Former Kyrgyz President Atambayev Accuses Sadyr Japarov of Ruining the Country

Kyrgyzstan’s leader has been accused of destroying free speech, increasing debt, and fueling corruption, Orda.kz reports.

Former Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atambayev published a sharply worded message to Sadyr Japarov on Instagram.

The reason for the letter was Japarov’s criticism of Atambayev over the energy crisis. The ex-president called it “a blatant lie” and reminded the public that Japarov himself had openly acknowledged links to mining farms, including those operating at Kambar-Ata-2, which Atambayev claims are connected to the circles of Maxim Bakiyev and Aleksandr Shirshov.

People have finally seen you for who you truly are now. They are not a voiceless herd that will swallow any lie. People remember everything. You promised freedom of speech — now people are jailed for a social media post. You promised democracy — all independent parties have been crushed, and politicians have either already served time or are behind bars now. And ordinary people end up in jail for a single word against you. And what about your other promises? Honest elections, when anyone unwanted is simply barred from running; the ‘complete elimination’ of state debt, which in reality has multiplied; children and relatives opening banks and getting rich before our eyes; mining farms mining bitcoin for people whose identities are pretty obvious. Your family and friends are getting rich, while people no longer have enough money even for basic groceries. Atambayev wrote.

He reminded readers that the first major energy crisis occurred under Bakiyev, when the sector was run by the same people who, he says, are now back in power.

At that time, electricity was cut for 8–10 hours a day. According to Atambayev, the system was restored thanks to engineers, not mythical reforms like changing the anthem and the flag.

In Kyrgyzstan there is no longer any right to private property. The country has turned into a territory of lawlessness, where any business owner — from small traders to major entrepreneurs — lives in constant fear that tomorrow everything they own will be taken away under a fabricated pretext. Homes are demolished without trial or investigation, land and property are seized, and small and medium-sized businesses are suffocated with taxes, raider takeovers, and hastily fabricated criminal cases, the ex-president claims.

He called Kyrgyzstan a country where the machinery of the state works in the interests of those closest to power. Over the past five years, Kyrgyzstan’s press freedom ranking has fallen from 89th to 144th in the world, below Uganda and Angola.

Earlier, we reported that Almazbek Atambayev’s family is being evicted from their home in Koi-Tash. His son Kadyr called the authorities’ actions illegal and accused officials of pressure.

According to him, they are trying to confiscate property and the political headquarters of the Social Democrats party. Authorities, however, have said they intend to open a facility for elderly people in the house.

Recall that former Kyrgyz president Atambayev was released from prison in February 2023. He was freed after his sentences were reviewed and then left for medical treatment in Spain. At the time, current president Sadyr Japarov said that people should “show mercy,” even though he himself had spent 1,291 days in prison on charges dating back to Atambayev’s rule.

Atambayev still faced charges in connection with the 2019 Koi-Tash unrest. Atambayev was later found guilty under several articles of the criminal code, including the illegal acquisition of land plots in the village of Koi-Tash (Chui Region), corruption linked to the modernization of the Bishkek Thermal Power Plant, and organizing mass unrest in Koi-Tash on August 7–8, 2019.

Political analysts note that Atambayev is unlikely to leave politics and is already preparing for a comeback.

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov