By Nazir Aliyev Tayfur
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AA) - Kyrgyzstan’s president affirmed his commitment to preventing the realization of "malicious intentions” following the revelation of alleged plans to overthrow the government.
"These people had very selfish plans. They did not have a large following. They were just a small group. But we are not sleeping either. We will not allow their malicious intentions to come to fruition," said Sadir Caparov, the local news agency Kabar reported Monday.
Caparov provided insights regarding the disclosure of a group claimed to be preparing to overthrow the government as revealed by the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security (UKMK).
He said the group was made up of former officials who had embezzled money from the state and evaded taxes.
Also warning of the danger of provocations at demonstrations in the country, Caparov said those who try to overthrow the government will be punished severely.
He emphasized that there is no justification for a change in government, asserting his administration's transparency, economic progress and the importance of seeking power through elections.
The UKMK in a statement said it detained two people during the operation, one of whom was preparing to incite the public, while the other was planning to transfer money from the US.
It said Thursday that it carried out an operation against a group said to be preparing to overthrow the government.
The statement said Imamidin Tashov and Tilekmat Kurenov, who had search warrants against them for "preparing to seize power by force," supported the two people detained, both of whom testified that Tashov financed the preparations to overthrow the government.
Tashov, who was a candidate in the 2021 Kyrgyz presidential election and owns a construction company, was detained by the UKMK in November last year on a complaint by property owners but was released on bail a month later.
Kurenov was detained on charges of organizing an illegal demonstration and left the country after being released last October.
Saying that measures are still being taken against the group, the UKMK also released photos of the operation and the findings of search activities, which include a book written by Fethullah Gulen, the leader of the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
FETO and Gulen, its US-based leader, orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Türkiye in which 252 people were killed and 2,734 wounded.
Ankara accuses the terror group of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.