Kyrgyzstan marks a symbolic date — 100 days with the new president. Nothing extraordinary has happened during this time. Sooronbai Jeenbekov demonstrates discretion and ability to negotiate in the interests of the state so far.
The first promise
At the inauguration ceremony, Sooronbai Jeenbekov promised that his first decree as the head of Kyrgyzstan would be to confer the title of Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic to Almazbek Atambayev and award him Ak-Shumkar merit badge.
Three days later, Almazbek Atambayev received the highest state award for «outstanding service to the people, an outstanding contribution to strengthening the state independence of Kyrgyzstan, the unity of the people, peace and harmony in the country, creation of a solid foundation for sustainable development of the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as demonstrated political will and courage.»
After that, ф little was said about the former leader of the country. All attention is focused on the new leader.
The first approval
Bishkek residents saw the changes since the first days of Jeebekov’s rule. The head of state changed the time of his departure to «the White House» and refused blocking of the roads.
Sooronbai Jeenbekov does not come to work in rush hours on the strategic road, when thousands of citizens try to get to work or study on time. He tries to be in the workplace as early as possible.
The cortege enters the territory of the White House in the early morning, around 8.00 am. The traffic is stopped for only a few minutes when the car turns into the yard.
The townspeople welcomed the new rules with open arms.
The first visit
Sooronbai Jeenbekov paid his first visit as head of state to Russia, which also cannot but please the people of Kyrgyzstan. He held talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and was warmly welcomed by the Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in his country residence.
It is also noteworthy that the visit took place at the invitation of the Russian side. «It could not be otherwise. The Russian Federation remains for us the main strategic partner and ally. I am grateful to Vladimir Putin for the invitation. We discussed topical issues, prospects for further cooperation. I had the opportunity to present him the highest award of the Kyrgyz Republic — Manas order of the 1st degree. Our delegation was warmly welcomed. All the issues that we discussed will be resolved,» Sooronbai Jeenbekov told journalists.
Then the president of Kyrgyzstan went to Minsk for the summit of the heads of state of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). He could not avoid meeting with the head of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. The problem on the Kyrgyz-Kazakh border remained unresolved. And the people were waiting for the concrete steps on settlement of the conflict from Sooronbai Jeenbekov as the leader and the first person.
After a month and a half of blockade, the border started working in the previous regime. Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan again were mentioned as fraternal countries.
The first official visit
Sooronbai Jeenbekov paid his first official visit to Uzbekistan.
The Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration explained it in such a way: «Many questions have accumulated between the two countries over the past ten years. Now there is a firm political will to solve problems on a mutually beneficial basis, taking into account mutual interests. Therefore, at the invitation of the President of Uzbekistan, our president intends to pay a visit to «compare notes» for further actions and addressing urgent issues, determining specific plans and areas for cooperation. It is a question of using those directions that are not being applied yet. The potential of bilateral cooperation of our countries is high. Our border regions, the capitals are ready to work. We have extensive plans. And during the visit, we intend to confirm the commitment to implement previously reached agreements, as well as to outline plans for the future.»
Relations between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan were finally settled after the invitation of Nursultan Nazarbayev. Sooronbai Jeenbekov willingly accepted it and went to Astana.
In the last days of 2017, Vladimir Putin gathered all the heads of the CIS for an informal meeting. In February, Sooronbai Jeenbekov flew to Dushanbe — again, at the initiative of the inviting party.
The main topic of the talks was the delimitation of the border. Specific decisions have not yet been taken, but the working groups are actively negotiating.
There are more than 70 undemarcated sites on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border.
In 2015, the delimitation of state borders was suspended at the initiative of Tajikistan. The parties had disputes. It is gratifying that they again began the dialogue.
The first outing
The wife of Sooronbai Jeenbekov is still in the background. He does not take her with him even during official visits. She was not in Tashkent, Astana or Dushanbe. For the first time since the inauguration, Aigul Jeenbekova appeared in public only once — on the eve of the New Year.
Photos from the presidential New Year show for the children in the National Philharmonic Hall, where the head of state was depicted with his wife, gained thousands of views in a few hours.
The first Security Council meeting
The public and the state officials got excited after the meeting of the Security Council, at which Sooronbai Jeenbekov criticized the activities of the State Committee for National Security, noting that only one-third of the criminal cases initiated reach a court.
The State Committee for National Security has initiated two thousand criminal cases over the past two years. Only 29 percent of them were brought to trial. And the court, in its turn, acquitted almost a half of those accused by the investigators of the State National Security Committee.
Sooronbai Jeenbekov
The State Corruption Control Service of the SCNS and the Prosecutor General’s Office also caught it bad from the head of state. «The Prosecutor General’s Office is the national coordinator of the fight against corruption, but it is performing its obligations inefficiently,» the head of the Kyrgyz Republic noted. «There are obvious internal contradictions and protection not of state, but only departmental interests. You carry out many illegal and unreasonable checks. I receive complaints from the heads of executive authorities about duplicate inspections by the supervisory authorities. The prosecutor’s office should stop it and oversee the legality, but this does not happen. On the contrary, the prosecutor’s office itself initiates many inspections.»
Unfortunately, some State Corruption Service employees turned into the untouchables. It’s time to change the format of the service. It is also necessary to consider job compliance of all the staff of the service.
Sooronbai Jeenbekov
It did not take long. Director of the Corruption Control Service of the State National Security Committee Duishenbek Chotkaraev lost his post. Staff reshuffle started in the agency. It is known that more than two dozen employees lost their work in the Corruption Control Service.
The first Intrigue
Duishenbek Chotkaraev left his post voluntarily, having submitted a corresponding notice of resignation. The president accepted it.
Literally a few days later, the head of the Presidential Administration Farid Niyazov wrote a resignation notice and brought it to Sooronbai Jeenbekov.
The presidential spokesperson, responding to the questions of 24.kg news agency, had to explain what was happening.
Sooronbai Jeenbekov and Farid Niyazov had a meeting on Saturday, February 24. The head of the Presidential Administration announced his desire to leave the office, but the president did not accept his request. On Monday, February 26, Farid Niyazov went to the president with a notice of resignation. But Sooronbai Jeenbekov did not sign it and offered to work together further.
Farid Niyazov was offered to have a rest. Sooronbai Jeenbekov believes that the man was simply tired, because he did not rest after the presidential election. The official was given a week-long leave.
Sooronbai Jeenbekov appointed Farid Niyazov for the post of head of the Presidential Administration three months ago — on December 11, 2017.
The time will show what it was — a demarche or just fatigue.
