Kyrgyz-Tajik border: when will the line of hatred become the line of friendship? A journalistic investigation into corruption led to a rally and a meeting of the Security Council. Checkpoints will be decongested at the Kyrgyz border.

The Security Council of Kyrgyzstan promised to consider the issue of corruption at customs at the next meeting with the participation of President Sooronbai Jeenbekov. The country’s authorities were prompted to make this decision by the publication of a journalistic investigation about the withdrawal from the republic of $700 million earned from the illegal import of goods from China and their resale to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia. The cover-up of the scheme, as stated in the text, was carried out by the former deputy head of the customs of Kyrgyzstan, Raimbek Matraimov, whose case has long been investigated by the financial police of the republic. True, there have been no significant results so far. To prevent Raim the Million, as he was nicknamed in the country, from escaping responsibility this time, a rally was held in Bishkek under the slogan “Put it in!”

On Monday on central square A rally was held in Bishkek Ala-Too, dedicated to the insufficient, in the opinion of those gathered, reaction of the authorities to the publication of a journalistic investigation about corruption at customs. By Kyrgyz standards there were not very many people: according to local media - 1 thousand people, and according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs - 300. However, the tension was quite serious - perhaps that is why law enforcement agencies decided not to disperse the protesters, although officially mass events on this day were prohibited - due to the visit of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the country and the holding of a session of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) ), scheduled for November 27–28.

The material that caused such outrage was prepared by three organizations at once: Kloop.kg, the local editorial office of Radio Liberty and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). It was published on November 21st.

The article describes a complex scheme for transporting contraband from Xinjiang Uyghur region. Autonomous Okrug China (XUAR) to Kyrgyzstan, and then to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia.

According to the investigation, the process was led by businessman Khabibula Abdukadyr, a Uyghur from China. And he provided cover in the government agencies of Kyrgyzstan former deputy head of customs of the republic Raimbek Matraimov, who is often called Raim-million in his homeland.

The whole system, which included transporting cash in spare tires of trucks, registering any goods as textiles (which are subject to the lowest duties) and bribing customs officers on the border with China and Uzbekistan (thanks to Kyrgyzstan’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union, goods could be exported to Kazakhstan and Russia even easier), was revealed to journalists by one of the participants in the scheme - a native of the XUAR, Ayerken Saimaiti.

He shared information and handed over documents for several months until he was killed on November 11 in Istanbul. According to Mr. Saimaiti himself, from 2011 to 2016 he managed to withdraw $700 million from Kyrgyzstan. At yesterday's press conference, Secretary of the Country's Security Council Damir Sagynbaev confirmed that these funds were indeed withdrawn from the country illegally.

However, the participants of the rally in Bishkek were worried, in fact, by one person mentioned in the material - the same Raimbek Matraimov. Many came with identical posters, on which there was a portrait of the ex-official and a short inscription “Prison.” In addition, yellow cards were shown in the crowd - a hint that if the authorities did not respond to the demands, they would face more serious consequences.

The Kyrgyz Service for Combating Economic Crimes has been investigating the activities of Raim Matraimov for the second year now, but journalists are coping with this task much more effectively. While the publications talk about a joint investment project between Mr. Matraimov’s wife and Khabibula Abdukadyr in Dubai, the financial police only stated that they had underpaid taxes in the amount of 24 million soms (about $340 thousand). This allows him to remain free.

It is also noteworthy that the dismissal of Mr. Matraimov from the customs service was, in fact, the personal revenge of the former President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev, who was previously considered the official’s patron.

Later, the Supreme Court of the republic declared the dismissal illegal, but Mr. Matraimov did not return to service. Perhaps this is due to the fact that his relationship with the new president of the republic, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, did not work out. In 2010, Mr. Jeenbekov, being the governor of the Osh region, dismissed Mr. Matraimov from the post of head of the regional customs department.

Reacting to the discontent of the protesters, the Security Council on Monday promised to consider the issue of corruption at customs at the next meeting with Sooronbai Jeenbekov. At the same time, on Sunday, Raim Matraimov said that he was ready to return to Kyrgyzstan from abroad (but without specifying a specific country) and answer any questions. The former customs officer published the appeal on his page in

Republic of Kyrgyzstan, state in Central Asia. Official The name of the state of Kyrgyzstan is from the self-name of the indigenous population of the Kyrgyz and Iranians. camp country, land. Russian tradition. form Kyrgyzstan. Geographical names world: Toponymic dictionary. M: AST.… … Geographical encyclopedia

