KYRGYZ WEEKLY: 30 SEPTEMBER - 6 OCTOBER 2007
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Review of the week main events in Kyrgyzstan

1. Court reconsiders the Aksy Events.
2 Parliament versus Constitutional Court.
3. Parliament suggests delaying the constitutional referendum.
4. President corrects his decree on the constitutional referendum.
5. Four summits in Dushanbe.
6. Kyrgyzstan increases its Shares in the gold project.
7. Helicopter, power line, check post, bridges.
8. Also in the week of 30 September - 6 October 2007…

1 October, Monday:

1. COURT RECONSIDERS THE AKSY EVENTS. The Bishkek Military Court began on 1 October its out session in the town of Jalal-Abad to reconsider the Aksy Events of 2002. Deputy of Parliament Dooronbek Sadyrbayev said on 3 October President Kurmanbek Bakiyev is ready to give testimonies while the former president, Askar Akayev, rejects it. Former head of the Jalal-Abad Province Police Department Kubanychbek Tokobayev told the court on 3 October that then Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Sadyrbek Dubanayev told him by phone to begin the Taifun Operation on 17 March 2002 at 14:00 and the Operation Buran at 17:00 and he fulfilled the orders. Former Prosecutor of the province Zootbek Kudaibergenov said on 4 October then Prosecutor General Chubak Abyshkayev ordered him in Bishkek on 2 January 2002 to file a criminal case against Deputy of Parliament Azimbek Beknazarov and to arrest him. Former head of the Aksy District Police Department Daniyar Kuluyev testified on 5 October that Tokobayev ordered arming the riot police with firearms.

On 17 March 2002, police opened fire at a demonstration near the village of Bospiek in the southern Jalal-Abad province. The people headed to Kerben, center of the Aksy District, where a court ruling on Deputy of Parliament Azimbek Beknazarov should have been announced on 18 March. He was against ceding some Kyrgyz territories to China and after he began an impeachment procedure against President Askar Akayev, he was arrested in Jalal-Abad on 5 January. It caused mass protests around the country, Sheraly Nazarkulov died during a protest hunger strike in Bishkek on 7 February. Four people were shot dead near Bospiek on 17 March, one more demonstrator died from beating, after returning home, and another young man was shot to dead by police in Kerben on 18 March, where protests continued.

The Osh Province Military Court sentenced four local officials to two to three years of imprisonment on 28 December 2002 finding the responsible for the Aksy shooting, however, the Military Court of Kyrgyzstan acquitted them all on 16 May 2003 saying they acted in accordance with law. 24.kg, KW

2 October, Tuesday:

2 PARLIAMENT VERSUS CONSTITUTIONAL COURT. After a special parliamentary commission, formed on 18 September, reported on 2 October, the parliament decided the same day that the nationwide referendums to amend the constitution and held in 1994 and 1996 were organized with breaching the constitution and the Law on Referenda. According to the parliament, the Constitutional Court took an unjust ruling on those referendums on 9 November 1995. The parliament also asked the president and the Accounts Chamber on 2 October to consider the activity of the Constitutional Court. Chairman of the commission Azimbek Beknazarov said the court did not function for almost four years in 1993-1994 and 2006-2007, however, about one million soms ($26,000) was spent for each of its judge since 2003 and about 60 million soms was spent per a referendum.

According to Beknazarov, the Constitutional Court took an unjust ruling on 13 July 1998 allowing then President Askar Akayev to be nominated as president for a third term. The court rejected on 28 February 2003 considering an appeal by several parliamentarians, who protested breaching the procedures while the parliament ratified the border agreements with China, and according to the agreements, Kyrgyzstan lost a part of its territory. Chairwoman of the court Cholpon Bayekova took part in a session of the parliament in November 2006, when a new constitution was adopted and then the court ruled on 14 September 2007 that the procedures were breached. Also, according to Beknazarov, the court made its ruling on 14 September on the basis of the constitution of 2003, while it was not in effect at that time. The same day, on 2 October, Bayekova appealed to the president asking to take exhaustive measures against the parliament, which takes decisions out of its competence and meddles in the activity of the court. According to her, the decisions by the parliament cause a danger to constitutionalism of the country. 24.kg, AKIpress

