Timeline Kyrgyzstan or the
Kyrgyz
Republic
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A mountainous state between China,
Kazakstan,
Uzbekistan
and Tajikistan with 4.5 million people. A land of nomads with almost
no
written history.
(SFC, 1/2/97, p.A10)
Kyrgyzstan is twice the size of the state of
Michigan
and had a population of some 4.7 million in 1999. 52%of the people
were
Kyrgyz, 21% Russian and 13% were Uzbek. The capital is Bishkek.
(MT, Spg. '99, p.5)(SSFC, 9/30/01, p.A2)
220 Million The fossil of a
birdlike reptile from this time was found in Kyrgyzstan around 1970.
The reptile was named Longisquama insignis and its evolution
appeared to precede the development of dinosaurs. The imprint of
feathers and hollow shafts related it to modern birds. The feather
imprints were later claimed to be just thick scales.
(SFC, 6/23/00, p.A1)(SFC, 11/23/00, p.A14)
c1000BC The capital city of Bishkek was founded.
(MT, Spg. ‘99, p.4)
745-840 The Uighur of eastern Turkestan formed an
empire in the north that was ended by an invasion of the Kyrgyz
peoples.
(www.gobiexpeditions.com)
c924 A 1000 year-old poem
passed down orally tells of a warrior-liberator known as Manas. The
long version is about 500,000 lines and takes 3 weeks to recite by a
professional Manas-teller.
(SFC, 1/2/97, p.A10)
1924 Stalin divided remnants of
Turkestan into the current Central Asian republics.
(SFC, 1/2/97, p.A10)
1936 Dec 5, Armenian SSR,
Azerbaijan SSR, Georgian SSR, Kazakh SSR & Kirghiz SSR became
constituent republics of Soviet Union.
(MC, 12/5/01)
1944 Mar 8, The Soviet
government celebrated International Women's Day by forcibly
deporting almost the entire Balkar population to Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan and Omsk Oblast in Siberia. Starting on 8 March and
finishing the following day, the NKVD loaded 37,713 Balkars onto 14
train echelons bound for Central Asia and Siberia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkars)
1989 Chingiz Aitmatov (b.1928),
Kyrgyzstan writer and member of the Soviet Parliament, returned home
to help mediate a conflict between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. His
novels included “The Day Lasts More Than a 100 Years” (1980).
(WSJ, 2/24/05, p.D8)
1990 Jun, In Kyrgyzstan about
300 people were killed in a violent land dispute between Kyrgyz and
Uzbeks in Osh, and only the quick deployment of Soviet troops
quelled the fighting.
(SFC, 10/21/99, p.AA5)(AP, 6/13/10)(Econ,
6/19/10, p.27)
1991 Aug 31, Uzbekistan and
Kirghizia declared their independence, raising to 10 the number of
republics seeking to secede from the Soviet Union.
(AP, 8/31/01)
1991 Dec 13, Five Central Asian
republics of the Soviet Union (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) agreed to join the new Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS) being organized by Russian President Boris
Yeltsin.
(AP,
12/13/01)(www.therussiasite.org/legal/laws/CISagreement.html)
1996 Apr 26, The Shanghai Five
grouping was created with the signing of the Treaty on Deepening
Military Trust in Border Regions in Shanghai. Boris Yeltsin and the
presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan visited Shanghai
and signed a treaty with Pres. Jiang Zemin at the Jin Jiang Hotel
that demarcated their borders with China.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Cooperation_Organisation)(WSJ,
3/5/97, p.A16)
1996 Jun 28, Pres. Askar Akayev
hoped to develop the Kumtor gold fields with the help of Cameco, a
Canadian mining firm out of Saskatchewan.
(WSJ, 6/28/96, p.A6)
1996 Dec, Pres. Askar Akayev
ordered computers for every high school in Kyrgyzstan.
(SFC, 1/2/97, p.A10)
1997 Nov, In Bishkek Hillary
Clinton dedicated a campus building at one of the country’s 43
universities. Pres. Aska Askaev had earlier received a financial
commitment of $2 million each from the Soros Foundation and the US.
(SFC, 2/20/98, p.A12)
1997 Mar 24, Prime Minister
Apas Dzhumagulov (63) resigned due to age and said new forces were
needed for reform. He was expected to be appointed as an ambassador.
(SFC, 3/25/98, p.C14)
1997 The Central Asia Regional
Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program was initiated. The 8-member
group included Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, China, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
(www.adb.org/CAREC/default.asp)
1997 Kyrgyzstan’s population
numbered about 4.5 million people.
(SFC, 1/2/97, p.A10)
1998 Apr, Kyrgyzstan became the
1st country in the region to adopt a comprehensive drugs law
including the death penalty for large-scale trafficking.
(Econ, 7/26/03, p.46-7)
1998 May 20, A truck spilled 20
tons of cyanide and forced 600 people to seek medical treatment.
3,876 pounds of cyanide leached out of the truck but did not seem to
hurt any local residents. Some fish died in the river and the water
flowed into the 113-mile-long Lake Ysyk Kol. The Cameco Corp. of
Canada ran the Kumtor gold mine and contributed some 15% of
the country’s GNP.
(WSJ, 5/28/98, p.A1)(WSJ, 11/18/98, p.A18)
1998 Dec, Zhumabek Ibraimov was
appointed Prime Minister to address the nation's economic problems.
(WSJ, 4/5/99, p.A1)
1999 cApr 4, Prime Minister
Zhumabek Ibraimov (50) died following recent surgery in Russia.
(WSJ, 4/5/99, p.A1)
1999 Aug 23, Militants (IMU)
from Tajikistan crossed into Kyrgyzstan taking hostages and claiming
control of several villages. Some 1,000 religious fighters took a
swath of land and 13 hostages that included a Kyrgyz general and 4
Japanese geologists.
(SFC, 8/24/99, p.A11)(SFC, 10/21/99, p.AA5)
1999 Aug 25, In Kyrgyzstan
Boris Yeltsin met with Jiang Zemin to forge a closer alliance to
counterbalance US global clout. The meeting preceded a 5-day Central
Asia summit.
(SFC, 8/26/99, p.A13)
1999 Sep 22, Kyrgyz jets bombed
Islamic militants near the villages of Sai and Syrt in the
mountainous Osh region. Officials claimed that 30 rebels were
killed.
(SFC, 9/24/99, p.A14)
1999 Oct 25, In Kyrgyzstan 4
Japanese geologists were freed after 2 months of captivity by the
IMU. A $2-5 million ransom was suspected.
