Kyrgyzstan: wave of arrests of opponents of a border agreement with Uzbekistan
In the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, demonstrators opposed to a border agreement with Uzbekistan relating to the Kempir Abad, a water reservoir located on the Uzbek border take to the streets on October 24, 2022. © AFP - VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
Kyrgyz authorities arrested more than 20 people on Sunday, October 23, including political figures and senior officials.
According to a local NGO, those arrested opposed a border agreement with Uzbekistan, but Bishkek accuses them of an “
attempted coup
”.
Advertising
Read more
The wave of arrests includes around twenty people, including a general, former deputies, a former member of the Constitutional Court and even journalists.
It intervened in the context of an investigation opened by the Ministry of the Interior against several individuals for "
organizing riots
" and "
attempted coup
".
The common point of those arrested: all are members of the "
committee for the protection of Kempir Abad
", a water reservoir located on the Uzbek border.
The committee was created after the signing at the end of September of a protocol for the delimitation and demarcation of the border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
This agreement, which has yet to be submitted to Parliament, would allow Kyrgyzstan to expand its territory by more than 15,000 hectares, while leaving the water reservoir under the control of Uzbekistan, even if the two neighbors could, according to the authorities, use the dam "
in equal parts
".
But the opponents consider the agreement as an abandonment of territory and denounce a negotiation behind closed doors and in total opacity.
►
To read also: Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan sign a protocol for the establishment of peace
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
Kyrgyzstan
Uzbekistan
Water