WELCOME TO IWPR'S REPORTING CENTRAL ASIA, No. 671, March 14, 2012 SOUTHERN KYRGYZ MAYOR STRENGTHENED BY LOCAL POLLS Observers say absence of unrest in Osh ahead of election was an achievement in itself. By Timur Toktonaliev
INTERVIEW KYRGYZSTAN: UNCHECKED NATIONALISM THREAT TO STABILITY Government needs to take decisive action to contain ethnic tensions stirred by 2010 violence, leading rights activist warns. By Timur Toktonaliev CLAMPDOWN ON DISSENT IN KAZAKSTAN December violence used as stick to beat government critics who complained about it. By Dina Tokbaeva INTERVIEW JANAOZEN STILL A LIVE ISSUE IN KAZAKSTAN Europarliament member describes meetings with oil town residents, and how the Kazak authorities are responding in the aftermath of violence. 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By Timur Toktonaliev Melisbek Myrzakmatov, the powerful mayor of Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan, has come out stronger from a local election in which his supporters won nearly half the seats on the city council. The result was the most noteworthy outcome of the March 4 local elections held across Kyrgyzstan that went off fairly quietly, including in southern areas still recovering from ethnic violence in 2010. Municipal ballots were held in Osh, in the eastern town of Karakol and in Tokmak in the north of Kyrgyzstan, with elections also held for 13 district councils around the country. The only significant trouble was in Karakol, where a mob attacked the mayor’s office in protest at the outcome of the March 4 ballot. Non-government groups monitoring the polls recorded some fraud and irregularities including “carousel voting”, where busloads of people were taken around different polling stations to vote repeatedly; ink being removed from people’s thumbs so that they could vote more than once; and incomplete electoral rolls. Nonetheless, when the Taza Shailoo election monitoring group and the Kylym Shamy Centre for Human Rights Protection announced their findings at a Bishkek press conference on March 5, they said the results overall were valid. The polls were watched most closely in Osh, Kyrgyzstan’s second largest city. More than 400 people were killed there and in nearby Jalalabad in clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in June 2010. Uluttar Birimdigi, a party that city mayor Myrzakmatov helped create last year, got 47 per cent of the vote, according to results released on March 6. The Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan, SDPK, which backs President Almazbek Atambaev, came second with 24 per cent of the vote. The result gives Uluttar Birimdigi 20 out of the 45 seats on the city council, and a major say in deciding who becomes mayor. Seen as a Kyrgyz nationalist, Myrzakmatov has expanded his sphere of influence since 2010. His current term expires shortly, so he will be looking to shore up his support against the central administration in Bishkek, where he is viewed as a controversial figure who has defied attempts to control or remove him. Ahead of the vote, he issued a statement accusing “over-zealous” SDPK representatives of making inappropriate use of state resources to help their campaign, a charge that party denied. Kylym Shamy’s head Aziza Abdirasulova said the fact that a several-thousand-strong rally in support of Myrzakmatov and Uluttar Birimdigi three days before the polls went off without incident was an achievement in itself, and helped set a positive mood for the election itself. The rally was attended by Kamchibek Tashiev, leader of the Ata-Jurt party, and Adakhan Madumarov of the Butun Kyrgyzstan party, reflecting a new alliance among southern politicians. Ata-Jurt was part of the governing bloc in Kyrgyzstan until Atambaev’s election as president in October, when the SDPK used this new position of strength to break with it and find a new coalition partner, in the shape of the Respublika party whose leader Omurbek Babanov is now prime minister. Butun Kyrgyzstan has no seats in parliament. Mars Sariev, a political analyst in Bishkek, can see advantages for both Ata-Jurt and Butun Kyrgyzstan in aligning themselves with the newer Uluttar Birimdigi. Both will be hoping to boost their own popularity through association with Myrzakmatov, who combines the formal function of mayor with the trappings of an informal power-broker. “Myrzakmatov is a charismatic personality who enjoys widespread support in Osh and is very popular,” Sariev said. Such a the three-party alliance is likely to strengthen the traditional north-south divide in Kyrgyzstan’s politics, Sariev said, adding that “it will provoke a reaction from the northern clans”. At the same time, Sariev sees little appetite for serious trouble at the moment. “The majority of the population, both in the south and in the north, as well as considered politicians, understand that such a confrontation would not be not in the country’s interests,” he said. In Karakol, in Issyk-Kul region, around 100 people brandishing sticks and stones tried to force their way into the mayor’s office, according to the Kyrgyz interior ministry. They were demanding an annulment of