BISHKEK – A Kyrgyz parliamentary commission on June 22 decided to allow the launch of a probe against opposition lawmaker Adakhan Madumarov over his role in signing a Kyrgyz-Tajik border deal in 2009 when he led the country's Security Council.
Madumarov, 58, and one of the leading opposition politicians in the country, has been accused of signing the border deal that President Sadyr Japarov has criticized for ignoring Kyrgyzstan's interests.
Madumarov, leader of the Butun Kyrgyzstan (United Kyrgyzstan) party, said after the parliamentary commission announced its decision following closed-door discussions, that the move was ordered by the government.
"The chairperson of the parliamentary commission today acted five times stronger than the prosecutor-general, and some of our fellow lawmakers were so loud in their accusations, but I was not offended by them," Madumarov said, adding that the whole situation around him was politically motivated.
The Prosecutor-General's Office officially asked the parliament in late May to allow the launch of an investigation of Madumarov on charges of preparing mass disorder, illegal seizure of power, and abuse of office.
The first two charges were related to October protests against a Kyrgyz-Uzbek border deal that ended with the arrest of almost 30 politicians, activists, and journalists who went on trial on June 22 on various charges, including plotting mass disorders and power seizure.
SEE ALSO: Kyrgyz Politicians, Activists, Journalists Go On Trial Over Protest Against Border DealHowever, the parliamentary commission ruled that Madumarov had nothing to do with the October protests and instead must be investigated for signing the border deal with Tajikistan in 2009.
Last year, following deadly clashes along a disputed segment of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border, Japarov said Tajikistan now uses the 2009 agreement to justify its stance that the disputed land in the area belongs to it.
Madumarov has insisted that the agreement he signed has no judicial force as it was a preliminary document and he can't be charged for having signed it.
Almost half of the 970-kilometer Kyrgyz-Tajik border has yet to be demarcated, leading to repeated tensions since the two countries gained independence after the breakup of the Soviet Union three decades ago.