Former govt officials partially responsible for Kyrgyz conflict

BISHKEK, January 11 (Itar-Tass) - The national commission of
Kyrgyzstan for the investigation into the cause of the ethnic conflict in
the south of the republic in June 2010 recommended the authorities to
consider holding responsible several former high-placed officials of the
interim government, which came to power after deposing President Kurmanbek
Bakiyev in April 2010, the commission's chairman Abdygany Erkebayev said
here on Tuesday.
Mass disturbances and ethnic clashes began in the southern Osh and
Jalal-Abad provinces of Kyrgyzstan overnight to June 11, between ethnic
Kyrgyz and Uzbeks living there. During the confrontation, in which both
sides used firearms, more than 400 people were killed and another 2,300
were injured.
Some 2,000 houses or structures were destroyed or burnt down.
The estimates of the conflict-caused damage are not final yet. The
Kyrgyz authorities claim the damage runs into several hundred million
dollars.
"The Commission believes that Azimbek Beknazarov, Ismail Isakov,
Keneshbek Dushebayev and Bolot Sherniyzov bear partial responsibility,"
Erkebayev said.
Beknazarov was deputy prime minister of the interim government for the
judicial system and law-enforcement bodies.
Isakov was special government representative for settling the
situation in the south. Dushebayev was head of the state committee of
national security and Bolot Sherniyazov was Interior Minister of the
interim government.
In Erkebayev's opinion, some regional and district officials are
responsible, too. "The interim government did not take seriously the
signals coming from southern regions before the conflict," he said.
Also, law-enforcement bodies bear responsibly because they were unable
to stop the disturbances despite the fact that they had information that
these disturbances were likely to happen.
He acknowledged that the overwhelming majority of the people detained
during mass disturbances were ethnic Uzbeks.
One of Commission members, well-known lawyer Nurbek Toktakunov, has
already challenged the Commission's conclusions.
He believes its findings are "superficial," as the issues of its
competence and methods of the probe had not been discussed in advance.
An international commission is conducting a parallel investigation
into the causes and consequences of the conflict in southern Kyrgyzstan.
It is due to present its conclusions shortly.
-0-myz/ast