Entrepreneurs of Sarai village in the Kara-Suu region of Osh oblast have threatened to “skirmish” with regional authorities after what they perceive as a “capture” of part of their market’s physical territory. The regional authorities explained that the land had been nationalized, but lawyers say such a decision is not in the remit of local authorities.
Representatives of the market Sooda Birimdigi, which is located in a village of Sarai in Kara-Suu district, argue that the local council [Ailuk Motu] “captured” two of the fourteen acres of land on which the market is located.
They showed reporters of Kloop.kg documents proving that authorities had “captured” land belonging to them.
Entrepreneur Omur Erkinbayev said that if the local council does not return the land to the owners, they will engage in a “shoot- out” with local authorities.
“We will shoot if they do not liberate the territory of the market, and shoot until the local council returns our property to us,” he said.
A representative of the Sarai local council, Anipahan Salieva, denied accusations from the Sooda Birimdigi market. According to her, documents provided by Erkinbayev and his colleague Ananbay Ergeshov are “old”.
Salieva said that the invaders, by contrast, are those very same entrepreneurs protesting of state incursions. Salieva says Sooda Birimdigi was nationalized after the ethnic conflict in southern Kyrgyzstan in June 2010.
Salieva added that despite the fact that the market is owned by the state, Ergeshov and Erkinbaev continue to lease the land to “Sooda Birimdigi”.
Lawyer and human rights activist Chyngyz Abdimomunov says local councils have no right to nationalize land – according to him, such measures can be authorized only by the office of the president and parliament.
Photo: RFE/RL
Author: Ainura Kaarmanova
