Q. Please give us a sense of the violence that occurred in Bishkek recently, particularly targeting foreign students? What exactly triggered it, and how did it get out of hand?
The conflict itself occurred on May 13, 2024, late in the evening in a pizzeria near the hostel where foreign students lived. The conflict arose on domestic grounds between students (Egyptian citizens) and local residents. However, on the evening of May 17, not far from the scene of the fight, a crowd of people gathered demanding that foreign citizens be brought to justice, as well as solve the migration problem.
Law enforcement agencies localized the site of the spontaneous protest, which ended only in the morning of May 18 and later dispersed. Law enforcement agencies are currently carrying out appropriate work and identifying all the instigators, carrying out preventive work to prevent such incidents.
Q. It has been reported that local students were particularly targeting Egyptians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshi and Indian foreign students. Is there any truth to this?
Citizens of Egypt, Pakistan and Bangladesh were injured during the unrest. The instigators of the riots are being identified by law enforcement agencies and some have already been detained. This work is ongoing. The government of the Kyrgyz Republic guarantees that all participants in the riots will be punished.
Q. How many people were injured in the violence?
As a result of the mass brawl, 41 victims sought medical help. 11 people are receiving inpatient treatment.
Currently, there are two patients in the city emergency hospital. One has a closed head injury, the other has a fractured femur. The patients’ condition is assessed as stable.
One victim continues to be treated in the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery at the National Hospital. His condition is assessed as relatively satisfactory
In total, on May 19, eight more foreigners sought medical help and were hospitalized at the clinic of the International Medical University. All of them are under medical supervision, and their condition is relatively satisfactory. The day before, the Minister of Health A. Beishenaliev visited them. The Minister emphasized that the provision of qualified medical care to the victims is under his personal control.
On behalf of the President of the Kyrgyz RepublIc Sadyr Zhaparov, all expenses for treatment and provision of necessary medications for victims will be free of charge.
We especially note that there are no Indian citizens among those injured or injured.
Q. What did the government of Kyrgyzstan do to bring the situation under control? Were there any arrests?
On May 17, the entire personnel of the internal affairs department of the city of Bishkek was involved in localizing the spontaneous protest. The rally, which began on the evening of May 17 in Bishkek, ended only in the morning of May 18. The police managed to come to an agreement with the protesters, and they opened all adjacent roads, and a little later dispersed.
President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Zhaparov made an appeal in which he assessed the current events and instructed the Government to take comprehensive measures to resolve the situation.
In this regard, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan E. Baisalov held a meeting with rectors of 18 higher educational institutions. At the meeting, they discussed the incident of an attack on a dormitory with foreign students in Bishkek and the necessary measures to restore the educational process and maintain the attractiveness of the republic’s educational institutions for foreign students.
On behalf of the country’s leadership, the Cabinet of Ministers is considering the issue of paying for damages to injured foreign students. The form and timing of compensation will be announced later.
Also, the meeting participants discussed issues of ensuring the safety and well-being of students, strengthening their integration into the life of local communities and conducting explanatory work within the republic.
The deputy head of the Cabinet of Ministers said that the next meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers will be devoted to issues of educational and pedagogical work with young people, stopping the mass import of illegal labor migrants into the country and ensuring public order.
Following a fight on May 13 in a hostel, which was one of the reasons for the protests, the police detained four Egyptian citizens; they were later released under house arrest.
At this time, the conflict has been resolved and the situation is completely under control.
Q. What kind of charges do the people who indulged in the violence face?
A criminal case has been initiated under the article “Hooliganism” of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic. Suspects of robbery against foreign citizens in Bishkek were detained. The Sverdlovsk District Internal Affairs Department opened a criminal case under Article 207 (robbery) of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic. During the investigation, the identities of those who committed the robbery in the hostel were established. All of them were placed in a temporary detention center. The investigation into the criminal case continues.
The internal affairs bodies of the Kyrgyz Republic continue to work to identify all participants in attacks on foreign citizens. Work in this direction is being carried out very carefully and we will inform about the results later.
Q. What is the current situation? Does a tense atmosphere still loom in the universities? It is believed your government told foreign students to attend online classes for the time being.
