From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Mon Apr 15 2002 - 09:37:41 EDT
RFE/RL KYRGYZ NEWS
13 APRIL 2002, SATURDAY
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A Daily Review of News from Kyrgyzstan
1. Round table between authorities and opposition could be held in May.
2. Leaders of opposition parties ignore the 13 April meeting.
3. People congress and people forum would be held next week separately.
4. Local residents elect deputies to the public congress.
5. Representative of the League for Human Rights in Bishkek.
6. Supporters of Feliks Kulov demand his release.
7. Pensioners organization collects signatures against raise of tariffs.
8. Minimal salary in Kyrgyzstan is 13 times less than a subsistence level.
9. Eleven thousand tons of aid delivered to Afghanistan from Kyrgyzstan.
10. China makes investments to the Chui Province.
1. ROUND TABLE BETWEEN AUTHORITIES AND OPPOSITION. A round table
discussion between the authorities and opposition could be held
in Bishkek late in May. Representatives of the government and
some non-governmental organizations agreed on it at a meeting on
13 April. State Secretary Osmonakun Ibraimov was elected to head
the organization committee and ten representatives of other
organizations were included in it. Tolekan Ismailova and Edil
Baisalov of the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society,
Chairman of the Human Rights Movement of Kyrgyzstan Tursunbek
Akunov, Deputy of Parliament Akylbek Japarov, chairman of the
"Journalists" society Kuban Mambetaliev and others have become
members of the committee.
First Vice Prime Minister Nikolai Tanaev, head of the
presidential administration Amanbek Karypkulov, secretary of the
Security Council Misir Ashyrkulov, director of the National
Security Service Kalyk Imankulov as well as head of the OSCE
Bishkek office Aidyn Idil, and deputies of parliament Ismail
Isakov, Ishenbai Kadyrbekov and Adaham Madumarov took part in
the 13 April meeting.
2. LEADERS OF OPPOSITION PARTIES IGNORE THE 13 APRIL MEETING.
Leaders of the main opposition parties did not come to the
meeting with government representatives on 13 April. According
to them, the government must admit its mistakes and punish those
responsible for the bloodshed in Aksy in mid-March.
Representatives of the 11 parties, including the Ar-Namys, Ata-
Meken, People, and Communist parties, were invited to the
meeting.
3. PEOPLE CONGRESS AND PEOPLE FORUM WOULD BE HELD NEXT WEEK
SEPARATELY. Representatives of the non-governmental
organizations, participated in the 13 April meeting, did not
agree to combine the people congress and the people forum to be
held in Bishkek next week. State Secretary Osmonakun Ibraimov
told the organizers of the congress to combine the two events,
otherwise, according to him, the congress would be an unlawful
meeting, but other participants rejected it saying it would turn
the event into ordinary talk without concrete result.
Tolekan Ismailova, leader of the coalition of non-governmental
organizations, put a several conditions for a joint congress -
the government must cancel the decree number 20, adopted on 14
January and which restricts press freedom in the country, the
president must sign a new law on parliamentary immunity and a
law on ombudsman should be adopted soon. After the arrest of
Deputy Azimbek Beknazarov by local authorities in January, the
parliament passed a law on parliamentary immunity, but President
Askar Akayev vetoed it.
Deputy Ismail Isakov said he does not trust the state commission
on the Aksy events, because a lot of government officials,
responsible for the deaths of innocent people, are members of
the commission and demanded to arrest them. Deputy Adaham
Madumarov said the government organizes the forum especially to
make obstacle to the congress and that the forum is a lawful
event in the same extends as the congress. Deputy Ishenbai
Kadyrbekov said the public congress would be held in an y case.
The People Congress, which unites the four opposition parties,
announced in March, just after the bloody events in Aksy, it
would organize on 17-18 April a public congress to discuss
causes of the bloodshed and to form a public court to try those
responsible for it. The People Assembly of Kyrgyzstan, which
unites ethnic communities of the country, and the Association of
Non-Commercial Organizations announced in Bishkek on 11 April
that they organize the people forum "Peace and Concord are a
Basis for Society Development" on 16 April.
4. LOCAL RESIDENTS ELECT DEPUTIES TO THE PUBLIC CONGRESS.
Residents of the mountainous Naryn province held a meeting in
Naryn on 13 April and elected three deputies to the public
congress, to be held in Bishkek on 17-18 April. According to the
meeting participants, the officials, ordered police to kill
peaceful demonstrators, must be punished. Residents of the
Baitik village in the Alamedin district of the northern Chui
Province elected on 13 April ten deputies to the congress. The
same day, residents of the Karakol town, center of the Issyk-Kul
Province, elected seven deputies to the public congress.
