Kyrgyzstan: Battle of the presidents intensifies

Kyrgyzstan | 17 April 2019

As reported by Radio Free Europe (RFE/L) on 27 March 2019, the conflict between former President Atambayev and his successor Jeenbekov has led to a split in the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK), the largest party in Kyrgyzstan"s parliament and the party to which both Jeenbekov and Atambayev belong. Now, according to RFE/L reporting on 5 April 2019, a bill has been drafted preserving immunity from prosecution for former presidents unless the person in question loses the status of ex-president.‚ Rolf Zeegers, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, explains the background: "Although Jeenbekov was promoted by Atambayev himself in November 2017, he has gradually dismissed most of Atambayev"s supporters from key posts. Since May 2018, Jeenbekov has repeatedly called for Atambayev to be stripped of his immunity as a former president. In March 2019, Atambayev issued a "˜public apology" (RFE/L, 18 March 2019) for making the mistake of bringing Jeenbekov to power." ‚ Rolf Zeegers continues: "Kyrgyzstan is unusual in that it is the only country in Central Asia with a democratically elected parliament and president. At the moment, these political developments are having no effect on Christians in the country. That would only be likely to change if Russia became more involved. At present it remains unclear which of the two leaders in Kyrgyzstan is being backed by Moscow."