From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Wed Oct 16 2002 - 13:16:01 EDT
RFE/RL KYRGYZ NEWS
16 OCTOBER 2002, WEDNESDAY
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A Daily Review of News from Kyrgyzstan
1. Several supporters of Kulov detained in Osh.
2. Actions in support of Kulov continue.
3. The Aksy trial is rescheduled for 17 October.
4. President Akayev dismisses the prosecutor general.
5. Supporters of accused officials hold protest actions.
6. President Akayev to appeal to the nation on 16 October.
7. UN Secretary General would be in Kyrgyzstan on 2021 October.
8. KATEL Company demands to restore its rights.
9. OSCE holds a seminar on human rights in penitentiaries.
10. New volunteers of the US Peace Corps arrive.
1. SEVERAL SUPPORTERS OF KULOV DETAINED IN OSH. Police detained four
participants of a protest picket in the southern Osh City on 15
October and released them later the same day. According to chairman
of the Ata-Meken (Fatherland) Party Omurbek Tekebaev, they demanded
to release former vice president of the country Feliks Kulov and all
of them are members of his party. Deputy head of the city police
department Erkin Esenaliev told RFE/RL correspondent on 16 October
that they were detained due to they held an unsanctioned meeting and
were released after warnings. Chairman of the Human Rights Movement
of Kyrgyzstan Tursunbek Akunov said on 16 October that the detention
is additional evidence that Kulov's case is politically motivated.
A district court of Bishkek sentenced Kulov on 8 May to 10 years of
imprisonment and the city court upheld the ruling on 11 October.
Kulov was serving already another term when was sentenced again in
May. A military court sentenced him on 22 January 2001 to seven
years of imprisonment and the second term includes the first one.
2. ACTIONS IN SUPPORT OF KULOV CONTINUE. Thirty-two people continued
holding protest hunger strikes in Kyrgyzstan on 15 October demanding
to release former vice president of the country Feliks Kulov.
According to chairman of the Human Rights Movement of Kyrgyzstan
Tursunbek Akunov, eight of them keep hunger strikes in capital
Bishkek, ten in the Alamedin district of the neighboring Chui
Province, five in the Bazar-Korgon district of the southern Jalal-
Abad Province, five in Jalal-Abad town, and four people in Osh City,
center of the southern Osh Province. Hunger strikes began in Bishkek
on 8 October, before the Bishkek City Court upheld the convicting
ruling against Kulov.
3. THE AKSY TRIAL IS RESCHEDULED FOR 17 OCTOBER. Chairman of the Osh
City Military Court Bakyt Arabaev announced on 16 October that the
trial against six local officials, connected with the Aksy tragedy,
would begin in the town of Mailuu-Suu on 17 October. The trial was
scheduled for 30 September initially, then was postponed till 15
October but was not held because only one out of six defendants
appeared in the court. Police opened fire at a protest demonstration
in the Aksy district of the southern Jalal-Abad Province on 17 and
18 March and killed five demonstrators, however, the six local
officials are accused of power abuse only.
Prosecutor General Chubak Abyshkaev announced on 15 October that
additional investigation must be done in the case, because some
accused officials gave recently new evidences on who ordered opening
fire at a protest demonstration in Aksy last March. However, one of
the defendants, former deputy head of the Jalal-Abad province police
department Abdymital Kalbaev told RFE/RL correspondent on 16 October
that he released all the information on it during the investigation.
4. PRESIDENT AKAYEV DISMISSES THE PROSECUTOR GENERAL. President
Askar Akayev dismissed on 16 October Prosecutor General Chubak
Abyshkaev and appointed Myktybek Abdyldaev acting prosecutor
general. Abdyldaev served before as head of the defense and security
department in the presidential administration. No official reason of
the dismissal was announced.
The same day, Akayev appointed Kalmurat Sadiev head of the newly
formed State Border Service of the country. Sadiev was before deputy
minister of internal affairs.
5. SUPPORTERS OF ACCUSED OFFICIALS HOLD PROTEST ACTIONS. Authorities
of the Toktogul town in the southern Jalal-Abad Province detain a
bus with about 40 supporters of local officials, accused in
connection with the Aksy tragedy, in the town for two days already.
They headed to Bishkek to take part in the protest actions. Kandalat
Bakirova, one of the protesters, being stuck in Toktogul, told
RFE/RL correspondent on 16 October that they do not allow them to go
to Bishkek by other means. Spokesman for the Interior Ministry
Joldoshbek Busurmankulov says the bus is detained due to technical
reasons.
Supporters of the accused local officials hold protest pickets in
Bishkek and the regions for a week already demanding to bring to
justice high officials in the government and the presidential
administration too, because the local officials implemented only the
orders from Bishkek, acting last March against the protest
demonstrations.
6. PRESIDENT AKAYEV TO APPEAL TO THE NATION ON 16 OCTOBER. According
to the presidential press service, President Askar Akayev plans
appealing to the nation and the joint meeting of the two
parliamentary chambers in the government building on 17 October.
Besides deputies of parliament, governors of the country provinces,
members of the government, heads of the regional administrations,
journalists and foreign ambassadors are invited to the meeting.
7. UN SECRETARY GENERAL WOULD BE IN KYRGYZSTAN ON 20-21 OCTOBER.
According to the Bishkek office of the UN Development Program, UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan would arrive in Kyrgyzstan on 20
October. The same day, he would meet President Askar Akayev and
speakers of the two parliamentary chambers of the country,
discussing situation in the region and other international issues.
On 21 October, Annan plans opening a UN office in Bishkek and would
leave Kyrgyzstan for Tajikistan. He began his Asia tour on 12
October, starting off in Beijing, China, followed by Mongolia,
Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
8. KATEL COMPANY DEMANDS TO RESTORE ITS RIGHTS. The KATEL
Telecommunications Company made a statement in Bishkek on 15 October
demanding to restore its license to provide satellite service.
According to the statement, the company received in 1997 equal
rights with the governmental Kyrgyztelecom Company to provide the
service but was revoked of it in 1998. The Washington Times wrote on
24 September, "After KATEL's confiscation, foreign investors will
avoid the Kyrgyz Republic like the plague."
9. OSCE HOLDS A SEMINAR ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN PENITENTIARIES. A two-day
seminar on human rights in penal facilities was held in Bishkek on
14-15 October. More than 50 representatives of the government and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as prison staff and
experts from Latvia and Russia discussed international standards and
their practical application. The OSCE's Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights and the OSCE Center in Bishkek
together with the Kyrgyz Justice Ministry with support of the
European Commission and the Penal Reform International non-
governmental organization organized the seminar as response to the
recent decision on transferring of Kyrgyzstan's prison service from
the Ministry of Interior to the Ministry of Justice.
10. NEW VOLUNTEERS OF THE US PEACE CORPS ARRIVE. Marat Usmanov of
the US Peace Corps office in Bishkek told RFE/RL correspondent on 16
October that 65 new volunteers of the corps have arrived in
Kyrgyzstan from the US. They would work as teachers of English and
economic developments in schools of the remote regions as well as
consultants at the non-governmental organization.
(Compiled and translated by Naryn Idinov in Prague)
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Copyright (c) 2002. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
"RFE/RL Kyrgyz News" is published six days a week and is based today
on reports sent by RFE/RL Kyrgyz Service correspondents Bubukan
Dosalieva, Kyias Moldokasymov, Aidanbek Tashkenbaev, Bektash
Shamshiev, and Baktybek Amanbaev from Bishkek, Kojogeldi Kuluev from
Osh, Yrysbai Abdyraimov from Jalal-Abad. Feedback should be sent to
idinovn@rferl.org.
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