5. REPRESENTATIVE OF THE LEAGUE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN BISHKEK.
Representative of the New York based International League for
Human Rights Peter Zalmaev is in Kyrgyzstan now meeting with
human rights activists and opposition politicians. Chairman of
the Guild of Prisoners of Conscious Topchubek Turgunaliev told
RFE/RL correspondent on 13 April that Zalmaev had a meeting with
him, Deputy Azimbek Beknazarov and chief editor of the Res
Publica weekly Zamira Sydykova on 11 April discussing current
situation in the country and the events in Aksy, were police
killed at least five people on 17-18 March.
6. SUPPORTERS OF FELIKS KULOV DEMAND HIS RELEASE. About 150
residents of the Baitik village in the Alamedin district of the
northern Chui Province held a meeting on 13 April and adopted an
appeal to the country leadership. According to the appeal, the
criminal cases against Deputy Azimbek Beknazarov and former vice
president of the country Feliks Kulov should be closed, because
the both cases were filed on political motives, and Kulov must
be released. Head of the Alamedin district administration
Dogdurbek Kurmanaliev called the meeting illegal one.
Kulov was sentenced in January 2001 to seven years of
imprisonment being accused on power abuse several years ago. The
other trial against him is also under way now, he is accused of
embezzlement, also several years ago. Beknazarov was released on
19 March after three and a half months of detention.
7. ORGANIZATION OF PENSIONERS COLLECTS SIGNATURES AGAINST THE
RAISE OF TARIFFS. Public Organization for Social Protection of
People announced in Bishkek on 12 April that it handed the
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs its alternative program of
urgent measures to protect pensioners from the raise of tariff
rates for electricity. According to the organization, it has
already collected more than 5,000 signatures against the
governmental decision on it. The government raised tariffs by 25
percent in average starting 15 March. There are 523,000
pensioners in Kyrgyzstan now and average monthly pension is 550
soms (about $11).
Some deputies of parliament consider the governmental decision
an unlawful one. The parliamentary lower chamber passed a law on
20 May 2000 that the parliament only should approve any
decisions to increase the tariffs, but President Askar Akayev
vetoed the law draft. Later, the chamber overcame the veto but
Akayev has not signed the law into effect and the government
increases the tariff rates without consultations with the
parliament.
8. MINIMAL SALARY IN KYRGYZSTAN IS 13 TIMES LESS THAN A
SUBSISTENCE LEVEL. The AKI-Press agency reported from Bishkek on
13 April that the minimal monthly salary rate in Kyrgyzstan is
13 times less than a minimal subsistence level. The same figures
are in Kazakhstan 1.5, in Ukraine 3.0, in Belarus and Russian
6.0. Minimal salary in Kyrgyzstan is 120 soms (about $2.5) per
month.
9. ELEVEN THOUSAND TONS OF AID DELIVERED TO AFGHANISTAN FROM
KYRGYZSTAN. According to the Osh office of the UN Food Program,
2,115 tons of aid has been delivered by trucks from Osh to the
Afghan city of Faizabad since 20 March. It is planned to send
7,500 tons of aid, including 1,700 toms of wheat, by May. During
the first part of the action, about 9,000 tons of aid of the UN
Food Program were delivered from Osh to Faizabad from November
2001 till February 2002.
10. CHINA MAKES INVESTMENTS TO THE CHUI PROVINCE. Administration
of the Issyk-Ata district of the northern Chui Province
announced on 13 April that the Chinese government decided to
make 1,5-million-dollar investment into economics of the
district. The money would be used for tourism development and in
the processing industry. Last year, China gave the district $1.2
million.
(Compiled and translated by Naryn Idinov in Prague)
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Copyright (c) 2002. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
"RFE/RL Kyrgyz News" is published six days a week and is based
today on reports sent by RFE/RL Kyrgyz Service correspondents
Bubukan Dosalieva, Aziza Turdueva, Jarkyn Temirbaeva, and
Baktybek Amanbaev from Bishkek, Kojogeldi Kuluev from Osh,
Yrysbai Abdyraimov from Jalal-Abad, Damir Kalykov from Naryn,
and Sheishekan Janalieva from Karakol. Feedback should be sent
to idinovn@rferl.org
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