Chairman of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan (SCNS) Kamchybek Tashiev commented on the night protests against foreigners in Bishkek.
According to him, up to 700 people aged from 18 to 25 years old gathered in the capital yesterday. Their main indignation was that the number of migrants from other countries — Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, India — has sharply increased in Kyrgyzstan.
«To some extent, I think their yesterday’s demands are correct. Due to the fact that there were many migrants from the aforementioned countries, we began to take measures. The President instructed to consider the responsibility of migrants illegally staying in the country. We carried out active work in April and May. Every day we detect 20-30 foreigners who stay in the country illegally. Mostly citizens of Pakistan and Bangladesh stay in the country illegally. We have already expelled more than 1,500 citizens of Pakistan and 1,000 citizens of Bangladesh from the country. At the same time, about 5,000 illegally staying foreigners remain in the republic,» the SCNS head noted.
He added that law enforcement officers did not use force against the protesters in Bishkek.
«Therefore, we consider yesterday’s demands of those gathered to be correct to some extent, but if there is a violation of public order and a threat to the country, then we will take strict measures. We did not see any bad intentions among those gathered, but there were provocateurs among them. They have been identified and will soon be detained and brought to justice. Using phones and WhatsApp groups, they tried to spread various provocative messages, called for anti-state actions, and opposing the existing government system. There were also armed people, all of them were detained and will be punished,» Kamchybek Tashiev said.
Earlier it was reported about a mass brawl involving foreigners that took place in Bishkek on May 13. The incident occurred in the courtyard of one of the hostels where foreigners live. They beat up several local residents.
A criminal case was initiated under the article «Hooliganism» and three foreign citizens were detained.
About 300 young guys gathered yesterday night at the intersection of 7 April and Ogonbaev streets, who wanted pick a fight with the foreigners. The police set up cordons and attempted to prevent unrest. Some participants of the spontaneous rally were detained.