NCSJ - 04.13.2010

Kyrgyz Update #3


We are learning more about the violence that occurred during the initial days of turmoil in Bishkek.

An NCSJ contact in the Kyrgyz capital reported that rioters had attempted to set fire to the city’s main synagogue. A group of people broke the building’s external video surveillance camera and threw three Molotov cocktails, one landing on the roof and two in the courtyard of the synagogue. The firebombs failed to explode, and did not damage the building.

The Hesed office in Bishkek also suffered limited damage. The office is located next to a computer store, which was looted. As the store’s windows were broken and equipment was stolen, a window in the Hesed office was also broken, perhaps simply collateral damage.

The local Jewish community has expressed concern to the provisional government over the synagogue incident. They call the attacks a provocation and deny any broadly anti-Semitic sentiments in Kyrgyzstan. The provisional government continues to provide security at the Synagogue and have attempted to assuage the community's concerns. A previous complaint about an anti-Semitic banner hanging from the Presidential palace resulted in the banner's prompt removal.

As of this morning Bishkek is getting back to a somewhat normal routine. People went to work, shops are reopening and the Hesed has begun to see clients again.

We will keep you informed as developments warrant.

See also: Reuters: Kyrgyz Jews alarmed

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NCSJ - 04.09.2010

Kyrgyz Situation Seems More Stable

Kyrgyz Jews are staying safe

In conversations today with a Jewish community leader and a media representative in Bishkek, both said it was relatively quiet last night in the city -- almost a return to normal life. Security on the streets is reducing the amount of looting and violence. Public transportation is again functioning and there is an effort to clean up the streets.

Some Israeli and Russian media outlets have been reporting about ongoing anti-Semitic incidents in Bishkek. According to the persons we spoke with, they are isolated and sporadic at most. When the community complained about an anti-Semitic banner hanging in front of the presidential palace, it was removed by the provisional authorities. We have spoken to the State Department and requested that they follow-up with our Embassy to look into this and other reported incidents. The Israeli Foreign Ministry has issued a statement calling for greater vigilance on the part of the new authorities.

It appears the future of the country is very much dependent on President Bakiev’s next course of action. He is in the southern part of the country marshalling his supporters. At the same time, the provisional government is attempting to assert its control over large parts of Kyrgyzstan.

We will keep you informed of further developments.

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NCSJ - 04.08.2010

NCSJ Speaks to Governments, Kyrgyz Jewish Community

"No one knows what will happen tomorrow" says Jewish leader

NCSJ has been in contact with the U.S. and Israeli governments, international Jewish organizations and the Kyrgyz Jewish community about the ongoing political turmoil in the Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan).

Earlier today we spoke with a leader of the Jewish community in Bishkek, where the situation remains chaotic and violent. People are still looting businesses and burning government buildings. She said it is a difficult environment for everyone, including the Jewish community, but that the community has not been targeted by those who have taken to the streets.

“Today we are in the same situation as everyone else,” she said, “but no one knows what will happen tomorrow.” As we were speaking she told us that she heard gunfire again, and that this had been a regular occurrence over the last few days.

The Kyrgyz Jewish community is estimated to be less than 1,500 and is primarily located in Bishkek, the capital. A number of Jewish programs and institutions serve the community, including a Jewish school and Hesed Center. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee oversees many of these activities and World ORT directs the school.

Kyrgyzstan, which hosts an air base for military planes that resupply U.S. troops, is a strategically important staging ground for the war in Afghanistan. On Thursday, CNN quoted a senior State Department official who said Washington was closing its embassy in Bishkek and might move dependents onto the air base as a safety precaution.

In a Russian-language interview with Ekho Moskvy radio, ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev said he doesn’t think he is defeated, and that he still retains his mandate as President. Bakiev said he was speaking from somewhere in southern Kyrgyzstan, far from the capital.

NCSJ also spoke with a prominent Jewish leader with close ties to Kyrgyzstan, who said that President Bakiev will not leave without a struggle, and that it is unlikely there will be a quick solution.

We will keep you informed of the latest developments and the impact, if any, on the Jewish community. To help you better understand this small but strategically important country, click here to read the NCSJ Kyrgyzstan Country report.

Click here to read the latest news from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA).

Click here to read a World ORT report on the Kyrgyz situation.

See below for the today’s statement by the White House on the unrest in Kyrgyzstan.

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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
______________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                                        April 8, 2010

Statement by the Press Secretary on the Unrest in Kyrgyzstan

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC—Below is a statement from Press Secretary Robert Gibbs regarding the unrest in Kyrgyzstan. 

“The President has been closely following the events in Kyrgyzstan, and continues to monitor the situation with his National Security Team. We urge that calm be restored to Bishkek and other affected areas in a manner consistent with democratic principles and with respect for human rights. We deplore the use of deadly force by some of the security services against the demonstrators and by some demonstrators and continue to be concerned by ongoing looting and disorder. The United States looks forward to continuing our productive relationship with the people of Kyrgyzstan and the renewal of Kyrgyzstan’s democratic path.”

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NCSJ: Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia, founded in 1971, represents the organized American Jewish community in monitoring and advocating on behalf of the estimated 1.5 million Jews living in the 15 successor states of the former Soviet Union.