Latest news with #Japarov
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Kyrgyzstan court sentences ex-leader Atambayev to 11 years in absentia
A court in Kyrgyzstan has sentenced in absentia exiled former President Almazbek Atambayev to more than 11 years in prison on charges of corruption and participating in mass unrest in the Central Asian country. Atambayev's conviction and sentencing came on Tuesday after the country's Supreme Court ordered a retrial of an earlier lower court conviction. In a new case, a court found him guilty of illicit enrichment, illegally acquiring land, and of participating in mass unrest in August 2019, when resistance to a special forces operation to arrest him left one person dead and many injured, Kyrgyz media reported on Wednesday. Atambayev, president from 2011 to 2017, oversaw the republic's first peaceful handover of power between elected presidents, but troubles mounted after he quickly fell out with his hand-picked successor. Kyrgyzstan has been rocked by political turmoil, having seen three revolutions since it gained independence with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Atambayev was first arrested in a chaotic raid of his residence in August 2019, then temporarily freed amid a 2020 revolution, only to be rearrested months was eventually released from prison in 2023 on health grounds, travelled to Spain for medical treatment, and has lived abroad since. Kyrgyzstan's current president, Sadyr Japarov, said on Wednesday he would 'consider granting amnesty' to Atambayev if he requested it. 'Six years have passed since the events. The situation has calmed down. I think the court could have been less harsh,' Japarov told the Kabar official news agency. Japarov came to power as a result of the 2020 revolution. The country had long been seen as one of the freest and most democratic in Central Asia, a region characterised by autocratic regimes. But in recent years, rights groups have criticised democratic backsliding and an escalating crackdown on independent civil society and media outlets.
The Sun
6 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Kyrgyzstan sentences exiled former president to 11 years in absentia
BISHKEK: A court in Kyrgyzstan has sentenced in absentia an exiled former president to more than 11 years in jail, on charges of corruption and participating in mass unrest in the Central Asian country. Almazbek Atambayev, president from 2011 to 2017, oversaw the republic's first peaceful handover of power between elected presidents, but troubles mounted after he quickly fell out with his hand-picked successor. Kyrgyzstan has been rocked by political turmoil, having seen three revolutions since it gained independence with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Atambayev was first arrested in a chaotic raid of his residence in August 2019, then temporarily freed amid a 2020 revolution only to be re-arrested months later. He was eventually released from prison in 2023 on health grounds, travelled to Spain for medical treatment, and has lived abroad ever since. In a new case, a court found him guilty of illicit enrichment, illegally acquiring land and of participating in mass unrest in August 2019, when resistance to a special forces operation to arrest him left one person dead and many injured, Kyrgyz media reported Wednesday. It sentenced him in absentia to 11 and a half years. Kyrgyzstan's current president Sadyr Japarov said Wednesday he would 'consider granting amnesty' to Atambayev, if he requested it. 'Six years have passed since the events. The situation has calmed down. I think the court could have been less harsh,' Japarov told the Kabar official news outlet. Japarov came to power as a result of the 2020 revolution. The country had long been seen as one of the freest and most democratic in Central Asia, a region characterised by autocratic regimes. But in recent years rights groups have criticised democratic backsliding, and an escalating crackdown on independent civil society and media outlets.
Asharq Al-Awsat
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Less Soviet, More Inspiring: Kyrgyzstan Seeks New Anthem
Kyrgyzstan is getting rid of its Soviet-inspired national anthem and has launched an unprecedented public contest to find an alternative. The mountainous Central Asian country adopted a new anthem in 1992 after independence from the USSR but it is largely based on the Soviet-era one. The government says the anthem fails to accurately represent the young nation descending from the ancient history of the nomadic Kyrgyz people. The Kyrgyz were incorporated into first then Tsarist and then the Soviet empires and the country still retains a strong Russian influence. "Winning this competition would be a huge success," said Balasaguyn Musayev, a 36-year-old composer and one of hundreds who have submitted entries for a new national anthem. Speaking during a rehearsal at the music conservatory in the capital Bishkek, Musayev said it took him a month to find inspiration and then he "wrote the music in two days". A poet friend wrote the text. "The new anthem must be better than the previous one in every way. Otherwise people will wonder why we changed it," Musayev told AFP. The winner of the contest was due to have been announced in April but the contest rules were modified and it is now unclear when an announcement could be expected. Soliciting ideas from the public is a rarity in Central Asia, where Kyrgyzstan's more competitive political system is an exception among its authoritarian neighbors. On a global scale, a complete change of the national anthem without a radical change of the political regime is also exceptional. In recent years, Australia, Austria and Canada have replaced some words in their anthems to promote greater inclusivity. Kyrgyzstan's unusual decision is part of a series of measures to overhaul state symbols taken by President Sadyr Japarov, who has been in power since 2021. Following a constitutional reform in 2021 that strengthened his powers, Japarov changed the sun on the Kyrgyz flag at the end of 2023 so that it no longer resembled a sunflower, arguing that this would strengthen national sovereignty. He has achieved a number of successes in his time in office including boosting economic growth and fighting corruption but rights groups are concerned about growing pressures on civil society. Japarov has said that the anthem's lyrics about the Kyrgyz people being "on the road to freedom" does not reflect the country's historic reality after more than three decades of independence. "Are we going to sing for another hundred years that we have just become independent? We have a state in our own right now, and we need to write an anthem that will inspire young people and future generations," he said last year. Officials have also been critical of the current anthem for other reasons. Parliament speaker Nurlanbek Shakiyev said it was so bad that "birds fly away" when they hear it. He said the next one should "stimulate the country towards development" and be "easy to sing". But Nurzhyguit Moldoyar, a 25-year-old composer and vocalist who has also submitted an entry, said the current one was already "a masterpiece". "The bar is very high," he said, adding that he would not have wanted to change the anthem. He said he hoped the winner would be selected based on "the feelings felt when listening to it, the musical novelties and sincerity".