the results for the municipal council election, claiming that many people had been left off the electoral roll. Two policemen were injured, though the interior ministry said the situation was now under control. With almost 88 per cent of ballots counted in Karakol on March 7, the SDPK came first with 21 per cent of the vote. Respublika was in second place with just over ten per cent, while a new political group called Soyuz (“Union”) was third with slightly under ten per cent. Several youth organisations issued a statement on March 5 demanding that results for the town be declared invalid, and accusing the authorities of using state resources like media, local government officials and election staff to campaign for pro-government parties. They included Kyrgyzstan Jastar Keneshi (Kyrgyzstan Youth Council), which received got just under five per cent of the vote, and issued a call for more protests. Timur Toktonaliev is IWPR editor for Kyrgyzstan. INTERVIEW KYRGYZSTAN: UNCHECKED NATIONALISM THREAT TO STABILITY Government needs to take decisive action to contain ethnic tensions stirred by 2010 violence, leading rights activist warns. By Timur Toktonaliev Continued failure to enforce the rule of law risks will give the green light to extreme nationalists who could provoke further ethnic strife, according to Dinara Oshurakhunova, head of the Bishkek-based NGO Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society. Mistrust and divisions persist in southern Kyrgyzstan, as a legacy of the June 2010 clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in which more than 400 people were killed in and around the cities of Osh and Jalalabad in just a few days. Since then, weak institutions and an official reluctance to challenge nationalists have led to the spread of aggressive rhetoric, often as a pretext to grab land and property from minority groups, Oshurakhunova told IWPR. In late December, violence flared between Kyrgyz and Tajik residents of the village of Andarak village in Batken province. In late January, several Tajik families were forced to leave Aydarken, another village in Batken, after one of their relatives was arrested in a murder case and Kyrgyz neighbours made threats towards them. There are also tensions in Kyrgyzstan’s parliament. where Russian-speaking members face regular demands that they address the assembly in Kyrgyz, though Russian is accepted as an official language. The following are edited excerpts from an interview Oshurakhunova gave to IWPR. IWPR: How has the ethnic situation developed since 2010, and what are the authorities doing about it? Dinara Oshurakhunova: The ethnic situation is terrible. Conflict broke out in Mayevka in April 2010 [where five were killed during attempts to seize land around the Chuy province village] but no one has been held to account. There have been no media reports of houses being rebuilt or compensation paid out. The events of June 2010 were on a massive scale, so more attention was paid to them and reconstruction is taking place. The question is whether compensation has been awarded fairly. According to the information we have, it has not been awarded to everyone, nor has it been paid out equally. Sometimes people with close links to officials receive compensation when they did not suffer in the violence. What’s more, [some] homes and businesses are not being rebuilt, as their owners are uncertain whether they will be compensated if the violence reignites. IWPR: What is your view of the violence in Andarak in December? Oshurakhunova: In Andarak, where arsonists attacked Tajik-owned houses, the conflict is not being handled appropriately. Neighbours and elders on both sides came out and said, “It’s all over, we have peace now. Release these guys.” They let the suspects go. They have not been held accountable. Will this lack of accountability bring any relief to the Tajiks, who just want the conflict to end? Batken’s only doctor was sacked. I don’t know whether there were genuine grounds for the complaint against him, but he is an ethnic Tajik and no one wants him reinstated. Meanwhile, in parliament everyone is raising the language question. This [aggressive debate over language] will have direct consequences – people will see it and copy it. People will say that if members of parliament – those with the greatest oversight over how the law is implemented – talk and behave like that, then it must be OK for us to act that way as well. IWPR: What do you see as the motivating factors behind ethnic tensions? Oshurakhunova: These confrontations are basically about redistributing resources and claiming other people’s assets. I don’t have enough land or I don’t have a house, and I can’t bear to see my neighbour doing well while things haven’t worked out for me. I should get what he has, because I’m Kyrgyz and what is he? That’s the basis on which the ethnic issue is taken up and exploited, whereas in fact it’s fundamentally about resources. This competition for and carving up of resources is going on at the top political level, and also at the grassroots, where the carve-up is taking place on ethnic, religious and regional