(SFC, 10/27/99, p.A13)(WSJ, 9/24/01, p.A19)
2000 May 26, Gunmen opened fire
on a visiting Chinese delegation and one official was killed. The
visitors planned to investigate an arson attack at a Chinese market.
(SFC, 5/27/00, p.A13)
2000 Aug 12, Four American
climbers were captured by Uzbek rebels in the Karasu Valley and held
hostage for 6 days before they managed to escape.
(SFC, 8/25/00, p.A14)
2000 Aug 14, In Kyrgyzstan a
4-day clash between Islamic militants and government troops left as
many as 95 people dead. The militants were said to belong to the
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which was trying to carve out an
independent state.
(SFC, 8/15/00, p.A14)
2000 Oct 29, In Kyrgyzstan
Pres. Askar Askaev coasted to a 3rd term in flawed elections where 5
rivals were given no real chance to win. Askaev claimed 73% of the
vote.
(WSJ, 10/30/00, p.A1)(SFC, 10/31/00, p.A14)
2000 Garth Willis of St. Paul,
Minn., founded the Alpine Fund to train local Kyrgyzstan children as
mountain guides.
(SSFC, 11/24/02, p.F5)
2001 May 17, In Kyrgyzstan a
bus fell into a mountain ravine and 19 people were killed.
(SFC, 5/18/01, p.D4)
2001 Jun 15, The Shanghai Five
member nations (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia),
having admitted Uzbekistan, signed the Declaration of Shanghai
Cooperation Organization.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Cooperation_Organisation)
2001 Jul, The IMU attacked
government troops in southern Uzbekistan and a TV transmitter in
southern Kyrgyzstan.
(AP, 3/30/04)
2002 Mar 17, In Karadzigach 5
people were killed during a protest over the sentencing of lawmaker
Azimbek Beknazarov. Beknazarov was jailed for asking why Pres.
Akayev ceded territory to China in 2001.
(SFC, 3/19/02, p.A7)(WSJ, 5/13/02, p.A13)
2002 May 22, Kyrgyzstan Pres.
Akayev accepted the resignation of PM Kurmanbek Bakiev and his
entire government amid protests over clashes with police that killed
6 people in March.
(SFC, 5/23/02, p.A12)(Econ, 3/26/05, p.44)
2002 Jun 28, A Kyrgyzstan court
overturned the corruption sentence on against an opposition
lawmaker, whose case spawned nationwide protests in the former
Soviet republic.
(AP, 6/28/02)
2002 Jun 30, In Bishkek,
Kyrgyz, police reported that a Chinese diplomat was shot and killed
by unknown gunmen in an apparent gangland dispute.
(AP, 6/30/02)
2002 Nov 16, Kyrgyzstan police
detained more than 200 activists who traveled to the Kyrgyz capital,
Bishkek, for an anti-government assembly calling on Pres. Askar
Akayev to resign. They were all released by the next day.
(AP, 11/17/02)
2002 Dec 27, In Bishkek,
Kyrgyzstan, 7 people were killed and 26 injured when a container of
fireworks exploded, detonating a gas tank in the Dordoi market.
(AP, 12/27/02)
2003 Mar 27, in Kyrgyzstan a
fire engulfed a crowded passenger bus, killing 40 people on board.
(AP, 3/27/03)
2003 Apr 20, In southern
Kyrgyzstan a landslide swept through a village, killing 38 people.
(AP, 4/20/04)
2003 Sep 23, China signed
agreements with Russia and four Central Asian neighbors (Uzbekistan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan) in an effort to strengthen a
7-year-old security alliance and encourage economic links across a
largely undeveloped region.
(AP, 9/23/03)
2003 Oct, Pres. Putin attended
the opening a Russian air base in Kant, Kyrgyzstan.
(Econ, 11/1/03, p.40)
2004 Apr 26, In southern
Kyrgyzstan a landslide buried a village, and up to 33 people were
feared dead.
(AP, 4/26/04)
2004 Aug 28, The foreign
ministers of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan
approved Russian membership to their economic block at talks in
Astana, the Kazakh capital.
(AP, 8/28/04)
2004 Sep 21, China's PM Wen
Jiabao hailed a series of agreements with neighboring Kyrgyzstan
including an agreement on the thorny issue of the countries' common
border.
(AFP, 9/21/04)
2004 Sep 29, Kyrgyzstan police
arrested a man for attempting the black market sale of 60 small
containers of what was confirmed as plutonium.
(WSJ, 9/30/04, p.A1)
2005 Feb 27, Kyrgyzstan faced a
key test of its commitment to democracy in parliamentary elections
amid tension over the exclusion of a number of opposition figures
and prominent lawmakers. Some opposition figures and prominent
politicians disqualified from the ballot in a country once seen as
an island of democracy in former Soviet Central Asia.
(AP, 2/27/05)(AP, 2/28/05)
2005 Feb 27, Bayaman
Erkinbayev, a wealthy playboy and head of the Palvan Corporation,
led 2,000 fighters trained in Alysh, Kyrgyzstan's answer to Kung Fu,
to protests launched after the first round of a parliamentary
election.
(AP, 3/28/05)
2005 Mar 10, Kyrgyzstan
opposition parties united around former PM Kurmanbek, who will
coordinate national protests sparked by the 1st round of elections.
(WSJ, 3/11/05, p.A9)
2005 Mar 13, Kyrgyzstan held
parliamentary runoff elections amid rising tension over signs the
longtime leader plans to extend his rule beyond constitutional
limits. President Askar Akayev (60) won an overwhelmingly loyal
Parliament in runoff elections. The opposition won 6 of 75 seats and
said the vote was riddled with abuses.
(AP, 3/14/05)(SFC, 3/15/05, p.A3)
2005 Mar 20, In Kyrgyzstan
protesters stormed a police station in Jalal-Abad forcing officers
to flee, a day after baton-wielding police evicted demonstrators
from two government buildings they had occupied to protest alleged
election fraud. 4 policemen were reported killed.
(AP, 3/20/05)(WSJ, 3/21/05, p.A1)
2005 Mar 22, Kyrgyzstan
President Askar Akayev's spokesman said protests sweeping are part
of a "coup" designed by criminals. The government signaled it has no
intention of accepting election fraud charges that have fueled the
massive rallies.
(AP, 3/22/05)
2005 Mar 24, In Kyrgyzstan
protesters stormed the presidential compound, seizing control of the
seat of state power after clashing with riot police during a large
opposition rally. President Askar Akayev reportedly flew to Russia.
The ITAR-Tass news agency said President Askar Akayev has resigned.
This came to be called Kyrgyzstan’s “Tulip revolution.”
