Page 4 - Small Stans Outlook 2024

1.0 Politics
1.1 Politics - Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan’s populist Japarov administration, accused of aping the Putin regime in its efforts at regulating civil society, will this year continue with efforts at stamping its authority over the country of 6.7mn that was, until recent years, regarded as an island of democracy in Central Asia.
The latest example of the regime sweeping opposition aside in favour of “patriotic” schemes was seen in late December when President Sadyr Japarov signed a bill amending the national flag. His administration contends that the wavy yellow rays of a sun on a red field of the old flag resemble a sunflower. In Kyrgyz, the word for sunflower is "kunkarama," which can mean "dependent". The sunrays have been "straightened" to make the image look more like a sun.
The end of the year brought signs that public opposition to Japarov that is manifest on the streets may be mounting. The strongman warned on December 6 that "external management" for marketplaces would be applied unless vendors stopped their protests against the introduction of a new taxation system.
Japarov referred to “third forces” whom he alleged were attempting to take advantage of the tension and protests over the tax change for their own ends.
Kyrgyzstan has been through three revolutions since 2005. The third of those revolutions, in 2020, bust Japarov out of a prison cell and brought him to power. Japarov officials often talk of elements in society that they are aware of, who they claim are attempting to organise an effort to overthrow the government.
Japarov will this year attempt to centralise control of Kyrgyz society on multiple fronts. His administration continues to dismantle the country’s celebrated independent media.
International rights watchdogs have, meanwhile, joined a last-ditch battle in an effort aimed at stopping the passage of a bill modelled on Russia’s repressive “foreign agent” law that has resulted in the closure of many NGOs and the derailing of many others.
Japarov’s national security department remains engaged in attempts at purging hundreds of civil servants seen as disloyal and cracking down on various organised crime groups.
The IndustriALL Global Union lately claimed that Kyrgyzstan’s law enforcement agencies were wrongly arresting union leaders in order to replace them with figures loyal to Japarov.
On a positive note, there are hopes that 2024 could deliver a long-sought deal between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan over the mapping of their post-Soviet border. Disagreements over various territories that were delineated and
4 Small Stans 2023 www.intellinews.com