2024 Bishkek riots

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2024 Bishkek riots
Location Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
DateMay 17–18, 2024
TargetForeigners, especially ones from SWANA and South Asia
Attack type
Mob attack
Deaths4
InjuredAt least 29 [1]
PerpetratorsKyrgyz nationalist mobs
Motive Xenophobia

The 2024 Bishkek riots were attacks on foreigners by ethnic Kyrgyz mobs in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. The clashes lasted from May 17th to the 18th, with four reported deaths.

Contents

Foreign governments with citizens in the country took a deep concern, with the Pakistani government successfully evacuating 3000+ Pakistani students. [2]

Background

Kyrgyzstan is a common destination for medical students, given its cheap costs of education and internationally recognized medical degrees. It had more then 60 thousand foreign students in 2021, including 14,500 Indian students and 10,000 Pakistani students. [3]

Clashes

Clashes began after Kyrgyz students were involved in a brawl with Egyptian and other Arab medical students on May 13 in Bishkek. [4] The Arabs allegedly won the fight, which sparked retaliation by Kyrgyz mobs against foreigners in the country. Initially, over 100 Kyrgyz gathered "to take revenge on the foreigners who beat up residents." [5]

The Kyrgyz mobs began targeting anyone with a similar appearance to the Arabs they had fought. Pakistanis became the most targeted, and some Indians and Bengalis were attacked too. [6] [7] The attacks were initially in universities, although they later spread to the streets, with Kyrgyz mobs attacking anyone perceived as foreign, whether they were male or female. Foreigners were instructed not to leave their homes and to close their curtains and to hide as the Kyrgyz mobs were severely beating people without any exceptions. The Kyrgyz mobs began going on a manhunt around the city for foreigners. 500–700 more Kyrgyz youth aged between 18 and 25 gathered in the city center. [8]

Four Pakistani students were reported killed. [9]

On Kyrgyz social media, rioters sent messages calling on locals to come out and attack foreigners. Streets were extremely dangerous as hundreds of Kyrgyz rioters were mercilessly beating any foreigner they saw. [10]

Mobs surrounded universities, workplaces, houses, and hostels where Pakistanis, Indians, and Bangladeshis were located, and dragged them out to beat. They also chanted racist slogans. [11] Local streets were closed by authorities, although it did not have much effect. [12]

By May 18, the violence had died down and the authorities declared the riot over. One-hundred-eighty Pakistanis, including 140 students, left Kyrgyzstan. [13]

Response

Pakistani government

The Pakistani government was commended for its quick response to ensure the safety of Pakistani students. The Kyrgyz government ensured provision of foolproof security to Pakistani students. Standard medical services were provided to the injured students. The government announced plans to operate special flights to bring back Pakistanis from Bishkek. A committee was also constituted to investigate the matter. [14]

Evacuation of students

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar announced that three special planes will bring back a total of 540 Pakistani students from Bishkek. [15]

PTI criticism of Pakistani government response

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, a major opposition party, Sindh’s region President Haleem Adil Sheikh criticized the government's response and said that the government did nothing but issue statements. Shaikh called for immediate start of emergency flight operations and opening of a Green Corridor to ensure safe return of Pakistani nationals. [16]

Reactions

Both the Indian and Pakistani embassies in Bishkek recommended that their nationals in Bishkek should stay indoors. [17]

On 22 May the Kyrgyz Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that ten people, six Kyrgyz nationals and four foreigners, had been detained in connection with the violent riots. According to the ministry, nine investigations were launched into hooliganism, robbery, mass disorder, and inciting ethnic hatred. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyrgyzstan</span> Central Asian nation

Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia, lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the capital and largest city of the country. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and China to the east and southeast. Ethnic Kyrgyz make up the majority of the country's 7 million people, followed by significant minorities of Uzbeks and Russians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osh</span> City in southern Kyrgyzstan

Osh is the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, located in the Fergana Valley in the south of the country and often referred to as the "capital of the south". It is the oldest city in the country and has served as the administrative center of Osh Region since 1939. The city has an ethnically mixed population of 322,164 in 2021, comprising Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Koreans, and other smaller ethnic groups.