3. PARLIAMENT SUGGESTS DELAYING THE CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM. The parliament recommended President Kurmanbek Bakiyev on 2 October to sign into effect the law on referenda, passed in parliament on 18 September. It also suggested that the referendum on a new constitution, set for 21 October, must be delayed because people could not be ready for it. The parliament also decided to put on the forthcoming referendum a law draft of accountability of the officials responsible for embezzling the foreign loans and grants, received by Kyrgyzstan from 31 August till 1 January 2007. According to the author of the draft, Parliamentarian Omurbek Tekebayev, there are about 100 such officials and some of them occupy still on high positions. 24.kg, AKIpress

4 October, Thursday:

4. PRESIDENT CORRECTS HIS DECREE ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev signed on 4 October a special decree on amending his decree of 19 September, according to which a referendum on a new constitution should be held on 21 October. If the previous draft envisaged that a president or parliament should take decisions on bringing judges of the country to justice, now, the National Council on Justice would be responsible for it. Many other amendments are linguistic ones. AKIpress, RIA Novosti, Interfax, Izvestia

5 October, Friday:

5. FOUR SUMMITS IN DUSHANBE. A summit meeting of the Council of the Heads of the States of the CIS was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on 5 October, the 55th birthday of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon. The presidents approved a conception of the CIS development for the future and Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Lebedev, who did not attend the meeting, became executive secretary of the CIS replacing Vladimir Rushailo. On 6 October, the summit of the Eurasian Economic Community was held in Dushanbe and Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia signed at it a package of documents on forming a customs union. A similar organization did already existed before - Belarus and Russia set up the Customs Union in January 1995, and Kazakhstan joined it the same year while Kyrgyzstan did it in 1996. However, that Customs Union was renamed as the Eurasian Economic Community in October 2000. Tayir Mansurov of Kazakhstan was elected Eurasec secretary general instead of Grygory Rapota on 6 October. The same day, on 6 October, a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was also held in Dushanbe. The presidents adopted its jubilee declaration, as well as the agreement on peacekeeping operations and an agreement on cooperation between CSTO and the Shanghai Cooperation Organizations was also signed.

Kyrgyzstan became a chair of the CIS on 6 October for a year, and chair of the CSTO on 6 October, the next CIS summit would be held in Bishkek in September 2008. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev had a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 6 October. On 7 October, the presidents held an informal summit of the CIS, Eurasec and CSTO, congratulating Putin with his 55-year jubilee. Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are members of Eurasec. The CSTO includes all these countries plus Armenia. The CIS includes all mentioned countries plus Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Turkmenistan and Ukraine. RIA Novosti, Itar-Tass, Интерфакс, Gazeta, Strana, AKIpress, KW

6. KYRGYZSTAN INCREASES ITS SHARES IN THE GOLD PROJECT. Kyrgyz parliament considered on 5 October an agreement reached by the government with Centerra Gold Inc., which develops the giant Kumtor gold deposit in Kyrgyzstan, but did not approve it yet. According to the agreement, signed on 30 August, involvement of Kyrgyzstan in the project rose from 15 to 32 percent of shares. Finance Minister Akylbek Japarov said during the discussion the 32 percent of shares cost now $660 million but could reach $1,000 million in some conditions. According to him, if the previous government did not sell the shares, Kyrgyzstan would have had now 52 percent. However, the parliament criticized the government, which prepared the agreement not corresponded to the standards of international documents, and Deputy Omurbek Tekebayev said Kyrgyzstan should demand the company to pay back taxes since 1994. The government recalled the agreement and Japarov said its new version, as a law draft, would be presented on 8 October.

