BISHKEK -- Two dozen Kyrgyz politicians, journalists, and activists on trial over protests against a Kyrgyz-Uzbek border deal have rejected President Sadyr Japarov's allegation that an organizer of the protests "received money from the ambassador" of an unnamed country.
The activists said in a December 19 statement on Facebook that they demanded evidence proving that a foreign state or a foreign citizen was in any way involved in organizing their protests, adding that such evidence cannot be found, since there was no foreign involvement whatsoever in their protest.
"Your statement affects not just us, it is also an accusation against a nation that has diplomatic ties with Kyrgyzstan. Although you did not name the nation that you allege was involved in our protests, the accusation needs to be thoroughly assessed in political and legal terms. Your statement is about the interference of a foreign nation into our country's internal affairs, a violation of our sovereignty, or, in other words, it is about sabotage actions carried out on the territory of Kyrgyzstan," the activists' statement says.
The statement comes three days after Japarov's speech at the second gathering of a controversial new government body called the People's Congress (Eldik Kurultai), at which he justified the court's decision to hold the activists' trial behind closed doors, saying a foreign diplomat financed the protest and the disclosure could "break" the Kyrgyz relationship with that state.
The 27 members of the so-called Kempir-Abad Defense Committee who went on trial behind closed doors on June 22 were arrested in October 2022 after they protested a Kyrgyz-Uzbek border-demarcation deal that saw Kyrgyzstan in November 2022 hand over the territory of the Kempir-Abad water reservoir, which covers 4,485 hectares, to Uzbekistan in exchange for over 19,000 hectares of land elsewhere.
SEE ALSO: What's Behind Kyrgyzstan's Deepening Crackdown On Civil Society?Sixteen of them were later transferred to house arrest.
Those arrested were charged with planning riots over the agreement, which was more than three decades in the making. Some of the arrested individuals were later charged with plotting a violent seizure of power.
Several of them launched hunger strikes to protest their arrest while in pretrial detention.
If convicted, the defendants face more than 10 years in prison.
There have been several rallies in Bishkek demanding the release of the Kempir-Abad Defense Committee members since their arrest.
Human rights organizations have also demanded the government release the jailed men and women and drop all charges against them, saying they were imprisoned for expressing their thoughts and opinions.
In November, Japarov and his Uzbek counterpart, Shavkat Mirziyoev, signed the disputed deal into law after lawmakers in both countries approved it.
The Kempir-Abad reservoir, known in Uzbekistan as the Andijon reservoir, was built in 1983. It is located in the fertile Ferghana Valley and represents a vital regional water source. Uzbekistan, whose population of 35 million is five times larger than that of Kyrgyzstan, uses most of the water from the area.
Many Kyrgyz civil activists, opposition politicians, and residents living close to the dam have been against the deal, saying Uzbekistan should continue to be allowed to use the water, but the reservoir's land should remain within Kyrgyzstan.
Japarov and his allies claim the deal benefits Kyrgyzstan and that Kyrgyz farmers will still have access to the water in the reservoir.