Human Rights Watch is an international, independent, non-government organization based in the United States that investigates and reports on human rights abuse in more than seventy countries worldwide. We have reported on conditions in Central Asia for more than a decade and maintain offices in Tashkent, Tbilisi, and Moscow.
According to press reports, on March 17, an estimated 500 to 2,000 people from various parts of the Aksy district of Jalal-Abad province demonstrated against the criminal prosecution of Azimbek Beknazarov, a member of parliament who at the time was in custody awaiting the outcome of his trial on what appear to be politically motivated charges of failure to investigate a murder. Many protestors sought to march to Toktogul, where the verdict was to be rendered on March 18, and others, upon hearing that authorities had sealed off Toktogul, headed for the village of Kerben.
While as of this writing, many details regarding the circumstances of police violence remain unclear, some local human rights groups have determined that at least four protestors, Sovetbek Tagaev, Kadyrkul Saparaliev, Satynay Urkumbaev, and Begaly Chetinbaev, died as a result of the violence; and that at least three of these men died from bullet wounds. Another protester, injured on March 17, reportedly died the next day in hospital. Renewed hostilities on March 18 reportedly left at least one demonstrator dead.
Listed among the wounded civilians who required hospitalization for their injuries were sixteen men, one woman, and one minor. Thirteen of the injured were reportedly admitted to hospitals with bullet wounds. According to government reports, an estimated forty-seven police officers were injured during the protests on March 17.
Limited information is available about the March 17 incident. According to a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty report, police used live ammunition against unarmed protestors who had been marching past Boz-Piek settlement on their way to the town of Kerben, the center of Aksy district. Police blocked the road. At one point, police began beating people in the crowd, and reportedly grabbed Tursunbek Akunov, chairman of the Human Rights Movement of Kyrgyzstan. When demonstrators challenged police, demanding his release, the officers opened fire.
RFE/RL quoted one demonstrator as saying, "They started to beat us with truncheons and we started to defend ourselves with stones and a big fight broke out." The demonstrators acknowledged that several fires were started by unknown persons and alleged that, in reaction, "Police fired shots into the crowd." The father of one of those killed during the demonstration recounted a somewhat different version of events. He told a reporter that police had ordered those marching toward Kerben to stop and gave them fifteen minutes to disperse, but had opened fire before the time was up.
Accounts vary regarding the circumstances that led to use of live ammunition against demonstrators. Minister of Internal Affairs Temirbek Akmataliev, suggested that the protesters began the violence by throwing stones, setting fire to buildings, and even shooting at police. He claimed, implausibly, that police used their guns only to fire into the air. We are also greatly disturbed that Mr. Akmataliev suggested that the violence was in fact a coup attempt on the part of the political opposition and that this signified that they had "embarked on the course of political extremism."
Addressing the Legislative Assembly on March 18, Mr. Akmataliev told parliamentarians that, due to the Ministry's lack of rubber bullets and tear gas, officers had no choice but to use live ammunition for crowd control, RFE/RL reported.
Human Rights Watch remains concerned about the underlying cause of the demonstrations-the arrest on January 5, 2002 of Azimbek Beknazarov. The charges of failure to investigate a murder date from 1995, when Beknazarov worked as an investigator for the procuracy. Many regard these charges to be spurious. Beknazarov supporters and opposition activists contend that his arrest was motivated by an interest in silencing his criticism of your government's decision to cede to China land that had been the subject of contention between the two states for years. The decision was reportedly particularly unpopular in southern Kyrgyzstan. In addition, U.S. State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said at a briefing on March 19 that the U.S. government was concerned that "Mr. Beknazarov's arrest appears to have been politically motivated."
Reaction to Beknazarov's arrest has involved peaceful mass demonstrations, critical media reports, and hunger strikes. At least one man, Sherali Nazarkulov, died of health complications believed associated with the hunger strike he maintained for some twenty-two days. The primary demand of these protests was Beknazarov's release from custody.
We are aware that unrest continued in Jalal-Abad province, with confrontations between demonstrators and police on March 18 and 19. We understand that your government has sent additional special forces and police officers to the Jalal-Abad region and that there have been reports of military troop movements in the area. Members of your government are already comparing the situation to the violence that tore through Osh in 1990.
President Akaev, it is with great respect that Human Rights Watch calls on you to reject the wholesale repression and violence that has so damaged the human rights records of other Central Asian states. We urge you to instruct the Ministry of Internal Affairs to desist from the indiscriminate or disproportionate use of force against demonstrators, and to adhere to the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. These require law enforcement officials to refrain from the use of force and firearms unless such is unavoidable, and only "if other means remain ineffective or without any promise of achieving the intended result." The guidelines further require law enforcement officials not to use firearms against persons except in select circumstances to preserve life. In cases when use of force or firearms is unavoidable, law enforcement officials are to:
(a) exercise restraint, in such use and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offence and the legitimate objective to be achieved; (b) minimize damage and injury, and respect and preserve human life; (c) ensure that assistance and medical aid are rendered to any injured or affected persons at the earliest possible moment;
We also call on you to establish an independent commission of inquiry to investigate incidents of police violence against demonstrators. The inquiry should determine whether the police used force disproportionately or indiscriminately, and, if so, should establish the chain of command for issuing the order to use such force. It should interview victims and eyewitnesses from all sides, and should make recommendations for holding accountable those law enforcement officials who violated the principle of proportionality. The commission should also make recommendations as to the kind of training that may be needed for officers charged with maintaining safety and security during public demonstrations. Given the politically charged atmosphere that prevails today in Kyrgyzstan, we hope that you will stress the need for such a commission to remain impartial.
We further urge you to give full cooperation to the Legislative Assembly's special commission, established March 18 and made up of members of parliament with varied political affiliation, charged with uncovering the cause of the violence.
Human Rights Watch welcomes the release of some thirty-six people, including rights defender Tursunbek Akunov, detained by police during the demonstrations. We also would like to welcome news of the government's decision to release Azimbek Beknazarov from custody. We hope this will mark the end of his prosecution and that the controversial charges against him will be dismissed. We also encourage your government to lift the apparent order that he "remain in the area of his permanent residence."
We look forward to further dialogue with you on this matter.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Andersen
Executive Director
Europe and Central Asia division