The first contract with CAMECO, a Canadian corporation, to develop Kumtor was signed late in 1992 and the parliament fought against it stating the national interests of Kyrgyzstan was not protected. As a result, then Prime Minister Chyngyshev resigned in December 1993, however, President Akayev disbanded the parliament in September 1994. There are more than 500 tons of gold in Kumtor. CAMECO restructured the project in 2003 and formed Centerra Gold Inc. to manage the project. The Kyrgyz government agreed on the last day of 2003 transferring its 67 percent shares in KGC to Centerra and received 33 percent of Centerra in return earning $90 million for it. In 2004, the government of President Akayev sold about 20 percent of its shares to Centerra itself. AKIpress, 24.kg, KW, BPC

Foreign Aid this Week:

7. HELICOPTER, POWER LINE, CHECK POST, BRIDGES. On 1 October, the renewed check post Bek-Abad was re-opened on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border in the southern Jalal-Abad Province - the USA gave $70,000 for its equipment. On 2 October, the US Embassy presented the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry a set of equipment for fingerprint identification. On 3 October, Finance Minister Akylbek Japarov and Japanese Envoy to Kyrgyzstan Tatsuhiko Kasay signed in Bishkek an agreement, according to which the Japanese side would allot $4.25 million for reconstruction of the three bridges in the northern Chui Province. On 4 October, the parliament ratified an agreement, which allows receiving an $11-million loan from the Islamic Development Bank to construct a high-voltage 140-kilometer-long power line from Aigul-Tash to Samat in the southern Batken Province. On 4 October, the US government handed the Kyrgyz Defense Ministry a Mi-8 MTB helicopter, repaired in Slovakia. AKIpress, 24.kg, Tazar, Regnum

ALSO IN THE WEEK OF 30 SEPTEMBER - 6 OCTOBER:

8. On 29 September, the fourth film festival Eurasia ended in Almaty. The Kyrgyz film Boz Salkyn by Ernest Andyjaparov and the Kazakh film Strizh by Abay Kulbay shared grand prix in the Central Asia rating.

9. On 30 September, Foreign Minister Ednan Karabayev and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed in New York the Program of Cooperation between the two governments on Combating the Smuggling of Nuclear and Radioactive Materials. US State Department, AKIpress, 24.kg

10. On 30 September, Kubanychbek Kadyrov, who collected 26.2 percent of votes, and Maksat Abakirov (17.3 percent) were first two in the by-election in the Balykchy Constituency to a vacant seat in the parliament. The run-off would be held on 14 October. 24.kg

11. On 30 September, the Kyrgyz soccer team Dordoi-Dynamo from Naryn won the AFC President's Cup defeating in the final match the Nepalese champion Mahendra Police Club. Dordoi-Dynamo repeated its success of 2006

12. On 1 October, former Secretary of the Security Council Miroslav Niyazov said in an interview with the AKIpress Agency that the new constitution put on the forthcoming referendum is not the last one, because the authorities prepare for it too fussily. AKIpress

13. On 1 October, Director of the NGO Citizens against Corruption Tolekan Ismailova said at the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, held in Warsaw on 24 September - 5 October 2007, that a super-presidential ruling could be established in Kyrgyzstan if the international community does not intervene. 24.kg, Tazar

14. On 1 October, Russian "Kommersant" reported ten prime ministers were changed in Kyrgyzstan in the last ten years, as well as in Bhutan, Guinea-Bissau and Nepal, however, there were also several acting prime ministers in Kyrgyzstan. Kommersant

15. On 1-2 October, a delegation of the Kyrgyz party of Sodruzhestvo took part in a congress of the Russian party United Russia in Moscow. Leader of the Er Aidoochu NGO Kachkyn Bulatov stated in Bishkek on 3 October the Sodruzhestvo Party is financed from abroad, which is prohibited in Kyrgyzstan, and their leaders Vladimir Nifadyev and Arkady Gladilov are Russian citizens. Edinros, AKIpress, Kabar

16. On 2 October, Foreign Minister Ednan Karabayev delivered a speech at the session of the UN General Assembly offering to organize the second global mountain summit. He had meetings with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and his deputies Lynn Pasco and Jean-Marie Guehenno the same day. Karabayev also met with Billionaire George Soros in New York on 1 October. 24.kg, AKIpress, UN News Centre