grounds. And what is the state doing about it? Nothing. IWPR: How are the police and court officials handling these issues? Oshurakhunova: The April [2010] violence [pitting police against protesters seeking the removal of then president Kurmanbek Bakiev] demoralised our law-enforcement agencies. No reforms are taking place and very little has changed. Law-enforcement agencies have very limited capacity to deal with ethnic confrontations and social problems. Has the interior ministry learned lessons from June 2010, and is it training its officers to handle such situations? I don’t know. Our prosecution service is completely toothless. People don’t have a sense that is doing anything, so they carry on breaking the law. Someone needs to put their foot down and say “enough is enough, that’s a criminal offence, a serious breach of the law, incitement and wanton destruction”. That isn’t happening. In my view, the courts are moribund. Firstly, the selection process for new judges has ground to a halt, and secondly, the authorities have let a genie out of the bottle – the mob. There was a point where the authorities gave in to the mob and let it pressure them into taking decisions, and now they are past the point of no return. Until the authorities learn to identify these people and make them answerable before the law, it is the mob that will dictate terms. As for civil society groups, we shout loudly, but even journalists and our colleagues say it’s pointless issuing statements as they won’t achieve anything. But what else can we do? We have only the one method – raising our voices and calling attention to things. All this is snowballing. I don’t know when it will hit us, because spring is coming [period when protests take off in Kyrgyzstan] and we can see that the geography of violence along ethnic lines is expanding. First there was Mayevka, then June 2010, now Batken and Chuy [scene of violence in Jangi-Jer village, largely populated by ethnic Karachay.] So there’s been conflict with [Meskhetian] Turks [in Mayevka], then with the Uzbeks, now with the Tajiks, and with the [Karachay] people from the Caucasus in Chuy. Who’s left? The Russians. And now the language issue is being raised. Why should the search for Kyrgyz identity mean we have to suppress others? Why can’t it be done on the basis of spirituality, culture, law and tradition? IWPR: What can be done to bring things back under control? Oshurakhunova: The following factors have to be addressed: national security, public safety, and employment. If these are not addressed quickly, the gaps between different conflicts could get shorter and the scale of violence could expand. If the government does not come to its senses, if officials don’t stop carving up businesses, and if they don’t tackle corruption, start protecting the public and [strengthen] the security system, then tomorrow, or the next day, conflict could reoccur. IWPR: How would you describe President Almazbek Atambaev’s approach to these matters? Oshurakhunova: The president’s decree on urgent measures to strengthen public security offers some hope. It’s designed to prevent destructive forces turning individual conflicts into ethnic violence. He has sent the bill to parliament and instructed the prosecutor general’s office and the State Committee for National Security to implement it. Thank God our voices have been heard. If his decree starts to be implemented and isn’t derailed, the situation could improve. When we met [Atambaev] on December 30, he talked about all these things. But it worries me that he still refers to certain “third forces” and “agents provocateurs”. There are two real “provocateurs” – impunity for criminals and irresponsibility on the part of those who should hold them to account. IWPR: How does today’s nationalism link to the Soviet era? Oshurakhunova: Xenophobia is on the rise. There’s anarchy and the seeds of fascism. This does not come from politicians, thank God, but from certain radical individuals. I remember from my childhood that there were many Russians and only a few Kyrgyz in affluent areas of central Bishkek. We were told, “Why do you speak Kyrgyz? Speak Russian.” But that was then. Let’s say a Russian passes by and I say, “In Soviet times you used to discriminate against us, so now I’m going to beat you up.” He wasn’t even born when the Soviet Union still existed. People alive today cannot take moral responsibility for the past. IWPR: What role do the media have to play? Oshurakhunova: Media outlets here aren’t educational instruments and they don’t expose social ills. They are simply political creations, instruments of influence. It’s a business. Journalists have freedom of expression, but media proprietors won’t let them exercise it. They dictate the rules and if you want a job, you accept their conditions. We need to develop independent, publicly-owned media. Reconciliation needs to start with media coverage that promotes tolerance, but how can that happen? The media outlets belong to private owners. IWPR: How can reconciliation be achieved? Oshurakhunova: These days, no one wants to listen to politicians, members of parliament, maybe