Kyrgyzstan. Burana Tower in the village. Den Aryk. KYRGYZSTAN (Kyrgyzstan), Republic of Kyrgyzstan (Republics of Kyrgyzstan), state on northeast Central Asia. Area 198.5 thousand km2. Population 4.53 million, urban 38%; Kyrgyz (52.3%), Russians... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Kyrgyzstan) Republic of Kyrgyzstan (Republics of Kyrgyzstan), in the northeast of Sr. Asia. 198.5 thousand km². Population 4526 thousand people (1993), urban 38%; Kyrgyz (2230 thousand people, 1989 census), Russians, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, etc.... ... Big encyclopedic Dictionary

Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan Dictionary of Russian synonyms. kyrgyzstan noun, number of synonyms: 3 kyrgyzstan (1) ... Synonym dictionary

- (Kyrgyz. Kyrgyzstan), Kyrgyz Republic, state in Central Asia. It borders with Kazakhstan in the north, China in the east and southeast, Tajikistan in the southwest and Uzbekistan in the west. From 1936 to 1991 the country was part of the USSR for... ... Collier's Encyclopedia

- (Kyrgyzstan), Republic of Kyrgyzstan (Respublikasa Kyrgyzstan), a state in the northeast of Central Asia. 198.5 thousand km2. Population 4526 thousand people (1993), urban 38%; Kyrgyz (2230 thousand people, 1989 census), Russians, Uzbeks, Ukrainians... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

See: Kyrgyzstan... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Constitutional Law

- (Kyrgyzstan) General information Official name Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyz. Kyrgyz Republicsynyn, English. Kyrgyz Republic). Located in the northeast of Central Asia. Area 199.9 thousand km2, population 5.012 million people. (2002).… … Encyclopedia of countries of the world

Republic of Kyrgyzstan, state in Asia. Pl. 198.5 thousand km2. Us. 4367 thousand people (1989). State language Kyrgyz. The capital is Bishkek (Russian name until 1925 Pishpek, until 1989 Frunze). In 1989 per 1000 people. 842 people were aged 15 years and older. from higher education And… … Russian Pedagogical Encyclopedia

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The problem on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan has alarmed the situation in the country. Read about what happened at the border of the countries and why huge queues accumulated in the material from Sputnik Kyrgyzstan.

The main topic of the day was the problem of entry into Kazakhstan from Kyrgyzstan. Problems began on Tuesday evening: at first the situation was called a traffic jam, then a crowd of people and cars, and later a collapse in the border zone. No one could find an explanation for the situation; it was only known that the Kazakh border guards were slowly letting people and vehicles through.

What happened at the border

You can enter Kazakhstan through eight border checkpoints. Large traffic jams and queues arose at the Ak-Zhol and Ak-Tilek checkpoints in the Chui region, as well as at the Chon-Kapka checkpoint in Talas. According to the Border Service of Kyrgyzstan, there were no problems at other points.

Sputnik Kyrgyzstan correspondents were at two checkpoints - Akzhol and Aktilek. At the first one there was a large crowd of people, and it took about four hours to cross the border on foot, but the line of cars lined up more than half a kilometer away. At another checkpoint the situation was the opposite - it was possible to walk quickly, but in front of the checkpoint there was a line of trucks two and a half kilometers long.

Local resident Urmat Tologonov spoke about the situation at Chon-Kapka. According to him, delays at the border began last evening. During the day, more than 40 heavy vehicles were parked on the Kyrgyz side.

“They have been standing there since yesterday. Many are leaving back. The border is not closed, but vehicles and pedestrians are having difficulty moving,” the resident said.

Local authorities set up tents at the sites, setting up a medical center and food outlet. Employees of Severelectro JSC connected electricity in the tents.

There were no restrictions on the part of the Kyrgyz border guards. People who entered Kyrgyzstan said that they crossed the border freely. However, a large queue of trucks also lined up at the Ak-Tilek checkpoint on the Kazakhstan side. One of the drivers said that he stood at the border for about a day, despite the fact that the car body was empty.

In the morning, the State Border Service of Kyrgyzstan indirectly explained the actions of their Kazakh colleagues.

"From October 10, 2017, from 18:00, the passage of vehicles and persons at checkpoints on the Kyrgyz-Kazakh state border on the part of the neighboring state is carried out in an enhanced version,” the State Border Service reported.

However, the Kazakh border service itself did not provide answers. In view of this, people had two options for interpreting the situation: Kazakhstan experienced glitches during testing new program, or this is the reaction of the authorities of the neighboring republic to the statement of President Almazbek Atambayev about the Kazakh government. The latest version was distributed among those stuck at the border - people blamed and criticized the presidents for the many hours of downtime.

Towards evening, the National Security Committee of Kazakhstan explained that a planned operation was being carried out along the perimeter of the country, including in the Kyrgyz-Kazakh sector. The intelligence services carry out preventive measures: they look for terrorists, smugglers and check how the border regime and migration legislation are observed in Kazakhstan.

