LETTER FROM CENTRAL ASIA
In the courtroom of Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, the verdict in the trial against Azamat Ichenbekov has just been announced: five years in prison. This October 10, the 27-year-old young man with a thin beard is found guilty, along with three other journalists from the investigative media. Temirov live, for having encouraged “disruption of public order”, for publishing articles embarrassing to those in power about endemic corruption within the Kyrgyz elite.
However, Ichenbekov did not participate in the investigations, like the other journalists: he adapted and recited the content in the form of poems, which were widely followed on the YouTube channel of Temirov live. The young man is an akyn, a Kyrgyz epic poet, whose status is highly respected in this mountainous Central Asian country. His harsh sentence sounds like a sign, for these traditional storytellers, that they will not escape the repression that all civil society and independent journalists have suffered since President Sadyr Japarov came to power in 2021.
The art of the akyns consists of improvising verses during aityshcompetitions that pit two poets against each other in a verbal joust punctuated by melodies of the komuz, the national string instrument. This type of rap battle In the traditional Kyrgyz version, popular festivals are usually broadcast on television. They reach a wide audience, because the poets address history and national spirituality, but also the daily problems of the population.
art of irreverence
“We are like a bridge between power and the people “, explains Jamaica Tokonova. This 29-year-old girl, dressed in a sweatshirt and sneakers, is one of the few female voices in the Akyn community of Kyrgyzstan, which has about fifty groups throughout the country. “I, for example, in my texts I talk mainly about violence against women, while other Akyn talk more about politics and the scourges of society.” he says between two sips of tea, in a cafe in Bishkek. For her, this irreverent, almost sacred art cannot fall under the influence of censorship. She quotes this Kyrgyz proverb to back it up: “We can cut off heads, but we can’t cut off tongues.”is. »
However, it is the languages of the Akyns that the authorities try to decide, almost systematically arresting these wise poets for “calling for chaos.” as soon as his texts venture to mock or criticize the policies carried out by those in 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 attacking President Sadyr Japarov and his right-hand man, the powerful Kamchybek Tashiev, leader of the secret services. , calling them “executioners of the people”.
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