Kyrgyz News 26 June - 2 July: Main news

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KYRGYZSTAN: 26 JUNE - 2 JULY 2005
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Review of the week main events

1. Barktabasov in hiding due to possible assassination.
2. USA should form a Greater Central Asia forum.
3. Parliamentary speaker denied of US visa.
4. Extraditing refugees Kyrgyzstan violates its obligations.
5. Seven Kyrgyz women are nominated for Nobel prize.
6. Akayev accuses the USA of ousting him.
7. UN seeks for new haven for Uzbek refugees.
8. Also in the week of 26 June - 2 July 2005...

26 June, Sunday:

1. BARKTABASOV IN HIDING DUE TO POSSIBLE ASSASSINATION. Leader of the
movement My Homeland Kyrgyzstan Urmat Barktabasov, whom the Kyrgyz
authorities accuse of organizing the coup of 17 June, stated on 26 June
that he had nothing to do with those events, that he has no relations
with former president Askar Akayev and that he had to go into hiding
because had information that they could try killing him. Deutsche Welle
reported on 26 June that Barktabasov was a political ally of Feliks
Kulov until recently. To receive the article, please send a request to
IdinovN@tiscali.cz. DW, Interfax

27 June, Monday:

2. USA SHOULD FORM A GREATER CENTRAL ASIA FORUM. Frederic Starr wrote in
the July-August issue of Foreign Affairs on 27 June, "U.S. engagement
with Afghanistan has brought all of Central Asia to a turning point, but
flagging interest and uncoordinated policies risk undermining recent
gains. To seize the opportunity for progress in a vital region,
Washington should form a Greater Central Asia Partnership for
Cooperation and Development". To receive the article, please send a
request to IdinovN@tiscali.cz. FA

3. PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER DENIED OF US VISA. It became known on 27 June
that Speaker of the Parliament Omurbek Tekebaev and deputies Temir
Sariev and Marat Sultanov were denied U.S. visas since they did not have
new Kyrgyz passports issued in 2004. The US Department of State
announced in 2004 that it stopped receiving the old Kyrgyz passports of
1994 due to new passports were introduced, but the Kyrgyz parliament
recommended the government last December to stop issuing people with new
passports because there was a flaw in the national emblem on the
passports. Later, corruption facts were found in the government and the
property of the Registru Company of Moldova& which printed the
passports, was frozen in Bishkek. Tekebaev and the deputies were due to
leave for Washington on 28 June to attend a session of the OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly. Interfax

28 June, Tuesday:

4. EXTRADITING REFUGEES KYRGYZSTAN VIOLATES ITS OBLIGATIONS. Amnesty
International (AI) expressed on 28 June its concern that the Kyrgyz
government is failing in its obligations adequately to ensure the rights
of the Uzbek refugees to international protection and safety. In
particular, AI is concerned that the Kyrgyz authorities may not
withstand the pressure they are under by the Uzbek authorities to
extradite a large number of refugees to Uzbekistan. AI said in its large
report (18 pages), "The forcible return of anyone to a country where
they risk serious human rights violations, including torture and other
ill-treatment, would be a flagrant violation of the Kyrgyz government''s
obligations under international human rights and refugee law and
standards" and gave the history of the events and details of detention
of Uzbek refugees in Kyrgyzstan. To receive the report, please send a
request to IdinovN@tiscali.cz. AI

29 June, Wednesday:

5. SEVEN KYRGYZ WOMEN ARE NOMINATED FOR NOBEL PRIZE. It was announced in
Bishkek on 29 June that several Kyrgyz women could be nominated for the
Nobel Peace Prize. Doctor Ruth-Gabi Wermote-Manngold from Switzerland
initiated the project "1000 Women for Peace" and appealed to UNESCO and
Peace Fund offering to nominate 1,000 women from different world
countries for the prize. The candidates from Kyrgyzstan are President of
the Association of Disabled Women Asipa Musaeva, Director of the Insan
Fund Gulnara Derbisheva, Director of the Human Right Center Citizens
against Corruption Tolekan Ismailova, Director of the Sezim Crisis
Center Bubusara Ryskulova, Director Children Rehabilitation Center Umut
Karla-Maria Schelike, President of For Toleration International Raya
Kadyrova and head of the fund Kylym Shamy Aziza Abdurasulova. AKIpress

30 June, Thursday:

6. AKAYEV ACCUSES THE USA OF OUSTING HIM. Former Kyrgyz President Askar
Akayev, who fled to Russia during the 24 March uprising, said in an
interview with The Associated Press on 30 June, "I did everything to
balance the interests of the three great powers [China, Russia and the
USA]", however, one reason for the U.S. discontent was his "pro-Russian
foreign policy" and he had fallen out of favor with Washington when he
decided to host the Russian base. "The United States apparently decided
that it hurt its interests," Akayev said. "That marked the start of the
preparation of plans for my ouster." According to Akayev, "the United
States doesn''t want a balance. Americans want (others) to have a clear
orientation on Washington". Akayev, who lives now at a country residence
outside Moscow that was provided by the Russian government, added,
"foreign factors played the key role". He said a dozen U.S. non-
governmental organizations, including Freedom House and the National
Republican Institute, helped stage the regime change, and "their efforts
clearly have been coordinated by the U.S. Embassy." In Washington, U.S.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said he knew of "no facts that
would substantiate" Akayev''s claim that the United States engineered his
ouster. To receive the report by The Associated Press, please send a
request to IdinovN@tiscali.cz. AP

1 July, Friday:

7. UN SEEKS FOR NEW HAVEN FOR UZBEK REFUGEES. The UN refugee agency held
a meeting in Geneva on 1 July with representatives of the countries that
have a tradition of taking in exiles, comprising Australia, Britain,
Germany, Nordic nations and the United States, and pressed their
governments to grant asylum to the Uzbek refugees who fled to Kyrgyzstan
after the 13 May uprising in Andijan was bloodily suppressed. Ron
Redmond, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugee, said,
"Resettlement of the asylum seekers could be organised in a matter of
days once agreement has been reached with governments." Assistant High
Commissioner Kamel Morjane, who visited Kyrgyzstan recently, said he was
"shocked" by the situation facing 427 people at a camp near Jalal-Abad,
"From what I have been able to see, they are people like you and me, who
have left their country, and often their family, because they were
scared. They are still scared, perhaps even more today…. There is little
doubt what will happen to them if they are sent back to Uzbekistan. The
international community cannot let this happen." AFP