Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan: Nations in Transit 2013

Published by on June 18, 2013

Freedom House 18 June 2013 Over the past decade, Kyrgyzstan has seen the return of authoritarianism and weathered two violent regime changes. In March 2005 opposition groups ousted President Askar Akayev, accusing him of centralizing political power and concentrating control over economic resources in his own hands. In April 2010 Akayev’s successor, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, was forced to flee the country because of his ruthless suppression of opposition voices and even greater levels of corruption within his regime. To prevent the emergence of another dictator, the leaders of the post-Bakiyev interim administration designed a new constitution that increased the parliament’s powers Read the full article…

Kyrgyzstan: Amnesty International Annual Report 2013

Published by on May 23, 2013

Amnesty International 23 May 2013 Torture and other ill-treatment remained pervasive throughout the country and law enforcement and judicial authorities failed to act on such allegations. The authorities continued to fail to impartially and effectively investigate the June 2010 violence and its aftermath and provide justice for the thousands of victims of serious crimes and human rights violations, including crimes against humanity. Ethnic Uzbeks continued to be targeted disproportionately for detention and prosecution in relation to the June 2010 violence. Read the full report here.

Kyrgyzstan: Freedom in the World 2013

Published by on May 9, 2013

Freedom House 9 May 2013 A new anticorruption body within the state security service began to address one of Kyrgyzstan’s most fundamental problems in 2012, but its choice of cases raised suspicions that it was pursuing President Almazbek Atambayev’s political opponents. Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov’s coalition government collapsed in August, reportedly due to disagreements with the president on the division of executive power. A new government formed in September was led by the president’s party, with an old ally, Jantoro Satybaldiyev, as prime minister. The country continued to suffer from serious flaws in the treatment of national minorities, due process, Read the full article…

Kyrgyzstan: ICRC Annual Report 2012

Published by on May 1, 2013

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) May 2013 The consequences of the interethnic clashes of 2010 continued to ease, although latent inter/intra-ethnic tensions persisted. Rampant economic difficulties, declining social protection, delays in upgrading public infrastructure and services, and unresolved land, water and border demarcation issues continued to cause hardship for the population. Political and economic interests divided parts of the country, with nationalist sentiments rising in the south and potentially fuelling existing tensions. In the first half of the year, the administration of Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov pursued its 100-day programme aimed at effecting structural changes within the government. At the end of August, Babanov was forced to resign Read the full article…

Kyrgyz Republic: 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Published by on April 19, 2013

US Department of State 19 April 2013 The Kyrgyz Republic has a parliamentary form of government intended to limit presidential power and enhance the role of parliament and the prime minister. Voters elected the parliament in 2010 and the president a year later. In the October 2011 presidential election, Almazbek Atambayev, the then prime minister, received more than 60 percent of the vote. Independent observers considered the election generally transparent and competitive, despite some irregularities. Atambayev’s election marked the first peaceful transfer of power in the country’s 20-year history. Following Atambayev’s December 2011 inauguration, parliament formed a governing coalition that Read the full article…

Kyrgyzstan: widening ethnic divisions in the south

Published by on March 29, 2012

International Crisis Group 29 March 2012 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS Kyrgyzstan’s government has failed to calm ethnic tensions in the south, which continue to grow since the 2010 violence, largely because of the state’s neglect and southern leaders’ anti-Uzbek policies. Osh, the country’s second city, where more than 420 people died in ethnic clashes in June of that year, remains dominated by its powerful mayor, an ardent Kyrgyz nationalist who has made it clear that he pays little attention to leaders in the capital. While a superficial quiet has settled on the city, neither the Kyrgyz nor Uzbek community feels Read the full article…

Homophobia Endemic in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan

Published by on February 2, 2012

Institute for War and Peace reporting, via RefWorld 2 February 2012. When Alisher’s father discovered his son was gay, he beat him with an army belt, kept him at home for a month, then sent him from Tajikistan to a religious college in Iran to “knock the nonsense out of him”. It did not end there. While in Iran, Alisher learned that his father had hired men to beat up his boyfriend, so he fled the college for Russia, where he now works on a market stall. Alisher’s story may seem extreme, but the homophobic attitudes he faced are not Read the full article…