SHUFFLES IN KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT BRING NO NEW FACES

C O N F I D E N T I A L BISHKEK 000546 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN - GEHRENBECK E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/27/2018 TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL KDEM KG SUBJECT: SHUFFLES IN KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT BRING NO NEW FACES REF: A. BISHKEK 545 ¶B. IIR 6 955 0179 08 Classified By: DCM Lee Litzenberger, for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: In the past week, President Bakiyev has shuffled personnel in several key positions, including at the Ministry of Defense. Following the May 20 forced early retirement of First Deputy Minister of Defense Oruzbayev (Ref B),Bakiyev named Minister of Defense Isakov as Secretary of the Security Council, replacing him as Minister with the chief of the State Guard Service (also referred to as the Presidential Protective Service),Lt. Gen. Kalyev. Bakiyev also named parliamentarian Elmira Ibraimova as Vice Prime Minister, replacing Dosbol Nur uulu, who has moved on to fill the vacant State Secretary post. Although the changes came as a surprise, there were no new faces -- and all are thought to be Bakiyev loyalists. End Summary. ¶2. (U) By May 26, the following Cabinet-level appointments were made by presidential decree: --Lt. Gen. Ismail Isakov was appointed Secretary of the Security Council. Isakov had been Minister of Defense from March 25, 2005 until his appointment to the Security Council. --Lt. Gen. Tokon Mamytov, who had been Security Council Secretary since April 2007, was named "President's State Advisor." --Gen. Maj. Bakytbek Kalyev was appointed Minister of Defense. Kaylev had served as Chief of the State Guard Service from 2006 until his appointment as minister. --Elmira Ibraimova was appointed Vice Prime Minister with responsibility for social issues. Ibraimova had been serving as the Ak Jol party leader in parliament. Prior to serving in parliament, Ibraimova was the director of the World Bank-funded ARIS community development and investment program in Kyrgyzstan. Ibraimova had clashed recently with Speaker of Parliament Madumarov (Ref A),and she was replaced as party faction leader by Vice Speaker of Parliament Aziz Tursunbayev. -- Dosbol Nur uulu was named to the vacant post of State Secretary. Nur uulu had been serving as vice prime minister since February 2007, and prior to that was Minister of Education, Science, and Youth Policy. ¶3. (C) Comment: It is not clear at this point what the changes at Defense and the Security Council mean for U.S. security equities. First Deputy Minister of Defense Oruzbayev was a key interlocutor on issues of military cooperation, and bilateral military-to-military relations have been robust under Defense Minister Isakov. Both were strong supporters of the U.S.-led Coalition Airbase at Manas Airport. The Security Council under Lt. Gen. Mamytov has been the lead Kyrgyz agency for issues regarding the operation of the Manas Airbase in general and on compensation for the base in particular. Mamytov was not a strong supporter of the base. The appointment of Ibraimova as Vice Prime Minister is seen as a promotion (especially considering her background and interest in social development issues), and may be one outcome of a struggle between Speaker of Parliament Madumarov and the White House for control over the ruling Ak Jol party in parliament. Except for the possible change of Speaker (Ref A),at this point we do not know if there will be further government changes in the short term. YOVANOVITCH