not even to the president, the prime minister, human rights defenders or the media. People want to hear from figures in the arts, education and culture – but they remain silent. If an artist or other public figure simply said, “This is not on”. that would be much more powerful. IWPR: What role do international organisations and NGOs have to play in Kyrgyzstan? Oshurakhunova: Maybe it should start with funding civic education programmes. There used to be a lot of NGOs that donors funded to work with young people. After 2005, international organisations decided – I don’t know why – that there was no more need and all the civic education programmes were closed. Five years later, are having to deal with totally marginalised young people who think they can achieve everything through threats of violence. It needs to happen through the arts. If pop singers are performing somewhere and simply start their concerts by saying they are for peace and tolerance, that will be enough. People listen to their idols. Interview conducted by Timur Toktonaliev, IWPR editor for Kyrgyzstan. CLAMPDOWN ON DISSENT IN KAZAKSTAN December violence used as stick to beat government critics who complained about it. By Dina Tokbaeva The United States government and international rights groups have expressed concern about a crackdown on opposition activists and journalists in Kazakstan followiDecember’s bloodshed in the western town of Janaozen. Fourteen demonstrators were killed and more than 100 injured in Janaozen on December 16, when Kazak police opened fire on protesting oil industry workers. Witnesses said police fired indiscriminately into the crowd, and footage posted on YouTube appeared to support this. The authorities responded by rounding up opposition figures who they say helped instigate the violence or present some other security threat. Following the violence, police arrested Vladimir Kozlov, leader of the opposition party Alga; Igor Vinyavsky, editor-in-chief of opposition newspaper Vzglyad; and opposition activist Serik Sapargali. Kozlov and Saparali are charged with inciting social discord, while Vinyavsky is charged with calling for the government to be overthrown. The charge stems from leaflets he distributed calling for an insurrection shortly after the overthrow of President Kurmanbek Bakiev in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan in 2010, according to Reporters Without Borders, RSF. The three have been detained since January 23. Police raided the Golos Respubliki newspaper after it called for Vinyavsky’s release, and searched and closed down branch offices of the Alga party. They questioned Golos Respubliki’s deputy editor Oxana Makushina and its reporter Janna Kasymbekova, who covered the Janaozen unrest, as well as well-known theatre director Bolat Atabaev and youth activist Janbolat Mamay. Atabaev and Mamay were initially deemed suspects, but they have since been classed simply as witnesses. Almaty-based analyst Pyotr Svoik, a member of the National Social Democratic Party of Kazakstan, said this appeared to be in part a conciliatory gesture, and in part “a signal that they too could be arrested, but that it won’t happen as long as they calm down”. The police also arrested Ayjangul Amirova, an activist from Janaozen and the main contact between the oil workers and their political supporters. It was Amirova, detained on January 6, who first alerted the media to the killings. All four detainees – Kozlov, Vinyavsky, Sapargali and Amirova – are linked to Halyk Maidany, an opposition coalition of politicians and rights workers that has demanded an independent investigation into the Janaozen violence. The group supported striking oil workers in the town as they protested over several months last year, and its members were among the first activists to visit the town after the killings. In a February 9 statement, Ian Kelly, the US ambassador to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said his government was concerned about the clampdown and urged the Kazak authorities to ensure transparent investigations and respect for the basic rights of those detained. RSF said it was extremely concerned about the way the press was being treated, and “outraged” at the detention of Vinyavsky, who it said should be released immediately. “The authorities, even more paranoid as a result of riots in Janaozen... are using the security argument as a pretext to step up their crackdown on the media,” the Paris-based group said in a statement on February 3. The US-based watchdog Freedom House said the crackdown undermined respect for fundamental freedoms and called on Kazakstan to live up to its pledges to promote democracy and human rights. Like the Vzglyad newspaper, Golos Respubliki is linked to Mukhtar Ablyazov, an oligarch and political opponent of President Nursultan Nazarbaev based overseas. Nazarbaev’s political adviser Yermuhamet Yertysbaev has accused Ablyazov of being behind the Janaozen disturbances, an allegation he denies. Ablyazov made international headlines when he was sentenced to 22 months in jail in Britain in February for contempt of court. The former banker, believed