sgg domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /customers/6/e/5/lossi36.com/httpd.www/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114
Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/6/e/5/lossi36.com/httpd.www/wp-includes/functions.php:6114) in /customers/6/e/5/lossi36.com/httpd.www/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1893
Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/6/e/5/lossi36.com/httpd.www/wp-includes/functions.php:6114) in /customers/6/e/5/lossi36.com/httpd.www/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1893
Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/6/e/5/lossi36.com/httpd.www/wp-includes/functions.php:6114) in /customers/6/e/5/lossi36.com/httpd.www/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1893
Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/6/e/5/lossi36.com/httpd.www/wp-includes/functions.php:6114) in /customers/6/e/5/lossi36.com/httpd.www/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1893
Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/6/e/5/lossi36.com/httpd.www/wp-includes/functions.php:6114) in /customers/6/e/5/lossi36.com/httpd.www/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1893
Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/6/e/5/lossi36.com/httpd.www/wp-includes/functions.php:6114) in /customers/6/e/5/lossi36.com/httpd.www/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1893
Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/6/e/5/lossi36.com/httpd.www/wp-includes/functions.php:6114) in /customers/6/e/5/lossi36.com/httpd.www/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1893
Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/6/e/5/lossi36.com/httpd.www/wp-includes/functions.php:6114) in /customers/6/e/5/lossi36.com/httpd.www/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1893
{"id":10090,"date":"2023-01-24T14:15:33","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T14:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lossi36.com\/?p=10090"},"modified":"2023-05-20T16:03:11","modified_gmt":"2023-05-20T16:03:11","slug":"dams-and-show-trials-democratic-backsliding-in-the-kyrgyz-republic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lossi36.com\/2023\/01\/24\/dams-and-show-trials-democratic-backsliding-in-the-kyrgyz-republic\/","title":{"rendered":"Dams and show trials: Democratic backsliding in the Kyrgyz Republic"},"content":{"rendered":"The catalyst for these events was the development of the new treaty \u201cOn the ratification of the agreement between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Uzbekistan over separate sections of the Kyrgyz-Uzbek State border,\u201d signed by the President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, on 3 November. <\/span>Under this agreement<\/b><\/a>, nearly 5,000 hectares of land would be transferred to Uzbekistan while Kyrgyzstan would receive over 13,000 hectares. However, the parcel of land that Uzbekistan would receive includes the Kempir-Abad reservoir. This reservoir has served as a vital water source for both countries since its construction in 1983.<\/span><\/p>\n While President Japarov and his allies <\/span>publicly stated<\/b><\/a> that the reservoir will continue to be managed jointly and that Kyrgyz farmers will still have access, many in the area expressed concerns over the deal. These fears were exacerbated by the secretive nature of the development of the treaty, as the deal was forced through the Parliament behind closed doors. One Parliamentary member, <\/span>Chingiz Aidarbekov<\/b><\/a>, publicly stated that, \u201clawmakers didn\u2019t see the documents. I said that until I see the paperwork, I cannot agree to this. So I voted against.\u2019\u2019 This raises the question of why lawmakers were not given the opportunity to see if the document was as equitable as Japarov claimed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, it could also be a reflection of the weakening of the Parliament following the shift from a Parliamentary to a <\/span>Presidential <\/b>system<\/span><\/a> in 2021. Perhaps President Japarov feels that given his tightening grip on power, he longer needs to explain his whims to the Parliament. However, he was not alone in pushing the deal through. On 10 October, the committee hearing during which Parliament voted on the agreement was attended by the head of the State Committee for National Security, <\/span>Kamchybek Tashiyev<\/b><\/a>. Tashiyev was pivotal in drafting the document and has been extremely vocal about the need to decide the matter urgently. While it was logical for him to be at the hearing, his presence became rather threatening after he brought a box of weapons to the Parliament building to justify increased militarisation of the border with Tajikistan just a few weeks prior.<\/span><\/p>\n The day of the hearing, several small rallies were held near the border with Uzbekistan, as well as a rally in front of the Parliament building made up of several older men from the Uzgen district, located near the Kempir-Abad reservoir. During the rally, protestors took turns sharing their concerns about the treaty. <\/span>One protester<\/b><\/a> stated that, \u201cThe people have only one demand: We do not want to topple the government, we just want to keep Kempir-Abad.\u201d This quote became extremely salient following the arrests.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On 22 October<\/b><\/a>, a group of concerned government officials and activists convened to establish the Committee for protection of Kempir-Abad reservoir. The Committee did not have much time to act on their mandate as the next day all of their members were detained for conspiracy to incite rioting. According to the <\/span>Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic<\/b><\/a>, \u201ccalls for active disobedience to the lawful demands of government officials and for mass riots\u2026are punishable by imprisonment for a term of five to eight years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Among those arrested<\/b><\/a> were Rita Karasartova, a female human rights defender, and opposition politicians Ravshan Jeenbekov, Bektur Asanov, and Kubanychbek Kadyrov. One of those detained, local activist Chyngyz Kaparov, only attended the first Committee meeting to listen. According to him, \u201cthere was no talk about preparations for the seizure of power. I was just a listener, and on Sunday they came with a search and detained me.\u201d However, according to <\/span>President Japarov<\/b><\/a>, \u201cfrankly, they are not interested in Kempir-Abad [\u2026] Their goal is to denigrate us in front of the people, arrange riots and come to power.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On <\/span>14 December<\/b><\/a>, after nearly two months in detention, Klara Sooronkulova, Rita Karasartova, Perizat Suranova, and Orozaiym Narmatova launched a hunger strike. Within a few days, 15 of those detained had joined the protest. Over the course of the week, protestors began to experience severe health complications; officials, however, refused to have them seen by medical practitioners. By the end of the month, all of the detainees had begun eating again. Despite their efforts and an outpour of support from the international community,<\/span> officials have not budged<\/b><\/a> on the issue and have extended their custodial periods.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n During the trials, several family members came forward to speak on behalf of those in detention. A small rally was also held on <\/span>20 December<\/b><\/a>, during which family members called for their relatives to be transferred to house arrest. President Japarov provided a <\/span>rather disturbing response<\/b><\/a> to this stating, \u201cWhy didn\u2019t the parents who are addressing me today turn to their daughters with the words: \u2018Be civil, don\u2019t slander people. Why do you want a coup?\u2019 Why didn’t they educate them before it was too late?\u201d Given the public remarks of the president and officials it appears unlikely that they will evade sentencing.<\/span><\/p>\n Unfortunately, this is not the only case of an oppositional voice being arrested under dubious pretenses in Kyrgyzstan last year. For example, investigative journalist <\/span>Bolot Temirov<\/b><\/a>, who routinely exposed the misdeeds of officials, was stripped of his citizenship in November 2022. This, however, was one of many cases of journalists being <\/span>arrested<\/b><\/a> over the course of a few months. All of these arrests are part of a larger campaign to repress freedom of speech and assembly in the country. If those detained are given strict sentences, this could set an even greater precedent for the repression of those who speak out against President Japarov\u2019s administration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sydney Millar analyses the democratic backsliding in Kyrgyzstan following the pre-trial detention of opposition politicians and civil rights activists in response to a new border deal between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":10091,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oct_exclude_from_cache":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17,5],"tags":[264,630,855,1185],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-10090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","category-central-asia","category-civil-society","tag-central-asia","tag-kyrgyzstan","tag-political-repression","tag-sadyr-japarov"],"yoast_head":"\nFeature Image: Canva<\/strong><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"