(AP, 3/24/05)(SFC, 3/25/05, p.A1)(Econ, 8/1/09,
p.38)
2005 Mar 25, In Kyrgyzstan
Kurmanbek Bakiyev (55) was appointed acting president by parliament.
The opposition scrambled to restore order in Bishkek, a capital
described as "gone mad" with looting and vandalism, after driving
President Askar Akayev from power.
(AP, 3/25/05)(SFC, 3/26/05, p.A3)
2005 Mar 27, In Kyrgyzstan 2
rival parliaments competed for power, raising political uncertainty
in the former Soviet nation. Both groups, the parliament newly
elected in a disputed vote that sparked massive discontent, and the
one that lost the election, met in separate chambers over the
weekend, each claiming to represent the people.
(AP, 3/27/05)
2005 Mar 28, Interim leader
Kurmanbek Bakiyev recognized Kyrgyzstan's new parliament as
legitimate even though it was chosen in disputed elections, a move
designed to end a struggle between the rival legislatures.
(AP, 3/28/05)
2005 Apr 4, Kyrgyz President
Askar Akayev, who fled the country last month after demonstrators
stormed his offices, signed a resignation agreement.
(AP, 4/4/05)
2005 Apr 11, The Kyrgyz
parliament accepted the resignation of ousted Pres. Askar Akayev.
(AP, 4/11/05)
2005 May 22, A top Kyrgyz
official said Uzbeks who fled into neighboring Kyrgyzstan to escape
violence in their Central Asian country are not refugees and must
return home.
(AP, 5/22/05)
2005 Jun 1, About 200 people,
some throwing stones, broke into Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court and
evicted activists who had occupied the building for more than a
month in a protest on behalf of five losing parliamentary
candidates.
(AP, 6/1/05)
2005 Jun 6, In Kyrgyzstan an
arrest warrant was issued for former prime minister Nikolai Tanayev,
accused of illegally transferring about $1 million in state funds to
a private construction company run by his son. A request for
Tanayev’s extradition was sent to Moscow.
(AP, 6/6/05)
2005 Jun 10, Jyrgalbek
Surabaldiyev, a Kyrgyz lawmaker and owner of Kyrgyzstan's largest
automobile market, was gunned down. He was a close ally of the
country's former leader.
(AP, 6/10/05)
2005 Jun 13, In Kyrgyzstan
guards outside a hotel opened fire on hundreds of traders who had
come to the southern city of Osh to demand fair market practices. 4
people were hurt.
(AP, 6/13/05)
2005 Jun 17, In Kyrgyzstan
several hundred unarmed supporters of a presidential hopeful who was
denied registration in next month's election stormed the government
headquarters. Troops with truncheons and tear gas beat back
protesters in the biggest unrest in Kyrgyzstan since its longtime
president was ousted in March. The clash injured 39 people.
(AP, 6/17/05)
2005 Jun 18, In Kyrgyzstan
Mukar Cholponbayev, who served as speaker of the Central Asian
nation's lower parliament house in the late 1990s, was arrested in
the capital Bishkek for allegedly helping to organize the previous
day’s takeover of the government headquarters.
(AP, 6/19/05)
2005 Jun 27, The UN said it
wanted to move hundreds of Uzbek refugees to third countries from
camps in Kyrgyzstan because there were fears Uzbekistan might try to
snatch them and take them home by force.
(AP, 6/27/05)
2005 Jul 5, An alliance of
Russia, China and central Asian nations called for the US and
coalition members in Afghanistan to set a date for withdrawing from
member states, reflecting growing unease over America's regional
military presence. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization includes
China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
(AP, 7/5/05)
2005 Jul 10, Kyrgyzstan held
presidential elections. With more than three-quarters of the ballots
counted from 95 percent of the districts, Kurmanbek Bakiev (Bakiyev)
received nearly 89 percent of the vote. He had teamed up with Felix
Kulov, his most serious rival, by promising him the position of
prime minister.
(AP, 7/11/05)(Econ, 7/16/05, p.39)
2005 Jul 27, The UN started
evacuating more than 400 refugees from a camp in Kyrgyzstan and will
fly them to a third country to keep them from being sent home to
Uzbekistan where they fear prosecution. Uzbekistan has been
pressuring Kyrgyzstan to hand over the refugees, and Kyrgyz
officials relented in recent weeks, sending at least 87 of them
back.
(AP, 7/27/05)
2005 Jul 29, A plane with 440
Uzbek refugees left Kyrgyzstan for Romania.
(AP, 7/29/05)
2005 Aug 1, A prosecutor said
that Kyrgyzstan will send 15 Uzbeks asylum seekers back to their
home country, despite pleas from the United Nations and rights
groups that it violates international treaties on refugees.
(AP, 8/1/05)
2005 Aug 14, Kurmanbek Bakiyev,
Kyrgyzstan’s new president, pledged in his inaugural speech that the
former Soviet Central Asian nation, which hosts both US and Russian
military bases, will pursue an independent foreign policy under his
leadership.
(AP, 8/14/05)
2005 Aug 15, New Kyrgyz
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev appointed Felix Kulov, a former
opposition politician who was jailed under the country's ousted
Soviet-era leader, as acting prime minister.
(AP, 8/15/05)
2005 Sep 5, Kyrgyzstan
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said that his Central Asian nation will
allow the US military base on its territory for as long as necessary
to bring stability to Afghanistan, but he also said the rent will
increase.
(AP, 9/5/05)
2005 Sep 21, Unidentified
gunmen in Bishkek killed Bayaman Erkinbayev (38), a Kyrgyz lawmaker
and wealthy businessman. He had survived an assassination attempt 5
months ago.
(AP, 9/22/05)
2005 Oct 3, The UN ambassadors
of Britain, France and the US sent a letter emphasizing their
continued opposition to a proposal to create a nuclear-weapons free
zone in Central Asia. The letter, sent to the UN ambassadors of the
five Central Asian nations, says that a draft treaty to create the
zone still does not address their biggest concerns and that further
discussions are needed. It calls for consultations "very soon." The
five nations agreed to the draft text for a Central Asian
nuclear-free zone in February. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan had originally put forward a proposal
for a nuclear-weapon free zone in 1997, but divisions both internal
and external over the text have stalled progress. Moscow claims that
a 1992 treaty that Russia signed with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and
Tajikistan could allow missiles to be deployed in the region.
(AP, 10/4/05)
2005 Oct 20, Inmates at a
prison hospital in Kyrgyzstan killed a parliamentarian and two other
people after taking him and his entourage hostage.
(AP, 10/20/05)
2005 Oct 24, Hundreds of
demonstrators rallied in front of the Kyrgyz parliament for a third
day to demand that the PM resign over the slaying of a lawmaker
during a prison uprising.