Political scientist Igor Shestakov explains the situation differently. In his opinion, these measures were introduced in view of the upcoming presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan.

“The situation is such that even Atambayev does not participate in the Supreme Council of Heads of State of the EAEU in Sochi due to possible unrest on election and pre-election days. Even some politicians were detained on charges of a coup. It seems to me that the Kazakh side is taking security measures,” he said political scientist.

The expert believes that the actions of the Kazakh side are not related to Atambayev’s statements. Shestakov noted that in the spring of this year, when the presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan “exchanged views” on the events of 2010, the authorities of the neighboring country did not introduce such measures. The political scientist also added that the problem also lies in the lack of checkpoints.

"This problem did not occur today. I checked twice round tables on border cooperation within the EAEU and twice representatives of the border service said that the flow of passengers and goods at the Ak-Zhol checkpoint is much more than normal,” Shestakov said.

He added that at the moment there is very little official data regarding the border. According to the expert, in in social networks they are artificially shaking up the situation that Kyrgyzstanis are being detained in Kazakhstan and deported. At the same time, government agencies did not inform the population. The political scientist noted that the Jogorku Kenesh should not rest, but resolve issues.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan denied information that the police were carrying out special measures against Kyrgyz citizens. The department explained that the preventive event “Illegal 2017” is being carried out in the republic.

As of October 11, more than 11.8 thousand foreigners were brought to administrative responsibility for violating the rules of stay in the country, including about 720 citizens of non-CIS countries and more than 11 thousand citizens of the CIS. Of these, about 1.6 thousand people were expelled from the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The border service of Kyrgyzstan reported that the situation on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border in the Batken region has stabilized after clashes local residents, which took place there from December 16 to 18.

The epicenter of the events was the border village of Kok-Tash in the Batken district of the Batken region, which is located near the disputed section of the border with Tajikistan.

Kyrgyzstan version

Presumably the conflict began on December 16 over the installation of fences in a disputed area. The Border Service of Kyrgyzstan reported then that the conflict was resolved and there were no casualties. However, the very next day, according to the department, citizens of Tajikistan beat up a Kyrgyzstani man, and he was taken to the regional hospital.

Because of this, the conflict flared up again, about 200 residents of the two states began a verbal altercation.

To resolve the situation, on December 18, the first deputy chairman of the State Border Service, Colonel Abdikarim Alimbaev, flew to the site of the conflict in Batken. On the same day, at about 11:30 am, bilateral negotiations turned into mutual stone throwing and the windshields of Tajik cars were broken.

20 minutes later, the Tajik side opened fire, as a result of which a Kyrgyz law enforcement officer was wounded in the leg and arm. A deputy of the Samarkandek aiyl okmotu was also injured. Afterwards it became known about four more victims - three of them were employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The condition of the victims is assessed as “stable”.

Tajikistan version

Radio Ozodi, citing anonymous sources from the Tajik city of Isfara, writes that the conflict began after “residents of the Kyrgyz village of Kok-Tash beat Tajik schoolchildren who accidentally crossed into Kyrgyz territory.” Then schoolboy Umedjon Safarov was injured.

Because of the beating of children on December 17, a verbal altercation began between residents of the border areas, which escalated into throwing stones from both sides.” On this day, the imam of the Tajik rural mosque, Sodikboy Nabiev, was injured.

As Ozodi writes, Kyrgyz border guards did not react to the beating of schoolboy Umedjon Safarov.

“When residents of the Chorku jamoat intervened and knocked down the teenager’s offender, the Kyrgyz border guards opened fire on the citizens of Tajikistan. In response, the Tajik border guards also opened fire and only after that the Kyrgyz military stopped shooting,” the Tajik publication quotes a resident of Isfara.

Negotiation

The Border Service of Kyrgyzstan and the press secretary of the chairman of the Sughd region of Tajikistan, Muzaffar Yunusov, reported that as a result of negotiations, decisions were made that fences erected by citizens of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan would be removed in the disputed area.

The State Border Service of Kyrgyzstan added that in order to ensure public order, law enforcement officers conducted patrols in the border areas, and the border unit located in the Batken region is serving in enhanced mode.

Conflicts in the border area occur frequently - the cause is said to be the construction of a fence, the installation of a flagpole, or a regular brawl between local residents. But the main reason is that Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan still have undescribed sections of their borders. The presidents of the two countries met this year after another conflict and promised to resolve this issue. But so far the issue has not been resolved, and sections of the border remain disputed, which is why people enter into conflicts - in the latest September conflict, four people died - one Kyrgyzstani and three Tajiks.