Kamchybek Tashiev

Kamchybek Kydyrshaevich Tashiev (Камчыбек Кыдыршаевич (Кыдырша уулу) Ташиев; born 27 September 1968) is a Kyrgyzstani politician who was head of the political party Ata-Zhurt until its merger with the Respublika party in 2014.

He is currently Chairman of the State Committee for National Security.

He was born on 27 September 1968 in Barpy, a village in the Kirghiz SSR (a republic of the Soviet Union).

From 1987 to 1989 he served in the Soviet Army.

In 1992, Tashiev graduated from Tomsk State University with a degree in chemical engineering.

In 1999 he graduated from Kyrgyz National University with a degree in law.

In 2007, he was appointed Minister of Emergency Situations.

In 2009, he resigned due to disagreements with Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov.

Following his party's success in the 2010 Kyrgyz parliamentary election, on 23 October, Tashiev's home was burgled.

He later stated to Al Jazeera that "they broke in like bandits... I think they intended to shoot me. I believe they tried to eliminate me - the forces that want to cancel election results and impose a state of emergency. I know for sure, GSNB [security services] was behind these actions."

He accused Keneshbek Duishebaev, head of the GKNB in the cabinet of transitional president Roza Otunbayeva, of attacking him.

Duishebaev and Roza Otunbaeva declined all accusations.

From 2010 to 2013 he was a deputy of the Jogorku Kenesh.

During the events of April 7, 2010, hundreds of Kyrgyzstanis died on Ala-Too Square.

Fleeing from the masses, Bakiyev went to Belarus and found shelter with Alexander Lukashenko.

Bakiyev's regime was marked by family and clan rule, corruption at all levels of government and the murders of politicians and journalists.

He is a citizen of Kyrgyzstan and father of five children.

He holds the rank of Lieutenant general.

He speaks Kyrgyz and Russian.

Kamchybek Tashiev became one of the lobbyists in the transfer of the Kempir-Abad reservoir to the possession of Uzbekistan, the preparation of the agreement was carried out in complete secrecy and this aroused the suspicions of the public masses.

At a public hearing, Kamchybek Tashiev made a series of threats against politicians, promising to tear their mouths.

“'''I have already registered five or six people.

After (Tashiev did not specify, after what) I will hit one or two in the teeth'''”, - he said with a smile.

Soon after that, more than 36 political activists were arrested in February 2023.

The arrests caused massive indignation on the part of the human rights and international community.

The arrests were condemned by human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch, International Partnership for Human Rights, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, and others.

Activists stated that they were intimidated at meetings with authorities on border issues.

Most of the nearly 30 arrested people are still in detention.

During the discussion of the issue in parliament, Tashiev personally threatened to imprison and break the arm of the leader of the opposition Butun Kyrgyzstan faction, Adakhan Madumarov, and also cursed and insulted the mother of deputy Omurbek Bakirov.

Omurbek Bakirov, after a dispute with the head of the State Committee for National Security, Kamchybek Tashiev, was deprived of his mandate.

In 2012 as Member of Kyrgyz Parliament, he was remembered for a number of ambiguous statements, where he demanded purebredness of politicians:

"'pure-blooded Kyrgyz should rule Kyrgyzstan, without admixtures of other bloodlines. We always followed others: Jews, Tatars, Russians. Babanov came to power, now we are hanging out with the Kurds''."In particular, he criticized his main political opponent Omurbek Babanov, whose mother was Kurdish.

On February 13, 2012, the Civic Anti-Fascist and Anti-Nationalist Committee (CAAC) of Kyrgyzstan issued an appeal in which it drew the attention of the public of the republic to the statements of MP Kamchibek Tashiev, who, according to CAAC, “leads purposeful propaganda of nationalism" and "voices frankly fascist ideas, raising the question of the purebredness of this or that politician." Kyrgyzstan is an multiethnic state and such statements were regarded as extremely provocative. Tashiev further stated more ultranationalist statements in an interview to Ferghananews:"'If any nation in our country, Russians, Uzbeks, Turks or Chinese, say that they are equal to or superior to the Kyrgyz, then the state will fall apart.'"During his work as chairman of the State Committee for National Security in 2020, Tashiev returned the nationality to the count in the passports of citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Previously, the former authorities of Kyrgyzstan refused this column and replaced it with common "citizen of Kyrgyzstan".

Tashiev, being the head of the State Committee of National Security, in 2023 publicly criticized the Constitutional Court's decision to allow the mother's name to appear in the passport of the country's citizens instead of the father's name for citizens who will to do so, and demanded it to cancel its decision, that goes against Constitution of Kyrgyz Republic:"'No mother name in passport, whoever accepted this decision must cancel it!'"Public organizations and human rights activists regarded this as an attack on women's rights in Kyrgyzstan and threat on Constitutional Court.

The Venice Commission supported the position of the Constitutional Court.

Kamchybek Tashiev's family is closely connected with the fuel business in the south of the country.

On 16 October 2020 he was appointed chairman of the State Committee for National Security.

Tashiev had repeatedly stated that he would return Kurmanbek Bakiyev to Kyrgyzstan.

Kamchybek Tashiev and Kurmanbek Bakiyev come from the same village - Barpy in the Jalal-Abad region of Kyrgyzstan.