Kyrgyz Debate Accountability for Past Crimes

A heated debate is going on in Kyrgyzstan about legislation that would effectively purge government of figures who served under past regimes.

The “lustration” law is supported by those who opposed Kyrgyzstan’s first president Askar Akaev and also Kurmanbek Bakiev, who replaced Akaev in 2005 before being ousted himself in April 2010.

The plan is that a special commission would question officials on their possible role in past wrongdoing. Those identified as being at fault could face dismissal or even prosecution.

There is some grassroots support for the move among those who say they did not take part in street protests only to see the same old officials survive political change.

Many of those working for the post-Bakiev interim administration, soon to be replaced by a cabinet picked by the parliament elected this month, also served under previous leaders, so are naturally not enthusiastic about the bill.

Human rights defenders, too – including Kyrgyzstan’s ombudsman Tursunbek Akun – worry about a law that might result in arbitrary lists of individuals being drawn up for dismissal. The examining commission itself could be vulnerable to the same kind of nepotism it is supposed to be investigating, Akun points out.

The second report in this radio package looks at the desperate state of Kyrgyzstan’s government finances. The budget deficit has reached 15 per cent of gross domestic product.

On top of the longer-term shortfall in revenues, the situation has worsened significantly in recent months because of the increased spending needed following the June violence in southern Kyrgyzstan, which left high casualties and widespread devastation in its wake.

With few areas where spending cuts can be made, the government is relying on foreign grants and loans to cover the gap.

The audio programme, in Russian and Kyrgyz, went out on national radio stations in Kyrgyzstan, as part of IWPR project work funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.