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Less Soviet, more inspiring: Kyrgyzstan seeks new anthem
Kyrgyzstan is getting rid of its Soviet-inspired national anthem and has launched an unprecedented public contest to find an alternative. The mountainous Central Asian country adopted a new anthem in 1992 after independence from the USSR but it is largely based on the Soviet-era one. The government says the anthem fails to accurately represent the young nation descending from the ancient history of the nomadic Kyrgyz people. The Kyrgyz were incorporated into first then Tsarist and then the Soviet empires and the country still retains a strong Russian influence. "Winning this competition would be a huge success," said Balasaguyn Musayev, a 36-year-old composer and one of hundreds who have submitted entries for a new national anthem. Speaking during a rehearsal at the music conservatory in the capital Bishkek, Musayev said it took him a month to find inspiration and then he "wrote the music in two days". A poet friend wrote the text. "The new anthem must be better than the previous one in every way. Otherwise people will wonder why we changed it," Musayev told AFP. The winner of the contest was due to have been announced in April but the contest rules were modified and it is now unclear when an announcement could be expected. - 'State in our own right' - Soliciting ideas from the public is a rarity in Central Asia, where Kyrgyzstan's more competitive political system is an exception among its authoritarian neighbours. On a global scale, a complete change of the national anthem without a radical change of the political regime is also exceptional. In recent years, Australia, Austria and Canada have replaced some words in their anthems to promote greater gender and ethnic inclusivity. Kyrgyzstan's unusual decision is part of a series of measures to overhaul state symbols taken by President Sadyr Japarov, who has been in power since 2021. Following a constitutional reform in 2021 that strengthened his powers, Japarov changed the sun on the Kyrgyz flag at the end of 2023 so that it no longer resembled a sunflower, arguing that this would strengthen national sovereignty. He has achieved a number of successes in his time in office including boosting economic growth and fighting corruption but rights groups are concerned about growing pressures on civil society. Japarov has said that the anthem's lyrics about the Kyrgyz people being "on the road to freedom" does not reflect the country's historic reality after more than three decades of independence. "Are we going to sing for another hundred years that we have just become independent? We have a state in our own right now, and we need to write an anthem that will inspire young people and future generations," he said last year. Officials have also been critical of the current anthem for other reasons. Parliament speaker Nurlanbek Shakiyev said it was so bad that "birds fly away" when they hear it. He said the next one should "stimulate the country towards development" and be "easy to sing". But Nurzhyguit Moldoyar, a 25-year-old composer and vocalist who has also submitted an entry, said the current one was already "a masterpiece". "The bar is very high," he said, adding that he would not have wanted to change the anthem. He said he hoped the winner would be selected based on "the feelings felt when listening to it, the musical novelties and sincerity". aj-bk/dt/giv
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kyrgyz leader Japarov gets parliament to reset election date
By Aigerim Turgunbaeva BISHKEK (Reuters) - Kyrgyzstan's President Sadyr Japarov has persuaded parliament to push back the date of the next election by several months, in an indication he may be turning his thoughts towards running for a second term. At Japarov's request, lawmakers on Wednesday passed a bill to hold the next presidential vote on January 24, 2027, instead of October 18, 2026. This would ensure he serves the full six years of his mandate, which analysts said suggested he was thinking about extending his presidency. If he ran again and won, Japarov, 56, would be the first Kyrgyz president in two decades to secure a second term. Since long-serving ruler Askar Akayev was toppled in 2005, two other presidents, including Japarov's immediate predecessor, have been ousted in revolutions. "He hasn't said it himself yet, but both by law and by the state of affairs in the country, it would probably make sense for him to run for a second term. Some of his team have said he's expected to do this," political scientist Emil Juraev told Reuters. Japarov, who as an opposition politician was jailed between 2017 and 2020, swept to power that year on the back of protests against alleged fraud in a parliamentary election. He won a snap presidential election in January 2021. The nationalist politician has brought Kyrgyzstan's once chaotic political scene under his firm control, including through populist moves like the 2021 nationalisation of the Kumtor gold mine, one of Central Asia's largest. This year he signed a border deal to end a conflict with neighbouring Tajikistan. Traditionally the most democratic of the five Central Asian states that emerged from the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan has in recent years become more aligned with its authoritarian neighbours. Under Japarov, Kyrgyzstan has introduced a law against so-called "foreign agents" along the lines of Russian legislation, whilst also shuttering several independent media outlets. Parliament - to which elections are due in November - is dominated by parties loyal to the president. The mostly Muslim country of 7 million people has close ties with Russia, where many of its citizens migrate for work. It also hosts several Russian military bases. Since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, trade data show that Kyrgyzstan has become a key backdoor route for goods from the European Union to enter Russia, bypassing sanctions against Moscow. Kyrgyz lender Keremet Bank was placed under U.S. sanctions in January. Analysts say Kyrgyzstan is also a major conduit for Chinese products such as ball bearings, which have both civilian and military uses, to enter Russia.
