Crossroads Asia | Politics | Central Asia

In Interview, Japarov Says He’d Planned for Tashiev to Be Kyrgyz President Next

Japarov claimed he changed his mind once he realized Tashiev is “not ready.”

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov claimed in an August 13 interview with journalist Ali Toktakunov that he’d planned for his former ally and security chief Kamshubek Tashiev to follow him in the presidency, but changed course once he realized “he’s not ready.”

The revelation comes in tandem with Kyrgyzstan’s prosecutor general appealing the July verdict and sentences in the “Letter of 75” case, seeking harsher punishments. 

Japarov also clarified in the interview that he will, indeed, seek a second term in January in order to “complete” his reforms. 

Tashiev served as the head of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) until his surprising dismissal in February. At the time, Japarov explained the dismissal of his friend and close ally as necessary to “strengthen the unity of the state and prevent divisions in society, including between government agencies.”

A month before his dismissal, Tashiev had responded to mounting rumors that he would seek the presidency. “Many have tried and continue to try to sow discord between us, claiming that I aspire to the presidency. But this is not true,” he said at the time. “I do not intend to overthrow Sadyr Nurgoyevich h [Japarov]… In this life, only death can separate us.”

Tahsiev has consistently denied any ambition to become president, even as he built up a resume of successes and consolidated power around himself. But Japarov just said he intended to retire after his first term and pass the presidency on to Tashiev.

So what happened? According to Japarov, he’d told Tashiev, “Be prepared, cleanse your circle, educate your people.” Tashiev apparently did not do so.

“Then I see: he’s not ready,” Japarov continued. “His staff isn’t behaving as expected, and people in his entourage have skyrocketed in power.” When the “Letter of 75” appeared, Japarov said, “When parliament began to be divided between the general’s supporters, I summoned him and said: ‘This is unacceptable. You can’t divide the people. I will severely punish those who divide the people into north and south, because the people have only just begun to unite. So don’t be offended, I’m removing you from your post.’”

There’s an ironic precedent for all of this: Japarov’s predecessor, Sooronbai Jeenbekov was the hand-picked successor of his predecessor, Almazbek Atambayev. Their falling out, which intensified in 2019 with Atambayev’s arrest, threw Kyrgyzstan into the political chaos that saw Japarov busted from prison and swept into the presidency in 2020. Tashiev, long an ally of Japarov’s, rose with him into power. And then it all fell apart.

Tashiev, alongside former Speaker of the Zhogorku Kenesh Nurlanbek........

© The Diplomat