There have been several protests already this year in Kyrgyzstan focused on allegations made against the main opposition party Ata Meken, but opinion among experts and locals about this unexpected protest were divided. Some said the arrest, the protest, and quickly-ar- ranged press conference given by the ministry of interior looked suspicious.
“The brave arrival of Sadyr Japarov with the simultaneous organisation of an assertive protest, which would certainly fail, is somewhat strange,” wrote Nurbek Toktakunov, a well- known civil activist and human rights advocate in Bishkek, on Facebook.
A Bishkek lawyer said that the organisational skills shown by the ministry of interior in staging a press conference immediately after the protest were unprecedented.
“The ministry of interior rarely gives press conferences about demonstrations. This is surprising,” he said, asking to remain anonymous.
Other analysts said that the protest may have been organised by the security services to discredit the opposition. Mr Japarov’s return was unexpected as it is unclear what he was returning for, although some said he wanted to drum up support for standing in the presidential election. He had been an MP with the now marginalised Ata Zhurt party, and had largely been forgotten during his self-imposed exile.
The state authorities had accused him in 2012 of trying to overthrow the government. He denied the charges and fled the country.
Some locals praised the police action, though.
“Unregistered protests lead to anarchy. They began to throw stones, plastic bottles and broke through the cordon,” said Daniyar, 27, a resident of Bishkek. “It was a good job our policemen took preventive measures, otherwise it would be chaos.”
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)