The Tulip Revolution or First Kyrgyz Revolution led to President of Kyrgyzstan Askar Akayev's fall from power. The revolution began after parliamentary elections on February 27 and March 13, 2005. The revolutionaries alleged corruption and authoritarianism by Akayev, his family and supporters. Akayev fled to Kazakhstan and then to Russia. On April 4, 2005, at the Kyrgyz embassy in Moscow, Akayev signed his resignation statement in the presence of a Kyrgyz parliamentary delegation. The resignation was ratified by the Kyrgyz interim parliament on April 11, 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roza Otunbayeva</span> President of Kyrgyzstan from 2010 to 2011

Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva is a Kyrgyz diplomat and politician who served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 7 April 2010 until 1 December 2011, becoming the first female Central Asian head of state. She was sworn in on July 3, 2010, after acting as interim leader following the 2010 April Revolution, which led to the ousting of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. She previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and as head of the parliamentary caucus for the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan. She is also known in Kyrgyzstan for the persecution of human rights activist Azimzhan Askarov and the failed policy that led to the bloody events of June 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White House, Bishkek</span> Presidential office building in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

The White House is the presidential office building in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The White House was the site of riots during both the 2005 Tulip Revolution and the 2010 Kyrgyzstani riots. During the 2010 riots a fire broke out and damaged portions of the building and destroyed the hard copies of many government records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurmanbek Bakiyev</span> President of Kyrgyzstan from 2005 to 2010

Kurmanbek Saliyevich Bakiyev is a Kyrgyz politician who served as the second president of Kyrgyzstan, from 2005 to 2010. Large opposition protests in April 2010 led to the takeover of government offices, forcing Bakiyev to flee the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manas International Airport</span> Airport in Sokuluk District, Kyrgyzstan

Manas International Airport is the main international airport in Kyrgyzstan, located 25 kilometres (16 mi) north-northwest of the capital, Bishkek.

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The Osh riots were an ethnic conflict between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks that took place in June 1990 in the cities of Osh and Uzgen, part of the Kirghiz SSR. The immediate cause of the riots was a dispute between an Uzbek nationalist group Adolat and a Kyrgyz nationalist group Osh Aymaghi over the land of a former collective farm. While official estimates of the death toll range from over 300 to more than 600, unofficial figures range up to more than 1,000. The riots have been seen as a forerunner to the 2010 ethnic clashes in the same region.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">India–Kyrgyzstan relations</span> Bilateral relations

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Melis Myrzakmatov was the mayor of Osh, Kyrgyzstan's second largest city, from 26 January 2009 until 5 December 2013. Myrzakmatov is known for being a radical nationalist leader and openly bearing an ethnic Kyrgyz-first policy. He is also widely believed to be involved in organized crime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azimzhan Askarov</span> Kyrgyz activist and journalist (1951–2020)

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This is a list of individuals and events related to Kyrgyzstan in 2024.

References

  1. ↑ "First batch of students arrives as govt moves in to rescue Pakistanis in Bishkek". 18 May 2024. Archived from the original on 19 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  2. ↑ Salim, Yusra (26 May 2024). "Panic in Bishkek". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  3. ↑ "Mob violence in Kyrgyzstan a threat to Indian, Pakistani students? What we know so far". Firstpost. 18 May 2024. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  4. ↑ "غاغة ضد المهاجرين في قرغيزستان واحتجاز 3 طلاب مصريين". جريدة البشاير (in Arabic). 18 May 2024. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  5. ↑ "Ambassador says five Pakistani students injured in Kyrgyzstan mob violence". Arab News. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  6. ↑ "Ambassador says five Pakistani students injured in Kyrgyzstan mob violence". Arab News PK. 18 May 2024. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  7. ↑ "Pakistanis in Kyrgyzstan's Bishkek asked to stay indoors amid mob riots targeting international students". 18 May 2024. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  8. ↑ "4 Arrested, Dozens Injured as Mob Violence Targets Foreigners in Bishkek". Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  9. ↑ "Kyrgyzstan: Four Pakistani students killed in violent attack; India urges students to stay indoor". Free Press Kashmir. 19 May 2024.
  10. ↑ "Locals spreading hate messages on TikTok: Indian students in Kyrgyzstan". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  11. ↑ "'A Living Hell': Pakistani Students Describe Harrowing Bishkek Mob Violence". Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  12. ↑ Desk, Web (17 May 2024). "Thousands of Pakistani students attacked by locals in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan". HUM News. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  13. ↑ Service, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz. "Bishkek University Reportedly Calm After Mob Violence That Injured At Least 29". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Archived from the original on 19 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  14. ↑ "Bishkek incident: Govt's swift response for safety of Pakistani students lauded". Archived from the original on 19 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  15. ↑ "Three special planes to bring back 540 Pakistanis from Bishkek tonight: Ishaq Dar". Archived from the original on 19 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  16. ↑ "Bishkek: PTI leader assails govt for its 'action'". Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  17. ↑ "Kyrgyzstan Violence: India, Pakistan Issue Emergency Helplines For Students Amid Reports of Riots In Kyrgyzstan | What We Know". Outlook India. 18 May 2024. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  18. ↑ 6 Kyrgyz, 4 Foreign Nationals Detained Over Mob Attacks In Bishkek That Triggered Exodus (RFE/RL)
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