By Aigerim Turgunbaeva
BISHKEK, Feb 12 (Reuters) – The speaker of Kyrgyzstan’s parliament resigned on Thursday and several allies of the country’s ousted security chief Kamchybek Tashiev were detained, as President Sadyr Japarov moved to purge supporters of the one-time close ally he dismissed on Tuesday.
Departing speaker Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu was a close ally of ousted State Committee for National Security (GKNB) head Tashiev, seen until this week as the country’s second most powerful official.
Japarov and Tashiev had effectively ruled Kyrgyzstan — a mountainous nation of 7 million — in tandem since they rose to power amid mass protests in 2020.
The abrupt collapse of their partnership, which had bridged the longstanding divide between the country’s north and south, now raises the prospect of renewed instability in a state that has seen three presidents toppled by street protests since 2005.
The two men had clamped down on media freedom and political opposition in what was once considered Central Asia’s most democratic country. Their supporters, however, credited them with restoring stability and delivering rapid economic growth.
Kyrgyz authorities have arrested five prominent supporters of Tashiev on allegations of fomenting disorder and have pushed through a rapid restructuring of the security services he led until Tuesday.
Allies of Japarov say Tashiev’s dismissal was triggered by attempts by unspecified actors to create “divisions” within Kyrgyz society.
Tashiev, who local media reported was receiving medical treatment in Germany when he was removed, described his ouster as “unexpected” but urged his supporters to obey the law and avoid destabilising the country.
Kyrgyzstan, a close ally of Russia, is under heightened scrutiny from Western powers that say it has become a principal facilitator of Russian evasion of sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.
The European Union last week proposed banning certain exports to Kyrgyzstan, over fears of sanctions-busting.
(Reporting by Aigerim Turgunbaeva, Writing by Felix Light; Editing by Ros Russell)
