KYRGYZ OPPOSITION MP SAYS GOVERNMENT PREPARED TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 000254 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL KG SUBJECT: KYRGYZ OPPOSITION MP SAYS GOVERNMENT PREPARED TO USE VIOLENCE REF: A. BISHKEK 235 ¶B. BISHKEK 221 ¶C. BISHKEK 206 BISHKEK 00000254 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: DCM Lee Litzenberger, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. Opposition MP Bakyt Beshimov told the DCM that the government was prepared to use "extreme violence" against the opposition, and he was concerned that Kyrgyz security forces would provoke incidents during the opposition's planned nationwide demonstrations on March 27 (Ref A). Beshimov said that leaders of several opposition parties had agreed to form a "united front" for the July 23 presidential election, but they had not yet settled on a candidate. He predicted that the ruling Ak Jol party may not nominate President Bakiyev at its April 11 party congress, but would instead support the President's brother Janysh or "someone else" as its candidate. Beshimov posited that Sadyrkulov had been killed because he had "kompromat" on Bakiyev and others in the administration. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Bakyt Beshimov, leader of the opposition Social Democrat party (SDPK) faction in Parliament, told the DCM during a March 26 meeting that he feared the Kyrgyz government was prepared to use "extreme violence" against the opposition. He blamed President Bakiyev's brother Janysh, who heads the Presidential Security Service, for the tack toward violence. Beshimov claimed that Janysh had brought in a half-dozen or so "professional killers from Russia," to assassinate opposition leaders. Beshimov also claimed that the government has brought to the capital 500 "sportsmeni" (thugs),to provoke an incident at the March 27 opposition rally in Bishkek. Following several recent beatings, journalists were now afraid to report on issues connected to the upcoming presidential election, and NGO's were afraid to speak up for voters' rights, Beshimov said. ¶3. (C) Beshimov said that Janysh was targeting him, trying to discredit him and remove him as leader of the SDPK in Parliament. Beshimov said the newspaper, "Tribuna," which Janysh controls, published an article claiming Beshimov was a "U.S. spy," and 50,000 copies were distributed in Beshimov's home district in southern Kyrgyzstan. (Note: Most Kyrgyz newspapers print only a few thousand copies. End Note.) Beshimov also said that Janysh had pressured or compromised seven (out of eleven) SDPK MPs, in an effort to have them vote out Beshimov as faction leader. All seven either have family members in jail or face criminal court cases against their businesses, giving Janysh leverage over them. ¶4. (C) Beshimov was concerned that government security forces would provoke violence during the opposition's planned nationwide demonstrations on March 27. Regarding the rally planned for Bishkek's Gorky Park, Beshimov said the opposition planned to hold a peaceful protest, with speeches lasting from the 11:00 am start until 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon. (Note: The opposition has received permission to hold the rally in Gorky Park, but the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs warned that the police would use force if the protesters tried to move from the designated venue. End Note.) ¶5. (C) Beshimov said he and several other opposition leaders had agreed to present a "united front" in the upcoming presidential election. He said they would identify their candidate "before April 15" but would not yet announce the name publicly. Beshimov said that "three or four" opposition leaders would register to run, so that the government could direct all of its pressure against a single opponent. Beshimov said that he and SPDK chairman, former Prime Minister Almaz Atambayev, were being considered as potential candidates. BISHKEK 00000254 002.2 OF 002 ¶6. (C) Beshimov speculated that President Bakiyev's Ak Jol party may not nominate Bakiyev to run for a second term. Beshimov said he thought that the April 11 Ak Jol party congress could nominate Janysh instead, "or perhaps someone else." (Comment: There have been persistent rumors in Bishkek that because of failing health, President Bakiyev would step aside in favor of his brother. While not impossible, this scenario still seems to us unlikely. End Comment.) ¶7. (C) Asked about the recent death of former Presidential Chief of Staff Medet Sadyrkulov in a suspicious car accident (Ref C),Beshimov said that after the decision to hold early presidential elections, Sadyrkulov had become a liability to the Bakiyev family. Beshimov said that Janysh had argued to the President that Sadyrkulov was corrupt and associated too closely with Bakiyev's son Maksim, who controls a number of businesses in Kyrgyzstan, and who is unpopular. Janysh also argued that Sadyrkulov's ties to Kazakhstan made him unpopular, especially in the south of Kyrgyzstan. While this may have been reason enough to remove him from the administration in January, the reason Sadyrkulov was killed was that he had "kompromat" on the Bakiyev family, which could have been used during the campaign. ¶8. (C) Beshimov was concerned about his family's safety. He said his wife recently tried to drive to Kazakhstan, but was held up by Kyrgyz officials for over an hour at the border, while officials searched the car thoroughly and checked all the papers several times over. She called Beshimov from the border, who told her to turn around and come back to Bishkek. Beshimov said he plans to travel to the United States within the next couple months, and before June 25, when he expects the "real campaign" to begin. In addition to attending his son's graduation from Harvard, he plans to have meetings with academics and other contacts, and hopes to meet with USG officials in Washington as well. GFOELLER