to have left the UK for France, is accused of embezzling at least five billion US dollars from the BTA bank in Kazakstan, Reuters news agency said on February 24. Ablyazov denies the legal claim against him, which was brought by BTA and which he says is designed to rob him of his assets and silence him as a Nazarbaev opponent. In Kazakstan, analysts fear the authorities are using Janaozen as a pretext to muzzle domestic critics. Media analyst Artur Nigmetov said that if the media organisations now being targeted were closed, many people would be unable to access independent news, said “These media outlets are the main irritants for the authorities. I am afraid that persecution and repression of the opposition is only going to increase,” he said. “The unregistered Alga party is on the verge of disappearing, and journalists from the opposition Vzglyad and Golos Respublika [newspapers] and online Stan.tv are under constant pressure.” In covering Janaozen, most media outlets in Kazakstan followed the government line in suggesting it was the protesters who provoked the violence, while accusing the opposition in exile of orchestrating the unrest. However, the violence has ultimately created a public demand for more, not less critical reporting, Nigmetov said. “People don’t believe officials and want to know what really happened,” he said, adding that in the Mangistau region where Janaozen is located, many people have acquired satellite dishes so that they can watch the opposition television channel K-Plus. The station is based abroad and covered the Janaozen violence extensively. The authorities’ attention is now shifting to dealing with supporters of Vinyavsky and Kozlov, who have been staging small-scale protests outside the offices of the National Security Committee, Kazakstan’s intelligence agency, in Almaty, Oskemen (Ust Kamenogorsk) and other towns. Nigmetov said these demonstrators were being questioned, fined and intimidated. The government denies trying to stifle opposition, maintaining that the arrests were necessary to protect national security. Yertysbaev said that he did not view Kozlov as an opposition leader or Vinyvasky as a journalist, but saw both as part of a team hired by Ablyazov to overthrow the political through “revolution, mass unrest, chaos and violence”. In an interview on the Liter newspaper’s website, Yertysbaev accused international rights groups of taking a one-sided view by calling for the two men’s release without acknowledging that their actions had been unconstitutional. He also alleged that Kazakstan’s opposition media were spreading misinformation and encouraging protest, confrontation and civil disobedience. While the opposition media generally was engaging in “political extremism”, he said, K-Plus was waging an “information terror” campaign against Kazakstan. As animosity festers between the government and opposition, what happens next remains uncertain. Svoik believes the Kazak government often takes its lead from events in neighbouring Russia, where President Vladimir Putin faces a presidential election on March 4. That election will take place against a backdrop of rising dissatisfaction galvanised by allegations of fraud during the Russian parliamentary polls in December. Putin is expected to win, but many people in Kazakstan will be watching closely to see how the Russian public responds afterwards, Svoik said. Dina Tokbaeva is IWPR’s regional editor in Bishkek. INTERVIEW JANAOZEN STILL A LIVE ISSUE IN KAZAKSTAN Europarliament member describes meetings with oil town residents, and how the Kazak authorities are responding in the aftermath of violence. By Saule Mukhametrakhimova Kazakstan’s government needs to understand the close link between respect for human rights and improved relations with the European Union, according to Piotr Borys, a Polish member of the European Parliament. IWPR interviewed Borys, a member of Poland's Civic Platform Party, after he visited the oil town of Janaozen in western Kazakstan, which was the scene of violence on December 16, when police opened fire on protesting oil industry workers. IWPR asked Borys to share his impressions about how people in Janaozen are coping in the wake of the violence, and about how responsive the government has been to international pressure on the issue. Piotr Borys: I cannot stress enough how tragic the situation in Kazakstan was. However, since December last year there has been a significant development – persons responsible for the whole situation which led to the tragedy of December 16 are no longer in power. The new governor of Mangistau region [appointed on December 22] and new akim [mayor of Janaozen appointed on February 9] are determined to set things right and resolve the problem. During our visit, we were assured by the local authorities that they are focusing their efforts on finding those responsible for the tragic events and making sure that they will face appropriate punishment for their actions. We have been also assured that victims and their families are receiving the help needed. The situation is extremely complicated and delicate, especially because the