Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BISHKEK1767
2006-12-15 11:43:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bishkek
Cable title:  

SETTLING ACCOUNTS: OPPOSITION, NGO'S FEELING THE

Tags:  PGOV PREL KDEM KG 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BISHKEK 001767 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/15/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KG
SUBJECT: SETTLING ACCOUNTS: OPPOSITION, NGO'S FEELING THE
PRESSURE

REF: A. BISHKEK 1705

B. BISHKEK 1706

C. BISHKEK 1741

BISHKEK 00001767 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: Amb. Marie L. Yovanovitch, Reason 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BISHKEK 001767

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/15/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KG
SUBJECT: SETTLING ACCOUNTS: OPPOSITION, NGO'S FEELING THE
PRESSURE

REF: A. BISHKEK 1705

B. BISHKEK 1706

C. BISHKEK 1741

BISHKEK 00001767 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: Amb. Marie L. Yovanovitch, Reason 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: There is mounting evidence that the Kyrgyz
Government is targeting key opposition figures in retribution
for their roles in the early November anti-government
demonstrations. While President Bakiyev told Parliament
December 4 that rally participants would not be persecuted,
he also warned that government authorities would deal with
tax evasion and other issues "not related to the rally." In
fact, over the past month, opposition and NGO leaders have
complained of increased scrutiny from tax officials and, in
some cases, repeated questioning by the National Security
Service (SNB). Even opposition parliamentarians, who enjoy
some measure of immunity, have approached us with stories of
harassment, including beatings, perhaps to ensure their
protection. The apparent harassment has not been limited to
opposition leaders themselves; a prominent independent think
tank has been visited by the financial police, and in another
case, the wife of an opposition leader was arrested on tax
charges connected to her furniture business. These
developments have coincided with harassment of the local
offices of NDI, IRI, and IFES by the Prosecutor General's
office, following widespread allegations in the press that
U.S. NGOs financed the November demonstrations. END SUMMARY.

THE HEAT IS ON
--------------


2. (C) Following the opposition-led November 2-9
demonstrations that led to the compromise on a new
constitution, there have been increased reports of harassment
and personal attacks against opposition figures, local and
international NGOs. Several opposition leaders, local NGO
officials, and even MPs have spoken to us about selective
scrutiny from the tax authorities and the SNB. On December
7, the opposition For Reforms movement leaders held a press
conference at which they complained about government
harassment and citing a number of examples, including the
dismissal of two oblast governors with opposition ties;

repeated interrogation of and a break-in at the home of the
director of NTS television (NTS is owned by an opposition
MP); the detention of an opposition political party member;
and the firing of state employees who supported the November
rally.


3. (C) The SNB has repeatedly questioned several opposition
leaders who were caught on tape allegedly talking about
seizing government buildings during the November
demonstration (the scandal surrounding the tape has now been
dubbed "diskettegate"). We are aware that Deputies
Tekebayev, Sariyev, and Eshimkanov have been interrogated by
the SNB. Tekebayev has also told us that ethnic Uzbek
deputies have been beaten and pressured by SNB officers, in
an effort by the government to reassert control over the
parliament. Edil Baisalov, head of the Coalition for
Democracy and Civil Society, told us that there was nothing
incriminating in the taped conversation, that it was merely a
debate about possible tactics and responses. Baisalov said
that although some opposition members called for a forceful
takeover of the state television station, the idea was
dismissed almost immediately. Nevertheless, Baisalov thought
that the SNB would eventually use that part of the
conversation to justify their actions. He has hired a
retired SNB Colonel as his attorney in the matter. Others
have said that they are willing to cooperate in an
investigation of the conversation, but are concerned that the
SNB will soon change them from "witnesses" to objects of the
investigation. The SNB has also shown interest in their
NGOs, including Cholpon Jakupova's Adilet Legal Clinic, and

BISHKEK 00001767 002.2 OF 003


Asiya Sasykbayeva's "Interbilim" Center, requesting detailed
information about each organization's programs and complement
of staff, according to the opposition figures.


4. (C) Baisalov was assaulted and had his bag stolen in the
Osh airport on December 1. He told us that he had been
confronted earlier in the day at a meeting in Jalalabad by
purported pro-government activists, and at the time of the
assault in the airport, the airport security guard had
disappeared, an unusual occurrence. In addition, when he
tried the next day to get a copy of the airport video
surveillance tape, he was told that the tape had been lost.

