Temir Sariev accuses country's chief ecologist Dinara Kutmanova of lying

15:16, 23 августа 2021, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency , Baktygul OSMONALIEVA

Ex-prime minister of Kyrgyzstan Temir Sariev, arrested within the Kumtor case, made an open appeal. He handed over the text through his lawyers.

The politician said that he is the pre-trial detention center of the State Committee for National Security on false accusations by Dinara Kutmanova. He explained why the arguments of the current head of the State Committee on Ecology and Climate are untenable and mislead the public, as well as the investigation.

«I headed the interdepartmental commission in accordance with the government decree No. 465 dated July 3, 2012 and the decision of the Parliament No. 2117V dated June 27, 2012. It consisted of 25 people. The commission included two deputies from each faction, ministers, heads of state agencies, inspections, two governors, youth representatives from two regions, experts, scientists and public figures. The work of the commission was organized transparently, in accordance with the regulations, all meetings were held with the participation of the media, were broadcast live. Two international laboratories from Germany and Slovenia, environmental and audit companies were involved. Dinara Kutmanova was also a member of the commission as an expert,» Temir Sariev reminded.

The state commission was divided into three groups, the members of the commission entered them voluntarily.

1. Legal group — under the leadership of the then Minister of Justice Almambet Shykmamatov.
2. Socio-economic group — under the leadership of the Deputy Minister of Finance Mirlan Baigonchokov.
3. Technical and ecological group — under the leadership of the then head of the State Ecological Inspectorate Osmonbek Artykbaev.

The appointed heads of the groups were personally accountable and organized inspections transparently and openly. They worked independently, no one interfered in their work. The results of the work of the three groups were summed up at a general meeting. The state commission checked the operation of the Kumtor mine from 1992 to 2011.

The following issues have been thoroughly studied:

• Who made decisions on Kumtor’s activities on behalf of Kyrgyzstan;
• Who of the leaders signed what documents;
• Whether the Constitution and laws of Kyrgyzstan were observed;
• What damage was caused to the state;
• What abuses were committed;
• What environmental problems have arisen;
• Whether taxes were paid;
• Who signed the tax exemption;
• Reasons for the destruction of glaciers;
• Why dumps are mixed with glaciers;
• For what reason the tailing dumps do not meet the requirements;
• How Kumtor was lost and how the Kyrgyz government lost control of the mine;
• Why, in violation of the law, the agreement with Centerra was given the status of an international agreement;
• For what purpose the Constitutional Court upheld this decision;
• What are the risks for Naryn river;
• Why the environmental fee was reduced 100 times.

All of this was included in the 500-page report of the state commission, along with photographs and laboratory data. The report was approved by the government on January 24, 2013, reviewed and adopted by resolution No. 34.

Then, for two days, February 20-21, 2013, the report was considered by the Parliament in the format of open, transparent discussions. These sessions were covered by the media and broadcast live. The report was fully considered and then approved by the parliamentary decree No. 2805-V dated January 21.

In the course of approval, the deputies highly appreciated the presented report and thanked all its members.

Dinara Kutmanova took part in all the meetings and had the opportunity to express her opinion. Therefore, her words that Temir Sariev reduced the amount of damage to the environment are unfounded. Her 25-page report as an expert was fully included in the general report.

The $5 billion damage she talks about is described on page 327. However, this is just an assumption and cannot be sued. What does it mean, it was written, but was not included? The same report contains the opinion of Isakbek Torgoev, a scientist of the Academy of Sciences, who also assumed such an amount of damage.

The report indicates the amount of damage calculated by the State Environmental Protection Agency — 15,567,832,885 soms and the State Ecological and Technical Safety Inspectorate — 7,050,257,629 soms.

According to our legislation, the deputy commission has no right to file claims in court; state bodies have this right. Therefore, the state commission wrote in the report that it supports the claims against Centerra. The report was approved and signed by all members of the commission. Everyone with a dissenting opinion was included in the appendix.

I was a deputy of the Parliament since 2000 and had a clear position on Kumtor. My speeches are in the parliamentary transcripts. The video was published on social media. I said in Parliament that Kumtor is a big scam, a scam of the century for Kyrgyzstan and the Kyrgyz people.

The man who fearlessly voiced all the names, courageously spoke out in the interests of the state, is now in custody on false charges.

I can confidently look anyone in the eyes and say that we checked all the issues on Kumtor to the smallest detail. I disclosed all the facts, names and surnames of the perpetrators. But today I am in prison, and those who made decisions to the detriment of the state are at large.

My conscience is clear. For me, honor is not an empty phrase, I have never made decisions that could harm my country. I am sure that justice will prevail and the truth will be on my side! I want to express my gratitude to all Kyrgyzstanis who believe in me and support me.

The SCNS is investigating the criminal cases on Kumtor. The beginning of June was marked by high-profile arrests. Former and current deputies of Parliament Torobai Zulpukarov, Iskhak Pirmatov were placed in the SCNS remand prison for two months. The court also ruled to arrest the ex-prime minister Omurbek Babanov, former speaker of Parliament Asylbek Jeenbekov and the first vice prime minister Taiyrbek Sarpashev. The ex-prime minister Temir Sariev was detained on August 3. Their supporters believe these arrests are politically motivated.

Three former deputies Talant Uzakbaev, Almazbek Baatyrbekov and Iskhak Pirmatov were released from custody. They entered into a plea bargain.

The preventive measure was also changed for Omurbek Babanov. He left abroad for treatment.

Former president Askar Akayev, who visited Bishkek, also agreed to cooperate with the investigation within the Kumtor case.

Lawyers of Adilet legal clinic, whose professionalism does not raise any questions for anyone, earlier declared the illegality of the criminal prosecution of Temir Sariev.

«The state commission for studying the work of the Kumtor gold mine, headed at that time by Temir Sariev, was formed on a parity basis, which included deputies of the Parliament, specialists, independent experts, representatives of the local community, as well as representatives of local authorities (governors). The state commission conducted its work transparently and openly, each session was recorded,» the lawyers reminded.

Adilet Legal Clinic also commented on the statement by the press center of the State Committee for National Security on the alleged understatement of environmental damage by Temir Sariev.

«We note that Temir Sariev, according to the regulations of the state commission, could not make any decisions on his own, especially the determination of environmental damage was within the competence of the authorized state body for environmental protection. The report on the work of the state commission was presented to the Parliament, where it was given a very high assessment,» the lawyers stressed.