” to their historical motherland, these people are facing numerous difficulties, although relevant laws grant them the “Kayrylman” [Returnee] status and guarantees social services. The law on “State guarantees for ethnic Kyrgyz” defines Kayrylman as “an ethnic Kyrgyz, a citizen of another country or a stateless person, who voluntarily returns to the historical motherland and obtains the Kayrylman status, which is a temporary legal status maintained by the bearer until obtaining the citizenship of Kyrgyzstan.”

Kyrgyzstan's Osh Mayor Myrzakmatov: The city savior and Man of Year?

Kyrgyzstan's Osh Mayor Myrzakmatov: The city savior and Man of Year?

10.01.2013 16:02 msk Ferghana Valley Kyrgyzstan

Is Melis Myrzakmatov really such a significant personality for Southern Kyrgyzstan? Is he really who he says he is? We talked to a native resident of Osh, who wished to remain anonymous, about this. He says Myrzakmatov is only pulling wool on people’s eyes and cares about his own personal benefit alone. “This is just another PR stunt. He has donned the crown of a restorer and is now walking around with it. It is sad to know that our mayor is just a conspicuous individual, and journalists are supporting that,” N. says.

Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan: Incident leads to hostage taking, mutual accusations

Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan: Incident leads to hostage taking, mutual accusations

09.01.2013 14:12 msk Ferghana Valley Kyrgyzstan

“At around 1800 hours on 5 January, some 50 Uzbek citizens approached the [Kyrgyz] Charbak border outpost. A road designates the borderline there, albeit it is jointly used [by both Uzbek and Kyrgyz citizens]. There were six or seven concrete [electricity] poles erected on the Uzbek territory (beyond the demarcated borderline). These people came and said the poles were erected in a wrong location. Additionally, there were holes dug [for new poles] and an informal leader [among the aforementioned Uzbek citizens] demanded they be filled up. “In the morning of 6 January, some 1,000 people came [from Uzbekistan] and were rather aggressive. Despite Kyrgyz border guards’ warning shots, they started pulling the poles down. A local [Kyrgyz] police officer was there, but they did not listen to him. Moreover, he was beaten up and his vehicle was totally damaged. Then the border guards (the Charbak outpost commander and a soldier) fired warning shots into the air. The crowd stepped back and the police officer was saved. The crowd then moved onto the village of Hushyar and tore down 10 new poles and 15 older ones, which were erected 15-20 years ago…”

Kyrgyzstan: Judge rules parliament and government to be called to account for Fergana website ban

Kyrgyzstan: Judge rules parliament and government to be called to account for Fergana website ban

22.12.2012 10:08 msk Kyrgyzstan

On 19 December, the Bishkek inter-district court held the second hearing on blocking access to the Fergana.RU website. The first session was scheduled for 14 December and was later cancelled due to the absence of the defendant, i.e. representatives of the State Communications Agency (SCA). Today, two people represented the SCA: Rustam Zhunusaliev, the deputy head of the administration for control enforcement at the SCA and the expert on legal matters, and Natalia Chernogubova, the deputy head of government supervision at the SCA and the expert on technical matters.

Bishkek: The end of light and gas

Bishkek: The end of light and gas

20.12.2012 17:10 msk Business Kyrgyzstan

Frost has not lifted off Northern Kyrgyzstan for the past two weeks, reaching unfamiliar temperatures of -15 to -20 C. Now people often recall that only this autumn Kyrgyz officials assured the citizens that “the country is prepared for the winter season.” Of course everything turned out to be quite different. The people of Bishkek met winter face to face on 12 December, when gas was switched off in the suburbs and in some of the city’s boroughs. The situation got worse on 14 December, when the gas switch-off spread. Central heating has not been connected in all the houses in Bishkek, especially not in the newly built blocks, so the lack of gas became a catastrophe for Bishkek and its surroundings. People started using alternative methods of heating: stoves and heaters. The electricity grid could not handle the increase in pressure: electricity blackouts are back in the city.

Hero of the day: Kyrgyz SDPK MP suggested death sentence by electric chair to prisoners serving life

Hero of the day: Kyrgyz SDPK MP suggested death sentence by electric chair to prisoners serving life

05.12.2012 12:46 msk Human Rights Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan must introduce the death penalty – it is more “humane and economically viable” than a life sentence, said social democrat fraction MP Erkin Sakebayev on 4 December at a meeting of the committee on law, safety and crime fighting, KYRtag reports. “A life sentence means a slow death, why torture them like that? I think it is much more humane to introduce the death penalty. In the USA, for example, criminals are executed on the electric chair. Why don’t we introduce the same method?” Sakebayev suggested.

Letter to Azimjan Askarov, or New York will wait for the laureate

Letter to Azimjan Askarov, or New York will wait for the laureate

28.11.2012 23:17 msk Human Rights Kyrgyzstan

The prestigious International Press Freedom Awards were given out by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ.org) in the USA on 20 November. Human rights activist and journalist Azimjon Askarov, an ethnic Uzbek from Kyrgyzstan, is one of the four laureates of the prize. Fergana editor Daniil Kislov was at the ceremony, held in one of New York’s most majestic venues. He recounts his experiences in a letter to Mr Askarov, who is serving a life sentence in Bishkek following an unjust court verdict.

Azimjan Askarov Takes His Torture and Unfair Trial in Kyrgyzstan to Human Rights Committee

Azimjan Askarov Takes His Torture and Unfair Trial in Kyrgyzstan to Human Rights Committee

13.11.2012 23:51 msk Human Rights Kyrgyzstan

Azimjan Askarov, a leading human rights activist imprisoned in Kyrgyzstan, has taken his case to the UN Human Rights Committee, in a complaint filed on his behalf by the Open Society Justice Initiative and Nurbek Toktakunov, a Kyrgyzstan-based lawyer. The abuses suffered by Askarov are representative of a wider pattern seen in a series of prosecutions of ethnic-Uzbeks that followed the ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan in 2010. Juan Mendez, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, noted after a visit to Kyrgyzstan in December 2011 that the police had failed to take meaningful steps to investigate complaints of torture in the aftermath of the violence.

Human Rights Watch: Skewed Justice Over 2010 Conflict in Kyrgyzstan

Human Rights Watch: Skewed Justice Over 2010 Conflict in Kyrgyzstan

29.10.2012 09:48 msk Human Rights Kyrgyzstan

On October 25, 2012, the Osh Province Court sentenced 33-year-old Mahamad Bizurukov, an ethnic Uzbek and a Russian citizen, to life in prison. In the second recent case, Niyazaliev was detained by Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee officers on the Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan border in January. He was extradited to Kyrgyzstan in June to stand trial in connection with violence in the Suzak district in June 2010. Prosecutors allege that residents of the district blocked the Bishkek-Osh highway near the Sanpa cotton factory on June 12 and 13, poured fuel oil on the road to slow vehicles, and attacked drivers and passengers. The investigation said that 16 people were killed and two others are missing as a result. In 2011, 18 other people were sentenced to life in prison on charges related to this violence, and one defendant to 25 years in prison. “It is a miscarriage of justice and reeks of revenge when defendants are sentenced to life in prison in unfair trials. Kyrgyzstan’s authorities should immediately review these convictions and ensure that all the defendants’ rights are upheld, especially their right to a fair and impartial trial", Hugh Williamson, HRW Europe and Central Asia director said.

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