(AP, 10/24/05)
2005 Nov 1, Gunfire erupted and
at least four inmates were killed at two Kyrgyz prisons after riot
police entered to restore order following a bloody uprising.
(AP, 11/1/05)
2005 Dec 29, Kyrgyzstan's
president effectively ended the use of the death penalty in this
ex-Soviet republic by extending a moratorium on the punishment until
its planned abolition. Kyrgyzstan first imposed the moratorium in
1998 and has since repeatedly extended it.
(AP, 12/30/05)
2005 The population of
Kyrgyzstan was about 5 million.
(SSFC, 9/30/01, p.A2)(SFC, 3/25/05, p.A12)
2006 Feb 27, Omurbek Tekebayev,
the speaker of Kyrgyzstan's parliament, stepped down in response to
the president's criticism of lawmakers. Tekebayev had submitted his
resignation on Feb. 10 after saying that President Kurmanbek Bakiyev
"should go hang himself if he is a man."
(AP, 2/27/06)
2006 Apr 12, In Kyrgyzstan Edil
Baisalov, leader of a coalition of civic groups called For Democracy
and Civil Society, suffered a gunshot wound in the back of the head
when he was leaving his office in the capital, Bishkek. Baisalov has
led a campaign against a bid by alleged criminal boss Ryspek
Akmatbayev to become a lawmaker.
(AP, 4/12/06)
2006 Apr 19, In Kyrgyzstan
Pres. Bakiyev threatened to expel American troops from the Central
Asian nation unless the US agrees to pay more for its military
presence.
(AP, 4/19/06)
2006 Apr 29, In Kyrgyzstan
thousands of protesters demanding reform gathered in the main square
in Bishkek but dispersed peacefully after President Bakiyev and PM
Felix Kulov addressed the crowd.
(AP, 4/29/06)
2006 May 10, In Kyrgyzstan a
gunman in a passing car shot and killed Ryspek Akmatbayev, a reputed
crime boss, who was recently elected to parliament.
(AP, 5/10/06)
2006 May 12, Gunmen attacked
border posts on both sides of the frontier between Kyrgyzstan and
Tajikistan, killing five people and injuring two.
(AP, 5/12/06)
2006 May 27, In Kyrgyzstan
thousands of protesters demonstrated in the capital Bishkek to
demand that the government undertake promised constitutional
reforms.
(AP, 5/28/06)
2006 Jun 15, The Shanghai
Cooperation Organization, a Russian and Chinese-led bloc of Asian
states, said it plans to set up an expert group to boost computer
security and help guard against threats to their regimes from the
Internet. SCO members (China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) are mostly authoritarian states that
maintain tight controls on communications technology, including the
Internet.
(AP, 6/15/06)
2006 Jul 11, An officials said
Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Ministry has decided to expel two US diplomats
for "inappropriate" contacts with nongovernment organizations.
(AP, 7/11/06)
2006 Jul 14, Kyrgyzstan and the
US resolved a payment dispute that had threatened the future of the
US military base near Bishkek.
(AP, 7/14/06)
2006 Jul 18, Kyrgyz police in
Osh arrested six men suspected of taking part in an uprising in
neighboring Uzbekistan last year and seized 14 ounces of TNT from
them.
(AP, 7/19/06)
2006 Aug 6, In Kyrgyzstan Imam
Mokhammadrafik Kamalov (53) was killed in the city of Osh along with
two suspected Islamic radicals during an operation to track down men
suspected of attacking Kyrgyz and Tajik border posts in May, killing
nine people.
(AP, 8/8/06)
2006 Sep 5, In Kyrgyzstan Maj.
Jill Metzger (33), a US Air Force officer, went missing while
shopping in the capital of Bishkek. Metzger reappeared 3 days later
and said she had been seized by three young men and a woman in a
minibus and held in a rural area about 30 miles from the capital.
(AP, 9/6/06)(AP, 9/9/06)
2006 Sep 9, Five central Asian
countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan) signed a nuclear-free zone treaty, but it did not cancel
out a 1992 agreement to allow Russia to transport and deploy nuclear
weapons there under certain circumstances.
(SSFC, 9/10/06, p.A18)
2006 Nov 6, Kyrgyzstan
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev agreed to several opposition demands
after five days of rallies demanding his resignation. Police
officers guarding the presidential headquarters switched over to the
protesters' side.
(AP, 11/6/06)
2006 Nov 7, In Kyrgyzstan
protesters demanding the Kyrgyz president's resignation clashed with
government supporters, but fears of deadly violence eased after
lawmakers on both sides said they had agreed on a compromise draft
constitution.
(AP, 11/7/06)
2006 Nov 9, Kyrgyzstan's
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev signed an amended constitution limiting
his own powers in a bid to defuse the deepest political crisis this
Central Asian nation has experienced since the 2005 uprising that
carried him to power.
(AP, 11/9/06)
2006 Dec 6, A US serviceman
fatally shot a civilian at the US air base in Kyrgyzstan "in
response to a threat."
(AP, 12/6/06)
2006 Dec 7, In Kyrgyzstan
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev called for US troops deployed in the
former Soviet nation to be stripped of diplomatic immunity after a
US serviceman fatally shot a Kyrgyz civilian. The US air base said
the serviceman who fatally shot a Kyrgyz truck driver had been
threatened with a knife and responded as his training required.
(AP, 12/7/06)
2006 Dec 19, Kyrgyzstan’s
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev accepted the resignation of the
government due to a dispute with parliament, adding new tension to
the troubled politics of a country of strategic interest to both
Russia and the United States.
(AP, 12/19/06)
2007 Jan 15, Kyrgyzstan Pres.
Bakiyev signed into law constitutional amendments strengthening his
powers that he had pushed through after threatening to dissolve
parliament.
(AP, 1/15/07)
2007 Apr 11, In Kyrgyzstan
thousands of opposition supporters gathered in the main square of
Bishkek to press President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to resign. Bakiyev had
sought to head off the opposition protest by signing constitutional
amendments curtailing his power a day earlier, but the opposition
rejected his move and showed up in full force.
(AP, 4/11/07)
2007 Apr 19, Kyrgyzstan police
used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse thousands of opposition
protesters who had marched to the president's office in Bishkek to
demand his resignation.
(AP, 4/19/07)
2007 May 30, Medical officials
in Kyrgyzstan confirmed that PM Almazbek Atambayev was poisoned
after receiving death threats but said they have not yet identified
the toxin.