TAX INVASION
--------------


5. (C) Kyrgyz tax authorities have also zeroed in on
opposition figures and their relatives. On December 4, the
wife of "For Reforms" movement coordinator Omurbek
Abdarahmanov was arrested for tax evasion, in connection with
a large furniture business owned by the Abdarahmanovs. Only
after opposition parliamentarians Omurbek Tekebayev, Bolotbek
Sherniyazov and Melis Eshimkanov came to her aid -- and the
arrest was broadcast on TV -- was she released. Two days
later, on December 6, the director of the Institute for
Public Policy (IPP) Chinara Jakypova told us that the
financial police visited her office, demanded a review of
IPP's financial documents and asked a number of pointed
questions perceived by IPP to be unrelated to financial
matters. IPP, while independent, has been critical of the
opposition, the Bakiyev administration, and the manner in
which the new constitution was drafted and adopted. NGO
leaders, like Raya Kydyrova, director of Foundation for
Tolerance International, suggested that the government is
following the Uzbek model of setting traps and exploiting
vulnerabilities based on a lack of knowledge on the part of
NGOs about certain detailed provisions of the tax code. She
noted that large, mostly Bishkek-based organizations were
able to hire accountants and lawyers to ensure compliance,
while smaller organizations would more easily fall prey to
the government's scrutiny. Kydyrova reported that repeated
questioning by the financial police has made her own
accountant worried about her job and personal security -- two
effects that reveal that the government's intimidation
tactics are working.

CIRCUMVENTING IMMUNITIES
--------------


6. (C) While the SNB and tax authorities have targeted those
without immunities, organizations connected to opposition
parliamentarians have also come under close scrutiny as well.
As a result of the increased attention, some
parliamentarians have already approached us to ensure their
story is heard by others, perhaps for protection. MP Omurbek
Babanov -- whose media outlet, NTS, broadcast the
demonstration live and had its electricity cut off during the
rally -- told us that his MVD-supplied bodyguards were
removed, despite the fact that he paid their salaries. He
has since hired private protection. Additionally, Deputy
Speaker Alymbekov detailed a murky privatization dispute to
the Ambassador, involving a minerals company in his district
that has links to President Bakiyev (see Ref C). Although
Alymbekov has not been an outspoken critic of the Bakiyev
administration, his opposition to the deal most certainly
could put him at odds with the particular factions within the
government. Opposition MP Melis Eshimkanov has complained
that his newspaper, Agim, is under attack, though this may be
related to the paper's coverage of the government electricity
company.

COMMENT
--------------

BISHKEK 00001767 003.2 OF 003




7. (C) The governments of former President Akayev and present
President Bakiyev are no strangers to putting a great deal of
pressure on their political opponents. Policy analyst and
former director of the International Institute for Strategic
Research Valentin Bogatyryov told us that "it would be
strange if they didn't do this." However, the Kyrgyz
opposition appears ready to stand up for itself. The
impression that we get is that the harder government forces
push, the sharper the reaction will be on the part of the
opposition. There are already discussions of renewed
demonstrations in the spring.


8. (C) The apparent harassment of the opposition and NGOs
through selective enforcement of the law, coupled with the
Prosecutor General's ongoing investigations into NDI, IRI,
and IFES (Ref B),raises questions about the commitment of
the government (or, more accurately, of some elements in the
government) to pursue compromise with the opposition and move
forward on democratic reforms. Following the fleeting high
point of political compromise over the new constitution, the
political atmosphere has become even more contentious than it
was previously.


9. (C) We raise the issue of apparent harassment on a
continuing basis with the government and make the point that
the law should be applied equally to all -- whether they are
supporters or opponents of the president. Selective
application of the law to the president's opponents is in and
of itself harassment. The pressure tactics that at least
some in the government are employing are, in the end,
self-defeating, as it raises the political tensions until
they boil over into the street demonstrations we have seen
for the last year and a half. Other like-minded ambassadors
and international organizations (Germans, EC, Turks, and UN)
see the same trend and have committed to the Ambassador to
raise the issue with the Kyrgyz Government. If the
harassment continues, we will recommend a formal demarche to
Kyrgyz authorities at a time when it would be most effective.
At this point, we will continue to monitor the situation
very closely.
YOVANOVITCH