Sham high profile arrests in Kyrgyzstan

Visits to local administrations by the head of the Bishkek security services, Kamchybek Tašiev, have ended in sensational arrests. The senior official describes the fight against corruption as “a mission received from President Žaparov”. But there are those who doubt the effectiveness of this “clean-up campaign” if, in a country like Kyrgyzstan, procedures are not radically changed to make them transparent, effective and digitised.

Bishkek (AsiaNews) - As has been increasingly the case in recent times, visits by the head of Kyrgyzstan's GNB security services, Kamchybek Tashev, to local administrations have ended with sensational arrests.

The latest occasion was in the capital Bishkek, where, at the end of a meeting with municipal employees, Deputy Mayor Žamalbek Yrsaliev and the director of the municipal property office, Bakyt Šerimbekov, were arrested.

After being interrogated, the two were immediately dismissed, and their positions have not been filled. Similarly, the mayors and leaders of the cities of Oš, Tokmak and Šopokov were recently arrested by Tašiev.

Immediately after Šerimbekov's arrest, the Gknb issued a statement explaining that the official is suspected of breaking the law in the organisation of the competition for the design of a new park in Bishkek.

Yrsaliev is accused of granting municipal land for commercial purposes, without permits or rental agreements, for over 1,500 square metres, causing damage of over 3 million som (35,000 euros) to the municipal budget.

The deputy mayor was arrested in front of a crowd gathered in the affected area of the Tunguč district, where Tašiev then spoke to the crowd, urging everyone to cooperate with the investigation, which helped to clarify that the amusement machines and commercial pavilions belonged personally to the former deputy mayor.

Arrests in other cities were also quite “demonstrative”, exposing those responsible for corruption and malfeasance in public administration to public ridicule.

In February, a transport department specialist was arrested for receiving a bribe of 6,000 som, and in March, the entire management of this body was accused of concluding contracts “unfavourable to the state” for the installation of “smart traffic lights”, causing damage to the treasury of almost 20 million som.

In May, a senior official in the capital's administration was arrested for extortion, the same charge later levelled at the deputy mayor.

Former Prime Minister and MP Feliks Kulov commented on social media that “these high-profile arrests are intended to give the impression of being random, but they are clearly well planned, given the similarities in the procedures”. In his opinion, the material gathered during the investigations is already ready to trigger investigative actions with maximum effect and resonance among the population, and “it must be recognised that this approach is bearing fruit, given that the leaders of many institutions are quickly taking decisions that had been postponed for years”.

Kulov believes that “the restoration of order is only just beginning, the important thing is not to stop”..

Tašiev has repeatedly stressed that activism in the fight against corruption is not just his initiative, but ‘a mission received from the country's president’, Sadyr Žaparov, who often calls on officials to ‘come to their senses’, threatening severe punishment for any waste or misappropriation of public money.

Since the beginning of the year, new regulations have been in force against these phenomena, which also establish measures against relatives of those convicted of corruption, who will be excluded from military careers and the judiciary, as well as being banned for life from holding any position in the state, regional or municipal administrations.

Kyrgyz political scientist Emil Džuraev notes that corruption is deeply rooted in state administration practices in Kyrgyzstan, especially in competitions, contract awarding and other forms of resource use, and doubts that the ‘intimidation show’ of recent months will easily eradicate these systemic problems.

Beyond the arrests of high-ranking individuals, he insists on the need to fundamentally change procedures, making them transparent, effective and digitised, otherwise “this clean-up campaign will not last long”.