17. On 2 October, Deputy of Parliament Kubatbek Baibolov sent an open letter to the president saying the referenda on new constitution have little value due to previous experience. According to him, the Constitution Court could have obliged the parliament to reconsider its previous contradictory decisions, but it invalidated the November constitution, which was already invalidated due to a new constitution was adopted last December. It was an ignorant decision, because the laws cannot be put into effect by court rulings. AKIpress

18. On 2 October, the parliament agreed amending the law on state budget to allot 750 million soms ($20 mullion) to decrease bread prices. AKIpress, 24.kg

19. On 2 October, the Ministry of Economic Development stated the assertion by the Deputy Economic Minister Pyatnitsky of Ukraine that Kyrgyzstan avoids meeting Ukrainian officials is not more than a PR-campaign. Tazar, AKIpress

20. On 3 October, Rapporteur of the European Parliament for Central Asia Cem Ozdemir told journalists in Bishkek Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev was incorrect saying during the recent election campaign in Kazakhstan that Kyrgyzstan is an example of unstable country. Also, according to him, adoption of three constitutions in a year is an internal issue of Kyrgyzstan. 24.kg, AKIpress

21. On 3 October, the Russian site Forum reported Kyrgyzstan as many other CIS countries, does not declare in the UN its military supplies. Forum

22. On 4 October, Deutsche Welle reported that even members of the Central Election Commission admit that the constitutional referendum, set for 21 October, is held with breaching some laws. DW

23. On 4 October, the National Bank informed the refinancing rate was in Kyrgyzstan 4.01 percent on 19 September, 7.43 percent on 26 September and reached 13.56 percent on 3 October. AKIpress

24. On 4 October, Parliamentarian Bolot Sherniyazov told a parliamentary session that the Border Guard Service of Kyrgyzstan deleted all documents on a visit by wanted Russian Tycoon Boris Berezovsky to Kyrgyzstan last year. According to the Russian Prosecutor General Office, Berezovsky came to Bishkek from London on 29 July 2006 and left the country next day. AKIpress, NEWSru

25. On 4 October, the 15th International Fair Bishkek-2007 opened in Bishkek, it will last till 8 October. About 140 companies from Germany, Iran, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia, Turkey and other countries take part. 24.kg, GazetaKz

26. On 4 October, the EurasiaNet site reported, "According to a recent survey of drug users in Bishkek, 36 percent of respondents said they regularly buy illicit drugs from law enforcement officers". Eurasianet

27. On 4 October, the Encyclopedia of Kyrgyz Music was released in Bishkek in Kyrgyz. Its author is Musicologist Balbai Alagushov. 24.kg, AKIpress

28. On 5 October, Chairman of the Antimonopoly Committee Imankadyr Rysaliyev said in an interview with AKIpress that the government should not regulate the bread prices and gave an example of neighboring Uzbekistan, where the government tried doing it, and now, rationing and a curfew are introduced in some regions there. AKIpress

29. On 5 October, Finance Minister Akylbek Japarov told the parliament the $11 million received by Kyrgyzstan as a compensation for an accident from the Canadian company, which develops the Kumtor gold deposit, was immediately transferred to an offshore bank account of the Edgar Company during the reigning of President Askar Akayev. The minister also said Kyrgyzstan received $4 million as a compensation for the Barskoon accident of 1998 from the same company, however, no singe cent reached suffered people. 24.kg

30. Appointments and dismissals: on 5 October, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev appointed Soyuzbek Saliyev head of the Oktyabr District administration of Bishkek City, replacing Kubanychbek Aitbayev, and Bolot Beishenkulov was appointed head of the Pervomai District Administration instead of Amangeldi Kenjetayev. The same day, Bakiyev appointed Akimjan Muibillayev director of the Finance Police replacing Kaseyin Tokochbayev. AKIpress, 24.kg

Naryn AIYP.

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