Bishkek: Former President Akaev returns from exile

He had fled in 2005 in the wake of the "tulip revolution". Akaev is implicated in the Kumtor scandal, the "Kyrgyz Watergate". A move by the current head of state Zaparov to promote national reconciliation and deal a blow to his political opponents.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The first president of Kyrgyzstan has returned to his homeland after 16 years in exile. Accompanied by his son Ilim, 74-year-old Askar Akaev landed on August 2 at the airport of Biškek: he left from Moscow, after making an agreement with the current head of state Sadyr Žaparov.

After arriving in the capital, law enforcement agencies reported that "Akaev was interrogated by members of the National Security Committee [Gknb]", for the criminal affair related to the gold mining company "Kumtor". Later, as published by Nezavisimaja Gazeta, the former Kyrgyz leader was received at the presidential residence in Ala-Arča for a solemn welcome lunch.

The former president was about to spend a vacation in Switzerland with his family, when he received Žaparov's invitation to travel to his homeland, ensuring his safety and freedom from the still pending charges. Akaev himself told journalists that he "came to help, and tell what I know about the Kumtor affair," thanking President Žaparov for inviting him to return to Kyrgyzstan after years of exile.

Akaev had become the first president of Kyrgyzstan, later renamed Kyrgyzstan, being the president of the local Soviet republic at the time of the collapse of the USSR. He was re-elected several times and remained in office until 2005, when he fled to Russia after the "Tulip Revolution". Since then, the country has experienced continuous turmoil and political upheaval; Zaparov intends to bring it back to normal through deep reforms. The return of the historic president has therefore the clear function of historical reconciliation of the various national souls.

The Kumtor affair dates back to 1992. At the time, the judicial authorities had placed Akaev and other state officials under investigation for corruption. The accusation was that they had falsified contracts for gold mining. The matter dragged on until 2003, with several new charges and revisions.

Kumtor is Kyrgyzstan's leading gold mining company; it provides 10% of the entire national GDP. Akaev had sold it to the Canadian company "Cameco", but Žaparov brought it back under state control. The return of Akaev, also agreed with the Kremlin, has the specific purpose of clarifying once and for all the many obscure aspects of the Kumtor affair, trying to avoid negative consequences for the national economy and politics.

The Kumtor affair is called by journalists "the Kyrgyz Watergate". It is expected that after Akaev's visit many excellent heads of the Kyrgyz nomenklatura will begin to roll, allowing Žaparov to prove to the people his success in the fight against corruption. Many political opponents want to take revenge on the current president, and they curb his actions in various ways, especially with the support of various oligarchs and businessmen.

Kyrgyzstan was one of the first post-Soviet nations to join the World Trade Organization, achieving various international awards for its success in transitioning to a democratic system after totalitarianism. Akaev himself had initiated very important reforms in the market economy, finance and land distribution. He is also credited with having avoided bloodshed even in the 2005 uprising, which forced him to leave power and flee abroad. His return closes the circle of Kyrgyzstan's post-Soviet history. Žaparov now intends to open a new page thanks to the reconciliation with the first "father of the independent nation", which the other successive presidents had not been able to achieve.