(AP, 5/30/07)
2007 Aug 17, The six members of
the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held their first joint
maneuvers on Russian land in a demonstration of their growing
military ties and a shared desire to counter US global clout. The
presidents of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan attended the unprecedented joint military exercises in
Chelyabinsk near the Kazakh border.
(AFP, 8/17/07)
2007 Sep 19, Kyrgyzstan's Pres.
Kurmanbek Bakiyev called a national referendum on changing the
constitution to elect the Parliament by party list, a change that
would hurt the country's many small parties and independent
politicians.
(AP, 9/19/07)
2007 Oct 21, Kyrgyzstan held a
national referendum on changing the constitution to elect the
Parliament by party list. On Oct 23 the main trans-Atlantic security
and rights group and the US Embassy said the referendum on
constitutional change was marred by numerous violations.
(AP, 10/23/07)
2007 Oct 22,
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev signed a decree dissolving
parliament, a day after voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum
on constitutional changes that his critics called a power grab.
(AP, 10/22/07)
2007 Oct 24,
In southern Kyrgyzstan Alisher Saipov (26), a prominent
independent ethnic-Uzbek journalist, was shot to death. He had close
ties to the opposition to the authoritarian regime in neighboring
Uzbekistan.
(AP, 10/24/07)(Econ, 6/19/10, p.28)
2007 Nov 28, Kyrgyzstan's
president signed an order relieving PM Almazbek Atambayev of duty,
nine months after he was appointed in a move to appease opposition
groups.
(AP, 11/28/07)
2007 Dec 16, Kyrgyzstan held
parliamentary elections. Critics have said election code changes,
introduced in October, were designed to evict all opposition
politicians from the legislature. The Central Election Commission
said Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's Ak Jol party won 71 out of
90 parliament seats in the parliamentary election. The top
opposition party failed to win parliament seats and the party
accused the government of rigging the vote and said it would appeal
the results in court.
(AP, 12/17/07)(AP, 12/20/07)
2007 Dec 24, In Kyrgyzstan Igor
Chudinov, a former energy and industry minister was, named prime
minister.
(AP, 12/24/07)
2008 Aug 24, In Kyrgyzstan a
Boeing 737 passenger jet carrying 90 people to Iran crashed near
Bishkek’s Manas Int’l. Airport. At least 65 people were killed.
(AP, 8/24/08)
2008 Oct 5, A 6.6-magnitude
earthquake struck the mountains of Central Asia, destroying Nura
village in Kyrgyzstan and killing at least 75 people including 41
children.
(AP, 10/6/08)(AP, 10/7/08)(SFC, 10/11/08, p.B6)
2008 Dec 5, Kyrgyzstan's state
radio station was reported to have taken BBC programming off the
airwaves, days after withdrawing broadcasting rights from US-funded
Radio Liberty's Kyrgyz Service.
(AP, 12/5/08)
2009 Jan 18, Kyrgyzstan began
to come under a massive cyber attack attributed to Russian
“cyber-militia.” Less than 20% of the country’s 5.3 million
population had online access. Proposed reasons for the attacks
included the US use of an air base for operations in Afghanistan or
a hit on the fledgling Kyrgyz opposition, which has used the
Internet to express its discontent.
(WSJ, 1/28/09, p.A10)
2009 Feb 3, Kyrgyzstan said it
would end the US lease of an air base that supports military
operations in Afghanistan. Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev
announced his intention to shut the base, at least for the moment,
after Russia agreed to provide Kyrgyzstan with $2 billion in loans
plus another $150 million in financial aid. The lease deal obliges
Kyrgyzstan to give the US 180 days notice to clear the base.
(AP, 2/4/09)
2009 Feb 4, Russia sought to
bolster its security alliance with six other ex-Soviet nations
(Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan) by forming a joint rapid reaction force in a continuing
effort to curb US influence in energy-rich Central Asia.
(AP, 2/4/09)
2009 Feb 6, Russia granted
transit rights to nonlethal US military supplies headed to
Afghanistan, but only after pressuring Kyrgyzstan to close an air
base leased to the US.
(SFC, 2/7/09, p.A3)
2009 Feb 19, Kyrgyzstan's
parliament voted to close a key US air base in the country, a move
that could hamper Pres. Obama's efforts to increase the number of US
forces in Afghanistan.
(AP, 2/19/09)
2009 Feb 20, Kyrgyzstan ordered
US forces to depart within six months from an air base key to
military operations in Afghanistan, complicating plans to send more
troops to battle rising Taliban and al-Qaida violence. A US military
official said Uzbekistan will allow non-lethal US military cargo
heading to Afghanistan to transit through the country.
(AP, 2/20/09)
2009 Feb 26, Kazakhstan
announced it was pulling out of the Central Asian power grid to
protect its energy supplies, a move that forced rolling blackouts
and electricity rationing on Kyrgyzstan, its tiny, power-starved
neighbor.
(AP, 2/26/09)
2009 Mar 3, In Kyrgyzstan
Syrgak Abdyldayev, a journalist with the Reporter-Bishkek weekly,
was stabbed repeatedly by four assailants after leaving his office.
Opposition parties described the attack as an attempt to stamp out
freedom of expression.
(AP, 3/4/09)
2009 Mar 6, Kyrgyz lawmakers
voted overwhelmingly to suspend an agreement that allows US-led
coalition forces fighting in Afghanistan to use an air base on its
territory.
(AP, 3/6/09)
2009 Mar 11, Prosecutors in
Kyrgyzstan charged a prominent opposition leader with murder in a
case that government critics say is politically motivated. Alikbek
Jekshenkulov was accused of involvement in the shooting of a Turkish
citizen in late 2007 and illegal possession of a weapon.
Jekshenkulov was foreign minister until February 2007.
(AP, 3/11/09)
2009 Mar 13, In Kyrgyzstan
Medet Sadyrkulov, a key opposition figure to Pres. Bakiyev, was
killed in an alleged car crash that left him and 2 passengers burned
beyond recognition.
(WSJ, 3/14/09, p.A6)(Econ, 1/9/10, p.45)
2009 Mar 16, In Kyrgyzstan
opposition parties called for protests across the country this
month, amid worsening economic conditions and mounting accusations
of government repression.
(AP, 3/17/09)
2009 Mar 18, Kyrgyzstan police
detained several prominent activists as they held a ceremony to mark
the seventh anniversary of shootings that left six protesters dead.
(AP, 3/18/09)
2009 Apr, In Kyrgyzstan
Sanjarbek Kadyraliev became the 4th parliamentarian to be
assassinated since the 2005 revolution.
