“Spare me the sight”
Kyrgyzstan’s secret service chief bans ministers from swimming trunks
07/20/2023, 9:17 p.m
It’s vacation time and a day at the beach sounds tempting, but not when it comes to the powerful head of the secret service in Moscow-friendly Kyrgyzstan. He even warns against relaxing by the sea in swimwear. Measures would be taken if they were disregarded.
Holiday ban from the head of the secret service: In central Asian Kyrgyzstan, the head of the powerful security service GKNB has asked all ministers to work hard and warned against relaxing on the beach. “Not a single minister should lie on the beach in swimming shorts and sunbathe,” GKNB boss and former top politician Kamchybek Tashiyev told cabinet members, according to news agencies, adding: “Spare me this sight.”
If the advice is disregarded, he could “take action,” Taschiyev added. In addition, according to Tashiyev, the ministers should start their working day at 6 a.m. “We must not rest at home. Anyone who becomes a minister should work,” he explained in justification of his appeal to work.
Closely allied with Russia
Tashiyev is a close ally of the Kyrgyz leader Sadyr Japarov. Japarov came to power in 2020 after serving a prison sentence for kidnapping. Dschaparov and Tashiyev were also convicted in 2012 for an attempted coup.
The former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan is considered chronically unstable. Since the poverty-stricken country gained independence in 1991, three presidents have been overthrown. The mountainous country has around 6.5 million inhabitants and is closely allied with Russia. Recently, however, the country has also come closer to neighboring China.
In an effort to effectively enforce sanctions against Russia, the US and Canada have recently imposed other new restrictions, including on companies based in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz companies have frequently supplied export-controlled technology to Russia since the beginning of the Russian invasion, which eventually served Russia’s defense sector, the Finance Ministry said. As a result of the sanctions, possible assets of those affected will be blocked in the USA.