Uzbek citizen killed on Kyrgyz-Uzbek border

An Uzbek citizen has been shot dead near the Airybaz checkpoint on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border.

Cholponbek Turusbekov, the deputy chairman of Kyrgyzstan's Border Guard Service, told RFE-RL that Kyrgyz border guards opened fire today at a vehicle that ignored their demand to stop and continued across the border, which is in the southwestern Batken region. The car's driver was killed.

Turusbekov said the Border Guard Service has set up a special commission to investigate the incident and the results will be made public when it is completed.

Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentarians to visit Indonesia between April 26 and 30

Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentarians to visit Indonesia between April 26 and 30, it became known at the meeting of the speaker of Kyrgyz parliament Zainidin Kurmanov and Ambassador of Indonesia Shakhril Sabaruddin.

Indonesian Ambassador finishes his diplomatic mission in Kyrgyzstan.

Issues of made activities and further bilateral cooperation have been discussed at the meeting. Also Indonesian Ambassador on behalf of speaker of parliament of Indonesia Marzuki Alie has invited Kyrgyz side to pay official visit to Indonesia.

Kyrgyzstan: Holbrooke reveals Manas base renewal discussions underway

US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, says Kyrgyzstan will continue to lease Manas Transit Center to the US military.

The agreement, which is valid for a year, was signed after much diplomatic wrangling in July 2009. Under the new terms, the United States reportedly is paying $60 million for the facility, a massive increase on the $17-million annual fee it paid previously.

"We will renew the arrangements in the next few weeks, and I wanted to launch that process. We’ve very grateful to the Kyrgyz’s Government for that support," Holbrooke said at a State Department press briefing on March 2.

Commenting on his recent whistle-stop tour of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, Holbrooke added he had discussed Northern Distribution Network-related issues with the leaders of all four states, including over-flight rights for military cargos with Kazakhstan.

Issues of migration in Central Asia be discussed in Bishkek

UN House in Bishkek held discussions on a draft of a new regional program of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNIFEM on labor migration in Central Asia, funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), which will be implemented in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Russia 2010-2013. The discussion was also attended by representatives of the Association “Zamandash”.

This program is aimed at addressing problems in the field of labor migration, which plays an important role in reducing poverty in the countries of Central Asia.

The program also emphasizes the solution of related problems such as inefficient migration problem in the region, the lack of a coordinated collection of information on this issue, inadequate laws and policies on labor migration and high levels of discrimination and xenophobia for migrant workers from Central Asia.

Kyrgyz Human Rights activist reported missing

Kyrgyz human rights activist Nematillo Botakoziev has been reported missing in Dushanbe.

Botakoziev, 42, has not been seen since February 26 when he was at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Dushanbe applying for refugee status.

Botakoziev had applied for UNHCR protection after reportedly being repeatedly harassed by police in the southern Kyrgyz town of Nookat since 2004.

He said he was being persecuted by the police because of issues related to his Uzbek wife, Mavlyuda Abdulazizova, who had been sentenced more than a decade ago in Uzbekistan on charges of attempting to overthrow the government.

She was pardoned in July 1999 and fled to Kyrgyzstan, where she met and married Botakoziev.

In September 2008, Nookat residents attacked the local administration building to protest an official refusal to allow a public celebration of the Muslim holiday of Eid. Botakoziev was accused of organizing the protest and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He fled to Tajikistan and denies any involvement in the protest.

Botakoziev was also an associate of Kyrgyz journalist Alisher Saipov, who was shot dead in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh in 2007.

Kyrgyz police get suspended sentences in journalist's death

Two Kyrgyz policemen found guilty of beating a journalist so badly that he later died have been given suspended sentences.

A court in the southern region of Osh found Shukurbek Nurmatov and Kurgazy Batyrbek-uulu guilty of abuse of authority and inflicting bodily harm on independent journalist Almaz Tashiev on July 4, 2009.

Tashiev died in the hospital six days later.

Nurmatov and Batyrbek-uulu were given five-year prison sentences, but they were suspended.

Tashiev, 32, worked for the independent newspaper "Agym" (Stream).

Three other police officers are being investigated for their suspected involvement in the attack. Tashiev's relatives said some 14 police officers participated in the incident.

Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan: Establishment of the Customs Union will contribute to Kyrgyz-Russia relations

 “Establishment of the Customs Union will make a novelty in the Kyrgyz-Russia relations” said the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Daniyar Usenov at the session of Kyrgyz-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on trade-economic, scientific-technical and humanitarian cooperation, which took place  on February 27 in Moscow.

According to D.Usenov, Kyrgyzstan supports the establishment of a Customs Union, Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. "On behalf of President of Kyrgyzstan we elaborate on the opportunities in the future, the entry of Kyrgyzstan in the Customs Union, and become a party to a common economic space", added D. Usenov.

As the co-chairman of the Intergovernmental Commission of Russia, Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko has noted that the decision on the accession of Kyrgyzstan in the Customs Union should be preceded by hard work and study all the possible consequences of this step.

Kyrgyzstan launches a single program of the United Nations

Press conference on the launch of the Single Program of the UN in Kyrgyzstan has been held on March 2, 2010 in the UN house in Bishkek.

This program is a basis for planning and response of the UN system to the impact of energy and food insecurity, as well as the global economic crisis on the most vulnerable segments of the population, reports UNDP office in Bishkek.

One program is based on those commitments that were made within the current frameworks to promote the development of the country by the UN system and is aimed at supporting projects in the following areas: social services, food security, agriculture, energy, environment and risk management.
 
The press conference will be attended by the First Deputy Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov, Deputy Head of the Central Agency for Development, Investment and Innovation Azamat Dikambaev, UN Resident Coordinator in the Kyrgyz Republic Neal Walker and the UNICEF Representative Tim Schaffter.

Kyrgyz opposition parties call for ex-minister's release

Two Kyrgyz opposition parties have declared their support for calls to release former Defense Minister Ismail Isakov from prison.

Erk (Liberty) party leader Yuruslan Istanov told RFE-RL on February 25 that "people's patience has reached a critical point."
He added that if the government continues to ignore widespread demands from rights activists, former colleagues, and other supporters to free Isakov, the opposition may demand President Kurmanbek Bakiev's resignation.
The Ata-Meken (Fatherland) party also announced that it supports the campaign to have Isakov released.

Hundreds of Isakov's supporters have staged protests and hunger strikes in Bishkek and Isakov's home district of Alai since he was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to eight years in prison on January 11.
Isakov was a close associate of Bakiev and was appointed defense minister shortly after the 2005 Tulip Revolution that brought Bakiev to power. Isakov was named National Security Council secretary in May 2008.
Five months later he resigned and joined the opposition. Isakov and his supporters say the charges against him are politically motivated.

All information based on the newswire of the Zpress.kg news agency