Curbing the Security Services

The recent negative publicity surrounding two of Kyrgyzstan’s security agencies is being driven by a confrontation between government and parliament, NBCentralAsia observers say. More widely, they see it as a sign of growing political instability.



Meeting the security agencies last week, President Kurmanbek Bakiev reviewed reports on their performance over recent months, specifically on tackling corruption and organised crime. He had held a similar meeting on July 19 to discuss crime, extremism and terrorism, but analysts say that this time things were different – the discussions followed closely on two major incidents involving the National Security Service, SNB, and the Ministry of Defence, respectively.



SNB chief Busurmankul Tabaldiev and his first deputy, Janysh Bakiev – who is the president’s brother - stepped down on September 12, after members of parliament alleged that the secret service was behind an incident involving Omurbek Tekebaev, a leading opposition figure. Earlier in September, Tekebaev was arrested and charged with narcotics smuggling by the Polish authorities, but they later freed him because they believed his political opponents had planted the drugs.



Then, on September 19, members of parliament proposed that the government abolish the defence ministry or sack the minister, Ismail Isakov, because of an incident that occurred just before the legislature went into session on August 1. Although soldiers are banned from entering parliament, some defence ministry signallers had tried to enter the building to get access to a radio relay station located on the premises. A stand-off with security guards developed, and the military set up a field command centre right outside parliament and summoned special forces.



These events suggest that the security forces are being drawn more and more into the conflict between legislature and executive, the latter including the presidential office. NBCentralAsia observers say the security services now frequently figure in political scandals, despite their insistence that they are concentrating on their role of law enforcement and crime-fighting.



This could have serious implications for the functioning of the state as a whole, not to mention the harm it could do to national security, the experts say, recommending radical and swift reform of the security agencies, to remove these agencies from political influence.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)