In Kyrgyzstan, power oppresses rhyme

LETTER FROM CENTRAL ASIA Mambetorozo Uulu Mambettokto, during a joust at the Bishkek Philharmonic. YOUTUBE SCREENSHOT In the courtroom of the court in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, the verdict in the trial of Azamat Ichenbekov has just been announced: five years in prison. This October 10, the 27-year-old man with a thin beard was found guilty, alongside three other journalists from the investigative media Temirov Live, of having encouraged “disturbing public order” by publishing articles embarrassing the government on endemic corruption within the Kyrgyz elite. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers In Kyrgyzstan, press freedom deteriorates with the sentencing of four journalists to prison Read later Ichenbekov did not, however, participate in the investigations, like the other journalists: he adapted and recited the content in the form of poems , widely followed on the Temirov Live YouTube channel. The young man is an akyn, a Kyrgyz epic poet, whose status is highly respected in this mountainous Central Asian country. His heavy sentence sounds like a signal, for these traditional storytellers, that they will not escape the repression that has befallen all of civil society and independent journalists since President Sadyr Japarov came to power. , in 2021. The art of the akyns consists of improvising verses during aitysh, competitions pitting two poets against each other in a verbal joust punctuated by tunes from komuz, the stringed instrument national. These kinds of rap battles in the traditional Kyrgyz version are popular festivals often broadcast on television. They reach a wide audience, because the poets address national history and spirituality, but also the daily problems of the population. Art of irreverence “We are like a bridge between the power and the people,” explains Jamaica Tokonova. The 29-year-old young woman, in sweatshirt and sneakers, is one of the rare female voices in the akyn community in Kyrgyzstan, which has around fifty groups across the country. “I, for example, mainly talk about violence against women in my texts, when other akyns talk more about politics and the scourges of society,” she says between two sips of tea, in a café. from Bishkek. For her, this irreverent, almost sacred art cannot fall under the influence of censorship. She cites this Kyrgyz proverb in support: “You can cut off heads, but you cannot cut off tongues. » The poet Izat Aidarkoulov during a joust at the Bishkek Philharmonic. YOUTUBE SCREENSHOT However, it is indeed the languages ​​of the akyns that the authorities try to decide, almost systematically arresting these wise poets for “calling for chaos”, as soon as their texts venture to mock or criticize policies carried out by power. After Azamat Ichenbekov, the young akyn Askat Jetigen was in turn sentenced on appeal to three years in prison on October 18, for a Facebook post which attacked President Sadyr Japarov and his right-hand man, the powerful Kamchybek Tashiev, leader secret services, calling them “executioners of the people”. You have 49.1% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.



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