Human Rights:
KYRGYZ LEADER VISITS WASHINGTON FOR SECURITY TALKS
9/23/02

Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev is in Washington on September 23 for discussions concerning Bishkek’s future role in the war against terrorism. Some observers believe what is discussed, along with potentially what is not discussed, will also have a major influence developments within Kyrgyzstan, which has emerged this year as perhaps the most unstable country in Central Asia.

Akayev, who arrived in the United States on September 18 for a six-day tour, is scheduled to meet with US President George W. Bush and other top officials on September 23. Both US and Kyrgyz officials say Akayev’s talks with American leaders will focus on expanding strategic cooperation. Over the past year, Kyrgyzstan along with Uzbekistan have developed into the chief US allies in Central Asia in the anti-terrorism campaign. About 2,000 anti-terrorism coalition troops are now based at Bishkek’s Manas Airport, out of which American warplanes fly support missions for ongoing operations in Afghanistan.

Already, Washington is prepared to double the amount of aid given to Kyrgyzstan in 2003, compared with this year’s level, US Ambassador John O’Keefe told journalists in Bishkek on September 17. Some Kyrgyz media outlets anticipate that Bush will press Akayev to expand the American mandate covering the Bishkek air base. Kyrgyz officials have gone on record as saying the Manas facility can only be used for missions over Afghanistan. The Bush administration may want Kyrgyz permission to utilize the base for potential strikes against Iraq. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].

As the Kyrgyz-US strategic relationship has grown stronger, the Central Asian country’s domestic stability has markedly deteriorated, observers say. Opposition protests have steadily gathered force since a March riot in the southern Ak-Sui district left five protestors dead. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Human rights advocates add that the government has increasingly acted to curtail basic rights, including freedom of expression.

“This has been a record bad year for human rights in Kyrgyzstan,” said Rachel Denber, the Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia division. “This also happens to be the first year that Kyrgyzstan has meant something to the United States. Previously, Kyrgyzstan could be regarded as a political backwater.”

Denber and other rights observers note that US criticism of the Kyrgyz government’s domestic practices has become more restrained since the start of the anti-terrorism campaign. Whereas Washington sharply rebuked Akayev for rigged presidential elections in 2000, US criticism of the Kyrgyz government’s current behavior towards its political opponents – including the jailing of opposition leader Feliks Kulov – has been muted. Such silence on rights abuses undermines the US goal of stabilizing the region, rights advocates contend.

Human Rights Watch and other international organizations are calling on President Bush to raise rights issues during his meeting with Akayev, specifically the government’s attempted crackdown on the political opposition. Failure to do so, they say, could exacerbate tensions in the country. “If they [US officials] miss this opportunity, it will send all the wrong messages,” Denber said.

“The biggest obstacle to security is the arbitrary and unaccountable behavior that the Kyrgyz government engages in,” Denber continued. “The more the United States indulges the Kyrgyz government … the less incentive the Kyrgyz government has to reform and the more it will play towards instability.”

Several opposition newspapers in Bishkek expressed hope that Kulov might be freed in advance of Akayev’s visit to the United States. That didn’t happen, but, shortly before Akayev’s departure, the government did recall a controversial piece of legislation that would have banned political protests for an initial three-month period. At the same time, Akayev is promoting constitutional reform that would significantly strengthen executive authority.

Opposition political forces, primarily based in southern Kyrgyzstan, are vigorously resisting government efforts to expand its powers, engaging in protest marches and other acts of civil disobedience, such as blocking the main north-south highway. Overall popular discontent is widespread in the south, as many accuse Akayev of neglecting their region at the expense of northern Kyrgyzstan. Southerners are also upset with the government for failing to accept blame for the Ak-Sui shootings and to punish the security officials responsible for the incident.

The US reluctance to criticize Akayev over the Ak-Sui riot and its aftermath has tarnished Washington’s image in the eyes of many inhabitants in southern Kyrgyzstan. The United States is increasingly seen as a supporter of the government’s despotic practices, according to local media accounts.

One opposition leader, Azimbek Beknazarov, told the ResPublica newspaper on September 17 that his “position toward America will change” if Akayev is received well in America. A recent article in Argumenty I Fakty v Kyrgyzstane, a Kyrgyz version of the Russian periodical, offered another indicator of spreading anti-American opinion. The article cited “widely circulating rumors” that Washington had secured Kyrgyz government permission to use Manas airport by enriching the ruling elite.

Many Kyrgyz suspect that Akayev and his family are using the strategic alliance with the United States to benefit financially. In July, Akayev admitted that a company controlled by his son-in-law, Adil Toigonbayev, held the concession to sell jet fuel to anti-terrorism coalition forces at Manas. The coalition has spent over $13 million on jet fuel since it established its presence at Manas last December, according to media estimates.

Editor’s Note: Baktygul Aliev, a freelance journalist based in Bishkek, provided reporting for this article.