authorities are partly responsible for the actions which led to tragedy in Janaozen. IWPR: There have been allegations of ill-treatment and torture of detainees taken into custody following the violence. The authorities deny this. How trustworthy are the statements they make? Borys: I officially confronted the authorities with statements from witnesses about the ill-treatment of participants and persons detained during the events of the December 16-17…. The local authorities officially admitted that they are aware of the situation and they are committed to hold to account all those responsible. Unofficially, we have been informed that ex-members of the police force who opened fire at protesters and inflicted ill-treatment on participants in the demonstration will be sent to court. It should be emphasised that public opinion in Kazakstan and abroad is focused strongly on developments concerning the Janaozen tragedy. IWPR: The government is putting pressure on opposition activists, accusing them of links to an exiled Kazak oligarch whom they allege wants to stage a revolution in Kazakstan. Given that this is the official view, how receptive were the officials you have met to calls to end persecution of activists? Borys: We were assured that the repression of leaders of the opposition and media representatives had stopped. But they did confirm that leaders of the opposition had been detained and that court proceedings had commenced against them. During meetings with opposition and families of those arrested, I got the clear impression that they are living in constant fear for their freedom and safety. They are too afraid to cooperate with investigations or to talk openly about the tragedy. I tried to explain that this is no longer just an internal matter for Kazakstan. Moreover, the way this problem is handled will have massive implications for the future of Kazakstan – for whether it will develop towards democracy, or towards an authoritarian regime. I firmly expressed the opinion of the European Parliament, emphasising that this problem – if left unresolved – will always cast a shadow over our relationship with Kazakstan. However, I strongly believe that the declarations made by the authorities will result in positive actions. It is extremely important to us, and to me personally, to ensure that opposition leaders and journalists who have been arrested get a chance of a fair and transparent trial.... Without free media and independent governmental opposition there is no democracy, and no chance of improving the current political situation. IWPR: The Kazak authorities have declined an offer to send international experts to be part of the probe into Janaozen. Do you think the chances of that happening have now been exhausted? Borys: We have been calling, and continue to call, for the presence of independent international observers in all of the proceedings. The Kazak authorities are of the opinion that this is an internal matter, and that the presence of an external delegation could pose a threat to the sovereignty of Kazakstan. I nevertheless believe that international public opinion should persistently press for such a presence. IWPR: What do you think your visit to Janaozen achieved? Borys: First, the change in the attitude of the authorities and prosecutors is noticeable. The clear attempt to be open to cooperation with external bodies... and the promise of transparent and fair court proceedings are very promising. Secondly, our actions clearly presented the position of the European Parliament with regard to the rights and treatment of opposition members and journalists who have been arrested. Finally, it is crucial that the authorities understand that economic cooperation is closely connected with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Further economic cooperation between the EU and Kazakstan will not be possible unless the situation with the opposition and free media improves. IWPR: The efforts of a group of MEPs like yourself, and your colleagues from a number of other countries, have focused on getting the EU to link signing of the New Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Kazakstan to demands relating to Janaozen. How much progress have MEPs made towards achieving this? Borys: Our actions are mainly diplomatic in nature. We have presented our opinion to Kazak authorities, and received assurances that these issues will be resolved. Now we are waiting for the actions that back up those declarations.... IWPR: How did you get involved in raising the Janaozen issue? Borys: My involvement in these matters began quite accidentally. I was asked by the Poland-based NGO, Open Dialogue Foundation, to organise a meeting between Kazak opposition leaders and MEPs. During this meeting, I became very interested in the subject-matter. After their visit to the European Parliament, members of the opposition [Alga party leader Vladimir Kozlov and Vzglyad newspaper editor Igor Vinyavsky] were arrested on their return to Kazakstan. Since then, I have been very concerned about the political situation in Kazakstan. 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