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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 001310 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KG
SUBJECT: TEKEBAYEV RETURNS TO KYRGYZSTAN; SECURITY SERVICE 
SCANDAL GROWING 
 
REF: A. BISHKEK 1302 
     ¶B. WARSAW 1939 (NOTAL) 
 
BISHKEK 00001310  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for Internet distribution. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  Opposition MP Omurbek Tekebayev returned 
to Kyrgyzstan early September 12, after Polish authorities 
dropped all charges against him for carrying narcotics, as he 
appeared to have been framed (Ref B).  At a morning rally in 
front of Parliament, Tekebayev accused the Kyrgyz Government 
of setting him up, and his supporters carried signs saying 
"Down with Bakiyev."  During a raucous session of Parliament, 
National Security Service (SNB) Chairman Busurmankul 
Tabaldiyev announced that he had offered his resignation, and 
several opposition deputies rose to demand that President 
Bakiyev appear before Parliament.  In an apparent attempt to 
stem the criticism, President Bakiyev fired his brother, 
Janysh Bakiyev, from his post as First Deputy Chairman of the 
SNB for his alleged role in the scandal, though he may 
resurface in another position.  Parliament's special 
committee has begun its investigation of the incident, and 
public debate over the scandal will certainly continue.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) Former Speaker and current MP Omurbek Tekebayev 
returned to Kyrgyzstan early September 12 following his 
release September 8 by Polish authorities.  Tekebayev had 
been detained at the Warsaw airport September 5 when border 
guards found a matryoshka doll filled with heroin in his 
luggage (Ref A), but authorities later determined Tekebayev 
had been the victim of a set-up.  Surveillance video from the 
Bishkek airport appeared to show Tekebayev's luggage 
receiving special handling by security personnel prior to 
being loaded on the plane; the video was shown on television 
and over the Internet in Kyrgyzstan. 
 
¶3. (U) Tekebayev was greeted in Bishkek by a morning rally of 
several hundred supporters in front of Parliament.  Tekebayev 
thanked the crowd for its support and said that he had been 
the victim of a government plot.  Opposition MP Azimbek 
Beknazarov blamed President Bakiyev for the scandal, saying 
that the "wrong people" had been brought to power following 
the March 24, 2005 revolution, and several in the crowd 
carried signs saying "Down with Bakiyev." 
 
¶4. (U) Following the rally, Parliament held a raucous session 
in which several deputies demanded that President Bakiyev and 
other members of the government appear to answer questions. 
MP Bolotbek Sherniyazov claimed that Parliament's special 
committee investigating the case had obtained phone records 
linking the airport personnel who handled Tekebayev's luggage 
with SNB Deputy Chairman Janysh Bakiyev, the brother of the 
President.  SNB Chairman Busurmankul Tabaldiyev faced the 
deputies, telling them that he and Deputy Speaker Tairbek 
Sarpashev had met with President Bakiyev the previous night 
to discuss the incident and the accusations against Bakiyev's 
brother.  According to Tabaldiyev, President Bakiyev said 
that if his brother was involved, he should bear 
responsibility under the law.  Bakiyev subsequently signed a 
decree removing his brother from his post with the SNB "for 
transfer to another position."  Tabaldiyev, while claiming he 
had no personal knowledge of the plot against Tekebayev, 
announced that he had offered to resign. 
 
¶5. (U) The MPs also criticized Prime Minister Felix Kulov, 
who had actually recommended Janysh Bakiyev for the Deputy's 
position in the SNB.  Kulov defended himself, saying that he 
had had a positive impression of Janysh at that time.  The 
President's personal representative in Parliament, Alymbay 
Sultanov, told the members that the President had promised 
justice in this case and would move forward with a special 
commission to investigate the case consisting of 
 
BISHKEK 00001310  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the Procurator 
General's office, the Presidency, and MPs.  At least two MPs, 
however, said they would not serve on the government 
commission.  State television plans to broadcast tape of the 
day's session the evening of September 12. 
 
¶6. (SBU) COMMENT:  The parliamentary session will continue, 
either in committee or full session, on September 13, and it 
is not yet known whether President Bakiyev will appear. 
Meanwhile, the Parliament's special commission will also move 
forward, possibly interviewing airport security officials. 
The public debate over the scandal is just beginning.  END 
COMMENT. 
YOVANOVITCH