(Econ, 8/1/09, p.38)
2009 Jun 23, A Kyrgyz
parliamentary committee approved a deal in which the United States
has agreed to pay more than triple the previous rent for use of a
key air base in Kyrgyzstan to ship non-lethal military supplies to
Afghanistan.
(AP, 6/23/09)
2009 Jun 25, Kyrgyzstan's
parliament unanimously approved a deal allowing the US to continue
using an air base crucial to military operations in Afghanistan,
sharply shifting course months after ordering American forces out by
August. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev signed the agreement into law in
early July.
(AP, 6/25/09)(AP, 7/7/09)
2009 Jun 27, Kyrgyzstan
security forces killed three alleged members of a terrorist
organization in a shootout. Authorities identified the gunmen as
Islamic militants and said one of those killed was their leader, a
Kyrgyz citizen who had received training at a terrorist camp in
Pakistan. Another of the dead was from Khanabad, a town in
neighboring Uzbekistan. The security ministry said they belonged to
the Islamic Jihad Group (IJG), an obscure organization that Uzbek
authorities have claimed is a splinter group of the Islamic Movement
of Uzbekistan.
(AP, 6/29/09)
2009 Jul 12, In Kyrgyzstan
government critic Almaz Tashiyev (Tashiev) died of complications
from head injuries after surgery. Relatives said he told them before
the operation that he had been beaten by eight police officers
earlier in the week. His death came after a series of attacks on
reporters and shortly before next week's presidential election,
reinforcing concerns about the risks faced by independent
journalists in the Central Asian nation. Junior lieutenant Shukurbek
Nurmatov was arrested July 16 on suspicion of being involved in the
beating.
(AP, 7/13/09)(AP, 7/17/09)(Econ, 8/1/09, p.38)
2009 Jul 23, In Kyrgyzstan
Almazbek Atambayev, the main opposition candidate, said he was no
longer taking part in this day’s presidential election, citing
widespread ballot-stuffing and the intimidation of election
monitors. Pres. Bakiyev (59) won another 5-year term with 76% of the
ballots. International monitors said the election was marred by
ballot-box stuffing and widespread irregularities in vote counting.
(AP, 7/23/09)(AP, 8/2/09)
2009 Jul 29, In Kyrgyzstan a
number of protestors were detained, as police suppressed a series of
demonstrations against the disputed re-election of President
Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Police said 42 protesters were detained in
Bishkek. The opposition reported that about 80 people were detained
in Besh-Kungei.
(AP, 7/29/09)
2009 Aug 1, Kyrgyzstan allowed
Russia to open a second military base on its territory, expanding
Moscow's military reach to balance against the US presence.
(Reuters, 8/1/09)
2009 Sep 23, Officials in
Kyrgyzstan called for the death penalty to be reinstated and said
public executions could be carried out, a sharp reversal that will
likely draw international condemnation.
(AP, 9/23/09)
2009 Oct 20, Kyrgyzstan's
Cabinet resigned as part of a sweeping government reform campaign
the president said will save money and make the Central Asian
nation's leadership more effective. Opposition leaders dismissed
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's reform push as a bid to increase his
own power.
(AP, 10/20/09)
2009 Nov 30, Tajikistan
unveiled a Chinese-built 500-kilowatt transmission line that will
link the northern and central parts of the country. This would add
to the poor nation's debt to China but reduce reliance on
Uzbekistan, which planned to withdraw on Dec 1 from the Soviet-era
power grid that unites four Central Asian countries. This prompted
fears of electricity shortages that could make for a winter of
hardship in impoverished Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Tajikistan, said
the move will cut it off from gas-rich Turkmenistan.
(AP, 11/30/09)
2009 Dec 22, In Kazakhstan
journalist Gennady Pavlyuk (51) of Kyrgyzstan died six days after
being thrown from a 6th story window in central Almaty.
(Econ, 1/9/10, p.45)
2009 Dilip Hiro authored
“Inside Central Asia: A Political and Cultural History of
Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey
and Iran.”
(Econ, 9/26/09, p.98)
2010 Mar 17, In Kyrgyzstan
thousands of demonstrators rallied in the capital Bishkek to protest
recent sharp increases in heating and electricity tariffs and
alleged oppression of government opponents.
(AP, 3/17/10)
2010 Mar 23, Kyrgyzstan's Pres.
Kurmanbek Bakiyev said that Western-style democracy has run its
course in the ex-Soviet Central Asian country, prompting fears of a
further decline in political freedoms.
(AP, 3/23/10)
2010 Apr 3, UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon repeatedly criticized Kyrgyzstan for
human rights problems, a strong rebuke to the country once regarded
as former Soviet Central Asia's "island of democracy."
(AP, 4/3/10)
2010 Apr 6, In Kyrgyzstan
hundreds of protesters angry over rising heat and power prices
seized a government building in Talas, took a governor hostage and
clashed with troops after trying to seize a regional governor.
(AP, 4/6/10)(Econ, 4/10/10, p.43)
2010 Apr 6, UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticized as "unacceptable"
Uzbekistan's placing of land mines along parts of its border with
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan that have not been delineated.
(AP, 4/6/10)
2010 Apr 7, In Kyrgyzstan
anti-government unrest rocked Bishkek as thousands of protesters
stormed the main government building, set fire to the prosecutor's
office and looted state TV headquarters. At least 83 people were
killed and some 1500 injured in clashes nationwide.
(AP, 4/7/10)(AP, 4/8/10)(Econ, 4/17/10, p.46)
2010 Apr 8, Kyrgyzstan
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev told a Russian radio station he is not
admitting defeat despite a bloody uprising and the formation of an
interim government. Opposition leader Roza Otunbayeva, a former
foreign minister, said earlier parliament was dissolved and she
would head an interim government that would rule for six months
until elections were held. Otunbayeva replaced PM Daniyar Usenov
following his resignation. The country's new defense chief said that
the nation's 5 million people now have nothing to fear from the
security forces.
(AP, 4/8/10)(SFC, 4/9/10, p.A2)(Econ, 4/10/10,
p.43)
2010 Apr 13, Kyrgyzstan's
deposed president said he will resign if the interim authorities
guarantee his security, and the head of the security services said
he was ready to make such a promise. Kyrgyzstan's interim leader
said her government will extend the lease of a US air base key to
the war in Afghanistan.
(AP, 4/13/10)
2010 Apr 15, Deposed Kyrgyzstan
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev' left the country for neighboring
Kazakhstan, just hours after gunfire erupted at a rally where he was
speaking to supporters.
(AP, 4/15/10)
2010 Apr 20, Kyrgyzstan's
ousted president was in exile in Belarus, as the interim authorities
controlling the Kyrgyz capital warned he would be imprisoned if he
tried to return to the Central Asian country.
