Kyrgyzstan: Rights Activists Voice Concern over Joint Civilian-Police Patrols

Kyrgyz authorities say they have found the solution to crime. But their new method is making some human rights activists uneasy.

Street crime dropped in Kyrgyzstan by 5 percent in 2008 over the previous year, Minister of Internal Affairs Moldomusa Kongantiev announced recently. Kongantiev credited the first decrease in crime reported in many years to the appearance of Volunteer Patrol Brigades (VPBs), which were initiated last April to patrol the streets of Bishkek and other urban areas. They were set up "to stop crime before it happens," Kongantiev explained.

Rights watchdogs remain skeptical of the patrols, viewing them merely as vigilante groups without proper police training. Such groups can serve not only an anti-crime function, but also could be utilized to intimidate the government's political opponents, some rights advocates say. Adding to their concern, parliament adopted legislation in January that enables authorities to use the military to keep order in the event of protests.

The idea of volunteer patrols is not new. During the Soviet era, workers from state-owned plants and factories patrolled the streets after work. And during the late Soviet era, the then-embattled former Communist Party boss Mikhail Gorbachev resorted to carrying out joint civilian-military foot patrols in Moscow.

"We initiated the VPBs at universities," Ermek Abdukarimov, the Interior Ministry official in charge of overseeing the patrols, told EurasiaNet. Students from the Republican Academy of Olympic Sports, which trains athletes in Bishkek, began participating in patrols in December. Now the Public Council is recruiting students from the Physical Training Academy and Medical Academy.

"The Sverdlov District police in Bishkek approached us in September to help them with public order. Our college leadership agreed immediately. We organized a VPB of 40 athletes to patrol the neighborhood," said the deputy head of the sports academy, Ruslan Iskenov.

Volunteer captain Isken Choibek uulu described his first patrol experience. "We had formation in front of our school and policemen explained our duties and tasks. We could only patrol with a policeman and without any special equipment. We were also told we had the right to arrest people. After the formation, we divided into several groups: one policeman and two volunteers. We had no special uniform besides an armband with the VPB inscription. My group patrolled the Uchkun District [in East Bishkek] where we talked to schoolchildren, checked documents of passer-bys, called on computer and billiard clubs, cafes," he said.

One of the instructors, Maj. Bekten Mykybaev of the Bishkek Police Department, said he was happy with the results. "The first patrol proved good. When men in uniform approach a citizen, he reacts negatively. In patrol with VPB, we could talk to people in a more friendly way," he explained.

Yet in the nine months since the Interior Ministry developed the patrols, questions have arisen about whether civilian law-enforcement enthusiasts are acting within the law.

At the inception of VPBs, the Interior Ministry proposed a law to regulate the volunteers' actions. The draft legislation would also oblige all institutions of higher learning to form VPB committees. Known as the "Citizens Participation in Maintaining Public Order Act," the legislation still has a long way to go before it comes up for a parliamentary vote. The Justice Ministry, for example, has yet to provide its evaluation of the proposed legislation. Even so, Abdukarimov, the Interior Ministry official, believes that the adoption of the legislation is merely a matter of time.

Human rights activists say the draft legislation on VPBs, along with the new law allowing the use of the army to secure public order, establishes a disturbing pattern for the government. Dinara Oshurakhunova, head of the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society, believes the government is bent simply on enhancing the power of the security structures.

"Obviously, the country's leadership has taken a course to strengthen security organs. The budget financing [for security] increased by 300 million som [$7.3 million] this year," Oshurakhunova said. The government is preparing for protests, she added, "and authorities are trying to build preventive mechanisms."

"When it comes from the very top of the police, when they select only athletes, when there is preparation to grant legal status, I put myself on guard. I fear it has another aim," Oshurakhunova continued. "If mass protests start, [volunteers] would be sent there [to maintain order]. Then, you would have the population divided against itself. This is dangerous."