During his visit to southern Jambyl Province on June 9, Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov said that authorities must protect Kazakh farmers from Kyrgyz manipulation of water supplies by constructing reservoirs in the area, downstream from Kyrgyzstan.
“If they put pressure on us, we must be on the safe side regarding water issues,” he said.
Bektur Asanov, the acting governor of Jalal-Abad province, said the death – at the hands of “gangsters” – shows that the Bakiyev family has lost the support of criminal networks.
A number of high-profile figures with criminal ties were killed following the so-called Tulip Revolution in 2005. Analysts say southern criminal groups are fighting for control of lucrative industries, including the drug trade, in the wake of Bakiyev's ouster.
Azimbek Beknazarov, the interim government’s first deputy for justice, suggested the murder could be linked to another prominent Uzbek businessman in Jalal-Abad, Black Aibek's nemesis Kadyrjan Batyrov.
Batyrov is wanted for his role in the May violence.
Some of the animals were moved to Karakol, four hours from Jalal-Abad, to an animal protection center. The center has requested food to sustain the creatures.
The last public zoo in Kyrgyzstan closed 10 years ago.
Local authorities and NGOs staged a rally in Osh on May 27 to promote tolerance in southern Kyrgyzstan, recently the scene of ethnic violence. The region is home to a large ethnic Uzbek minority. Several hundred took part in the peaceful procession.
“Ordinary people -- Kyrgyz and Uzbeks -- don’t need and don’t want any war or clashes,” one demonstrator said. “It is the politicians who manipulate us, the ordinary people,” said another.
The Dostuk Jurushu (Procession of Friendship) lasted for about two hours. Most participants were ethnic Kyrgyz.
Bearing placards reading, “Our aim is friendship and unity,” and “Love for the motherland comes from your heart,” young participants shouted “Birimdik,” “Yntymak” and “Tynchtyk” (Unity, Friendship and Peace). Activists in Batken held a similar rally.
Some participants sacrificed animals and prayed for peace.
Three of the four top members of Kyrgyzstan’s interim government are bringing their mutual hatred into the public arena following a bugging scandal last week.
Almazbek Atambayev, the deputy-chairman for economic affairs, has confirmed that recordings of his voice in compromising telephone conversations are authentic.
“I want an investigation according to the law. If I am guilty, handcuff and put me in prison,” he told a press briefing on May 23. He blamed foreign intelligence agencies for creating the recordings.
The conversations were posted on YouTube on May 19, discrediting several top figures in Kyrgyzstan’s interim government.
In a talk with Azimbek Beknazarov, first deputy for judicial and legal reforms, the later accused Atambayev of selling the country’s top customs job for $400,000.
Arriving on a flight from Moscow yesterday, officers of the Kyrgyz security service (GSNB) detained Communist Party leader Iskhak Masaliev at the Bishkek airport. The ensuing fiasco has fueled rumors that the Kremlin is behind ongoing instability in Kyrgyzstan.
Within hours, a group of former parliamentarians arrived at the GSNB headquarters, rushed into the building, encircled Masaliev, and drove him away, he said. He later gave a press conference at the news agency 24.kg.
“Why does everybody think that if a politician or an official visits Moscow, the matter is about a change of power?” Masaliev said after his release, claiming he went to Moscow to meet with communist leaders there.
In the days before President Kurmanbek Bakiyev fled on April 7, several opposition leaders visited the Kremlin.
Since Bakiyev's ouster and the interim government abolished his parliament, Masaliev had been agitating for a legal transfer of power, becoming a frequent critic of the interim government.