(AP, 4/20/10)
2010 Apr 27, In Kyrgyzstan the
leader of the interim authorities said ousted president Kurmanbek
Bakiyev has been charged with organizing mass killings in the deadly
uprising that forced him from office in this Central Asian country
earlier this month.
(AP, 4/27/10)
2010 May 3, Kyrgyzstan's
interim government offered cash rewards for information leading to
the arrest of fugitive relatives and colleagues of deposed President
Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Rewards from $20,000 to $100,000 were offered to
those who can help find them, colossal bounties in a country where
the average salary is $130 per month. Bakiyev’s brother Zhanybek was
wanted for ordering police to open fire on protestors.
(AP, 5/3/10)
2010 May 13, In Kyrgyzstan
opponents of the interim rulers stormed two regional government
headquarters, threatening the delicate peace that has reigned since
the violent overthrow of the president last month.
(AP, 5/13/10)
2010 May 14, In Kyrgyzstan
gunfire erupted as hundreds of interim government backers fought
supporters of deposed Pres. Kurmanbek Bakiyev for control over
regional government buildings. At least one person was killed and
more than 60 injured in the worst violence since last month's
forceful government change.
(AP, 5/14/10)
2010 May 18, In Kyrgyzstan
several thousand people tried to storm a university in a burst of
ethnic violence that left at least 2 people dead and 50 wounded,
prompting the interim government to call a local state of emergency.
(AP, 5/19/10)
2010 May 19, In southern
Kyrgyzstan ethnic violence broke out in Jalalabad. Ethnic Kyrgyz
supporters of ousted Pres. Bakiyev clashed with the Uzbek minority,
supporters of the interim government.
(AP, 5/20/10)(SFC, 5/20/10, p.A2)
2010 Jun 7, Kyrgyzstan's
fragile interim government suffered its first major defection as
Edil Baisalov, the acting president's chief of staff, announced his
resignation and disclosed plans to create a new political party.
(AP, 6/7/10)
2010 Jun 10, In Kyrgyzstan five
simultaneous attacks by masked men carrying guns took place in Osh.
The perpetrators were said to be Bakiyev-financed criminal gangs and
ethnic Uzbek groups financed by someone else.
(Econ, 6/19/10, p.27)
2010 Jun 11, In southern
Kyrgyzstan clashes between the ethnic Kyrgyz and the minority Uzbek
community erupted overnight and killed at least 37 people leaving
more than 450 wounded in Osh. Officials declared a state of
emergency in part of the Central Asian nation that hosts US and
Russian military bases.
(AP, 6/11/10)
2010 Jun 13, Kyrgyz mobs burned
Uzbek villages and slaughtered their residents in the worst ethnic
rioting this Central Asian nation has seen in 20 years. Officials
said more than 75,000 Uzbek refugees have fled the rising ethnic
violence, amid reports of Kyrgyz mobs torching Uzbek villages and
slaughtering their residents. At least 371 people were killed in the
rioting that began on June 10.
(AP, 6/13/10)(Econ, 10/2/10, p.44)
2010 Jun 14, Some 100,000
minority Uzbeks fleeing a purge by mobs of Kyrgyz massed at the
border, as the deadliest ethnic violence to hit this Central Asian
nation in decades as fires raged in the southern city of Osh for a
fourth day.
(AP, 6/14/10)
2010 Jun 15, The Int’l. Red
Cross said several hundred people have been killed in Kyrgyzstan
since rioting began on June 10. The interim government blamed the
inner circle of former Pres. Bakiyev for inciting the rioting.
Uzbekistan closed its borders saying it could take no more refugees.
(AP, 6/15/10)(SFC, 6/16/10, p.A5)(Econ, 6/19/10,
p.26)
2010 Jun 17, The United Nations
said some 400,000 people have been displaced by ethnic violence in
southern Kyrgyzstan, dramatically increasing the official estimate
of a crisis that has left throngs of desperate, fearful refugees
without enough food and water in grim camps along the Uzbek border.
(AP, 6/17/10)
2010 Jun 18, Kyrgyzstan's
interim Pres. Roza Otunbayeva said that 2,000 people may have died
in the ethnic clashes that have rocked the country's south, many
times her government's official estimate, as she made her first
visit to a riot-hit city since the unrest erupted.
(AP, 6/18/10)
2010 Jun 19, A top US envoy
called for an independent investigation into the violence that has
devastated southern Kyrgyzstan, as amateur video emerged of unarmed
Uzbeks gathering to defend their town during the attacks.
(AP, 6/19/10)
2010 Jun 21, Kyrgyz government
forces swept into an ethnic Uzbek village, beating men and women
with rifle butts in an assault that left at least two dead and more
than 20 wounded.
(AP, 6/21/10)
2010 Jun 22, Kyrgyzstan troops
reportedly beat several dozen men and women in an Uzbek neighborhood
in Osh in a raid that deepened refugees' fears about returning to an
area seared by an eruption of deadly ethnic violence.
(AP, 6/22/10)
2010 Jun 25, Kyrgyz authorities
said they have arrested Sandjar Bakiyev (27), a nephew of deposed
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, and charged him with helping organize
the ethnic rioting that tore apart this Central Asian nation's
south.
(AP, 6/25/10)
2010 Jun 27, Kyrgyzstan held a
referendum on a new constitution, amid deadly ethnic tensions. The
interim government hoped it would legitimize their hold on power
until new elections in October. Interim Pres. Roza Otunbayeva said
voters have approved a new constitution that will allow the nation
to form a legitimate government after months of turmoil.
(AP, 6/26/10)(AP, 6/27/10)
2010 Jul 3, In Kyrgyzstan Roza
Otunbayeva was sworn in as president. She would hold office for 18
months and would be ineligible to stand for election.
(SSFC, 7/4/10, p.A3)(Econ, 7/3/10, p.42)
2010 Jul 21, Kyrgyzstan police
detained Akhmat Bakiyev, a brother of deposed President Kurmanbek
Bakiyev, in the latest effort to solidify control over the country's
tense south and dismantle the former leader's entourage.
International health and rights groups said that minority ethnic
Uzbeks in southern Kyrgyzstan are being deprived of medical
treatment and opportunities to seek refuge in neighboring
Uzbekistan.
(AP, 7/21/10)(AP, 7/22/10)
2010 Jul 27, Kyrgyzstan's
government appealed to an international donors conference for $1.2
billion in aid to rebuild the country after months of political and
ethnic violence.
