Fugitive president of Kyrgyzstan, Askar Akaev, gave an interview to Rossiyskaya Gazeta. He recently visited the country after 16 years of absence. The former head of state told who and why invited him to the Kyrgyz Republic, and also ensured his safety and accompanied him on trips around the country.
Answering the question who guaranteed his safety, Askar Akayev said: «First of all, it was the current President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, and, of course, the state leadership of Russia, who have been providing me and my family with unwavering support all these years, for which I am eternally grateful.»
He also said that the initiative to bring him to the Kyrgyz Republic belongs to the current head of state. «The author of the idea is the current President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov. He personally called me and invited me to the republic to cooperate with law enforcement agencies in the case related to Kumtor, which included charges against me as well. He promised that everything would be done within the framework of the rule of law, and he kept his word,» Askar Akaev told.
According to him, Sadyr Japarov was the first person he met in the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic. «First of all, immediately upon arrival in Bishkek, my son Ilim, who had accompanied me on the trip, and me were received by the President of the republic, Sadyr Nurgozhoevich Japarov. The meeting-conversation was very constructive and friendly. I expressed support for those constructive deeds that were started in the republic after the October events of 2020 and expressed my readiness to provide all possible assistance in their implementation,» Askar Akaev said.
And then he «handed me over», as they say, to the Chairman of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan Kamchybek Tashiev, in whose institution I had worked with his employees full working week long.
Askar Akaev
«Maximum respect was shown to me there, so we worked very fruitfully. I gave sincere answers and clarifications to all questions. But it is still too early to talk about the results. There may be additional questions. Then the competent authorities will make the final decision. I hope it will be fair,» the fugitive president added.
He also commented on the Kumtor case, noting that «the people of Kyrgyzstan had high hopes, which partly came true». «Kyrgyzstan had only one source for this — the gold of Kumtor. Therefore, in a great hurry, the search for a large mining company for the development of Kumtor was carried out. Unfortunately, at that time we did not have qualified specialists with sufficient experience in working with international companies. Taking advantage of this, the Canadian Cameco company, involved in the development of Kumtor, received great benefits upon the conclusion of the agreement, demanding unreasonable exemption from taxes and payments for the use of natural resources,» Askar Akaev said in the interview.
But the biggest mistake, according to Akaev, was made in 2003, «when, for the first time after two decades of low prices for gold, a long stage of high prices began.» «We decided to restructure the project in order to enter an international stock exchange to attract additional investment, accepting Cameco’s proposal, which misled us by overstating the value of its additional assets in other countries of the world, and received an unfairly large stake in the new Centerra company,» he explained.
Akaev believes that «the current government of Kyrgyzstan did the right thing by deciding to introduce external management at Kumtor in order to stop the environmental catastrophe associated with the pollution of glaciers and other natural resources, as well as the unfair distribution of economic benefits from the implementation of Kumtor project.» «That is why I found it necessary to go to Kyrgyzstan and help my native republic bring this decision to a victorious conclusion,» he explained.
He also shared his impressions of Bishkek and Kyrgyzstan in general, where he has not been for 16 years. «I was struck by the changes in the capital. Bishkek has changed in some places beyond recognition. The villages made me happy. The villagers of Kyrgyzstan have very successfully adapted to the market conditions of the economy. Thanks to this, most of the villagers began to live better. The villages have become more beautiful. All this was the result of the land and agrarian reform that was successfully carried out in due time,» Askar Akaev said.
Talking about his mistakes, the former president regrets only one thing: that he gave the Department of State consent to creation of Center for Support of Free Media in Bishkek.
He believes that it was this, and not his family rule, that led to the «Tulip» coup in March 2005. «As a result, I could not adequately complete my presidential term, which would expire in the autumn of the same 2005. If not for this coup, I had a chance to transfer power by constitutional means to the next legally elected president. This is the only thing I regret for the most part, recalling my political career,» Askar Akaev said.
«One of the lessons that the countries of the region have learned from this negative experience of Kyrgyzstan is precisely that one should not allow external forces to dominate the information field of the state,» Askar Akaev said.
Askar Akaev arrived in Bishkek on August 2. Earlier, he was put on the wanted list within the Kumtor case. After the former president was taken to the State Committee for National Security, he entered into a plea bargain. According to him, he was interrogated several times.