Latest Articles about Kyrgyzstan
Bakiyev Promotes Presidential Security Rather Than Tackling Genuine Security Threats
Kyrgyz President, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, is continuing to centralize control over military and security structures to strengthen the protection of his regime. Last year, he disbanded the Security Council and National Guard and appointed his cronies, including his own brother and son, to head key security... MORE
Kyrgyzstan Relaxes Control Over Drug Trafficking
Last October, the Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev disbanded the Drug Control Agency (DCA) responsible for intercepting illicit drugs transiting through Kyrgyzstan from Afghanistan and destined to reach Russia and Europe. Instead, the president assigned the interior ministry to control drug trafficking in the country (www.government.gov.kg,... MORE
Bakiyev Downsizes Government and Increases Presidential Powers
Kyrgyzstan is currently witnessing a rapid and further centralization of presidential powers. On January 26, the Kyrgyz parliament’s special committee on constitutional legislation approved several new presidential rights. These include the president’s right to appoint a special presidential council that would in turn have the... MORE
Kyrgyzstan Boosts Cooperation With China
This week a Kyrgyz government delegation, led by President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s son Maksim, visited Beijing to strengthen economic relations with China. At a meeting with Chen Jian, the Chinese Assistant Minister of Commerce, Maksim Bakiyev expressed strong interest in building links with China in its... MORE
Kyrgyz Regime Suspected in Journalist’s Death
On December 16 Gennady Pavluk, a prominent journalist in Kyrgyzstan, was forcefully pushed from a sixth floor window in Almaty with his limbs taped. Pavluk was delivered to a local hospital in a critical condition and died within a few days. Several Kazakh media outlets... MORE
More Rights Activists Attacked in Kyrgyzstan
Three public figures were attacked in Bishkek in the past week. On December 9, former president Askar Akayev’s aide Bolot Januzakov was severely beaten. On the same day Aleksander Knyazev professor of the Kyrgyz-Slavic University, who often criticizes the current regime for usurping power, was... MORE
Kyrgyz Authorities Deny Entry to Human Rights Activists
The number of human rights activists who have been denied entry to Kyrgyzstan has spiked this year. On December 2, Tajikistan’s prominent human rights activist Nagina Bakhriyeva was denied entry to the country upon her arrival from Dushanbe to Bishkek’s Manas airport (www.24.kg, December 2).... MORE
Death Penalty Receives Widespread Political Support in Kyrgyzstan
Debates to renew capital punishment are intensifying in Kyrgyzstan. The idea was first raised last month by the then Secretary of the Security Council Adakhan Madumarov and the Chairman of the National Security Service (SNB) Murat Sutalinov. Then, both officials agreed that capital punishment is... MORE
Bakiyev Promotes his Son to Key Post
On October 29, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s son Maksim Bakiyev was promoted to lead the Central Agency on Development, Investment, and Innovation (www.akipress.kg, October 29). The agency was formed as a result of Bakiyev’s recent government reform and is entitled to control all foreign financial... MORE
Bakiyev Reshapes the Kyrgyz Government to Suit his Interests
The resignation of the Kyrgyz Prime Minister Igor Chudinov on October 19 and, consequently the entire government should not be confused with any attempt to reform the country’s political system. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has indeed promised to change the way Kyrgyzstan’s government functions in order... MORE