(AP, 7/27/10)
2010 Aug 5, Kyrgyzstan
government forces fired into the air to disperse hundreds of
anti-government forces and arrested Urmat Baryktabasov, leader of
the Mekin-Tuu political party, backed by the family of former Pres.
Bakiyev.
(SFC, 8/6/10, p.A4)
2010 Aug 20, Kyrgyzstan's
interim government suffered a humiliating blow as Osh Mayor Melis
Myrzakmatov, a powerful opponent, refused to step down as mayor of
the southern city devastated by deadly ethnic violence two months
ago.
(AP, 8/20/10)
2010 Sep 15, In Kyrgyzstan the
Nooken District Court convicted Azimjon Askarov, an ethnic Uzbek, on
charges including complicity in murder, participating in mass
violence and hostage-taking during deadly ethnic unrest that roiled
the south in June. Amnesty International condemned the life sentence
saying Askarov had gathered evidence implicating police in the
violence before being detained.
(AP, 9/16/10)
2010 Oct 10, In Kyrgyzstan
about 56% of eligible voters turned out to elect a new and empowered
parliament with the right to approve a government and appoint a
prime minister. The nationalist Ata-Zhurt party, which opposed the
new constitution, pulled ahead with around 8.6 percent of eligible
votes. The Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan, trailed in second
place with 8.2 percent of the eligible vote.
(AP, 10/10/10)(AP, 10/11/10)(Econ, 10/16/10,
p.52)
2010 Nov 10, In Kyrgyzstan a
new and more powerful parliament convened for the first time, an
important step in the former Soviet nation's rough path toward
democratic reform. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) said Kyrgyzstan should build on the new constitution’s
provision of media freedoms and decriminalize defamation and libel.
(AP, 11/10/10)(http://tinyurl.com/3kxgjal)
2010 Nov 17, Kyrgyzstan put its
deposed president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, on trial in his absence, with
prosecutors seeking a long prison term for Kurmanbek Bakiyev on
charges that he ordered troops to fire on demonstrators, killing 78
people. Bakiyev, in self-imposed exile in Belarus, was being tried
along with 27 other former officials for their alleged involvement
in the deaths during April street protests that led to the fall of
his government.
(AP, 11/17/10)
2010 Nov 24, A court in
southern Kyrgyzstan sentenced 17 people to life in jail for violence
that wracked the region in June. Judge Damirbek Nazarov ruled the
men killed 16 people on the highway linking the south with the
capital, Bishkek. All defendants in the trial that ended the
previous day were ethnic Uzbeks. International rights activists
largely agree the Uzbek minority sustained the bulk of the violence
that left 370 people dead.
(AP, 11/24/10)
2010 Nov 29, In southern
Kyrgyzstan at least four Islamic militants were killed in a clash
with security forces.
(AP, 11/29/10)
2010 Nov 30, In Kyrgyzstan
Social Democrat Party leader Almazbek Atambyev said that the leaders
of two other parties have agreed on posts they would take in the
government ending weeks of political uncertainty. Atambyev says he
is set to become prime minister.
(AP, 11/30/10)
2010 Dec 17, Kyrgyzstan's
fractious parliament named a new prime minister and formed a
government, ending weeks of political uncertainty. Social Democrat
Party leader Almazbek Atambayev was named premier with 92 out of 114
votes.
(AP, 12/18/10)
2010 The population of
Kyrgyzstan was about 5.4 million.
(Econ, 5/15/10, p.49)
2011 Feb 15, Kyrgyzstan
officials say budgetary constraints are forcing them to shoot an
estimated 10,000 stray dogs in Bishkek rather than build shelters
for them.
(AP, 2/15/11)
2011 Mar 3, A Kyrgyzstan court
sentenced Eugene Gourevich, an American businessman, to 15 years in
jail in absentia for selling a fuel depot in Kyrgyzstan to a US
company at $3 million below the market rate. Gourevich fled
Kyrgyzstan after the overthrow last year of President Kurmanbek
Bakiyev. Kyrgyz authorities believed the Bakiyev family benefited
financially from opaque fuel supply deals with the US air base.
(AP, 3/16/11)
2011 Apr 4, The 7-member Kyrgyz
Inquiry Commission (KIC) found that some military people were at
least complicit in ethnic clashes that rocked southern Kyrgyzstan
last June leaving some 470 people dead.
(Econ, 5/14/11, p.54)(http://tinyurl.com/3nrhdt6)
2011 Jul 11, Kyrgyzstan
President Roza Otunbayeva approved an amendment to the criminal code
to decriminalize libel.
(AP, 7/19/11)(http://tinyurl.com/42bowvh)
2011 Jul 20, A magnitude-6.1
temblor centered in Kyrgyzstan hit shortly after midnight in a
mountainous area some 20 miles (35 km) away from the eastern Uzbek
city of Ferghana, which has a population of more than 200,000. The
earthquake killed at least 14 people, including 13 in Uzbekistan and
one in Tajikistan.
(AP, 7/20/11)
2011 Sep 3, In Tajikistan
leaders from eight former Soviet states (Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan)
gathered to celebrate enduring cooperation over the two decades
since their nations collectively gained independence, but mutual
acrimony and recriminations cast a shadow over the event.
(AP, 9/3/11)
2011 Sep 23, Kyrgyzstan's PM
Almazbek Atambayev said he will step aside and hand duties over to
his deputy in order to run in the Central Asian nation's Oct. 30
presidential election.
(AP, 9/23/11)
2011 Sep 27, Kyrgyzstan
officials said Gazpromneft-Aero Kyrgyzstan, a Russian-controlled
company, will soon start supplying 20 percent of the aviation fuel
to the Manas Transit Center, strategically vital US air base, and it
could eventually increase that share. Family members of the two
previous Kyrgyz presidents, both of whom were overthrown in popular
uprisings, have been accused of profiting from dealings with the
base.
(AP, 9/27/11)
2011 Oct 30, Voters in
Kyrgyzstan cast their ballots in a presidential election that could
set a democratic example for authoritarian neighbors. The election
pitted front-runner Almazbek Atambayev against two popular
nationalist politicians, Kamchibek Tashiyev and Adakhan Madumarov.
Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe criticized irregularities as preliminary returns showed
Atambayev winning over 60 percent of votes.
(AP, 10/30/11)(AP, 10/31/11)
2011 Dec 16, In Kyrgyzstan 4
parties agreed to form a broad coalition government, a development
that could create much-needed political stability.
(AP, 12/16/11)
2011 Dec 28, In southern
Kyrgyzstan a Soviet-built jet operated by a Kyrgyz carrier broke its
wing, overturned and caught fire as it tried to land in deep fog in
Osh, leaving 31 people injured.
(AP, 12/28/11)
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