Currently, the situation in the country is calm, there is no tension, and naturally everyone is worried about what happened. The country’s leadership, all interested departments, and the leadership of universities are taking all measures to stabilize the situation.
Foreign students in Kyrgyzstan have been temporarily transferred to online learning. The Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic issued an order on distance learning for a week. Such measures have been taken to ensure that students have the opportunity to stay in dormitories and other places of residence.
Together with university rectors, work is underway to ensure the safety of students, including those living in rented apartments, hostels and other places.
Q. What steps is your government taking to ensure such an incident, which invariably instils fear among foreign students, is not repeated in future?
As I noted above, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic made an appeal on this incident and gave corresponding instructions to the Government and the competent authorities of the Kyrgyz Republic. Currently, the Government is working to eliminate the consequences of the events that occurred and prevent such incidents from happening again. Work in this direction is being carried out by all competent departments of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Also, the Minister of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic A. Beishenaliev met with the rectors of medical higher educational institutions of Kyrgyzstan. At the meeting, issues of safety, health and education of foreign students were discussed.
The Minister emphasized the importance of attracting foreign students for education in Kyrgyzstan. He asked university leaders to hold explanatory conversations with their students and assured that the situation was under the control of all relevant authorities. He also called on them to provide full assistance in treatment to those foreign citizens who are in university clinics of universities.
The rectors expressed their readiness to hold explanatory conversations with students to ensure they have access to quality medical care and guarantee full coverage of treatment costs.
Q. Please tell us about the people of Kyrgyzstan… their culture, their nature. It doesn’t seem that violence or anger is routine.
You are right, violence or anger is not common among our people. The criminal acts of individuals have nothing to do with the culture and traditions of hospitality. Since ancient times, our people have had a particularly respectful attitude and care towards their guests who have arrived from afar. In our country, foreign students are treated with great sympathy; they are bridges for strengthening friendship between peoples. Law enforcement agencies are conducting a thorough investigation into all the circumstances of the incident and will definitely bring all those responsible to justice.
We say that foreign students are also someone’s children, only from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, China and so on. Maybe there are mistakes on the part of foreign students, but you need to understand that they are coming to another country for the first time, are not familiar with local traditions and customs, and do not yet understand everything. But they learn quickly. Already in the first year they all speak Kyrgyz, and in the third year they speak Kyrgyz, Russian and English. We would really hate for students from other countries to leave. The Kyrgyz have never been evil, but have always been kind and sympathetic.
Q. Could it be that the local people feel threatened by so many foreign students studying in your universities?
I think that they do not feel threatened as such. It’s just that the appearance of a large number of foreigners in a country always causes some kind of tension in society, and Kyrgyzstan is no exception in this regard. Maybe there hasn’t been enough outreach work in Kyrgyz society. In any case, the events that occurred were a difficult lesson for us, and we are drawing conclusions and working to ensure that such things do not happen again in the future.
Q. What makes Kyrgyzstan such an attractive destination for foreign students?
The arrival of foreign students in the Kyrgyz Republic is prestige for the country. Now educational tourism speaks of the high level of domestic teachers. They can teach medicine to representatives of other states. Students came here to study, they have no politics, they only have knowledge. It should also be noted that foreign students bring a lot of dividends; they are investors. At the same time, our tuition fees are lower than in other countries, and the level of teaching is high.
Q. Does Kyrgyzstan offer employment opportunities to foreign students after they’ve completed their studies there?
Yes, there is such an opportunity; specialists from different countries are currently working in Kyrgyzstan. Almost all of them are graduates of Kyrgyz universities. Since many students have graduated from medical universities, they work in medical institutions in the country and also teach in higher educational institutions.
They can also work in the CIS countries, since there are Agreements on the recognition of higher education diplomas between the CIS countries.
Q. What kind of lifestyle can they expect living and working in Kyrgyzstan?
I can say that at the beginning of their career they can expect to perform at the level of the average worker in the industry in which they work. In the future, everything will depend on his professionalism and perseverance. In other respects, this is the case everywhere, both in Kyrgyzstan and in other countries.
