KHATLON, Tajikistan — Tajik authorities say a Tajik national has been killed while fighting alongside pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Tag: Tajik
Central Asia’s Hydropower Spat | The Diplomat
Uzbekistan continues its quest to choke its two poorer neighbors’ plans to attain and secure energy independence. During an official visit to Kazakhstan late November, Uzbek President Islam Karimov made sure to bring up the “dangers” the hydropower plants Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan want to build could pose. According to Karimov, the plans are “not coordinated with countries downstream,” i.e. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Flanked by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Karimov said, “We have affirmed our common position regarding the construction of new hydro technical facilities upstream of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya Rivers, which must strictly conform to recognized norms of international law and UN conventions as well as mandatory coordination with all countries located in the lower reaches of these rivers.”
Karimov conveniently forgets his administration bills Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan for natural gas exports. Moreover, said gas is frequently shut off as a means of coercing the two countries, which are planning to build power-generating facilities on Central Asia’s two largest rivers. For instance, Kyrgyzstan has been struggling with not just a shortage but an absence of Uzbek gas, for most of 2014. Because mountainous Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan sit high above sea level, harsh winters create shortages of already scarce electricity, and any insufficiency of Uzbek gas only makes the two countries more anxious to secure energy independence.
From Russia With Love?
Despite Tashkent’s tactics, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which together own nearly 70 percent of the waters that flow into the dwindling Aral Sea, remain deaf to Uzbekistan’s demands and warnings of “water wars.” This is thanks in part to Russia. The Kremlin has not only been voicing its support for plans to revive the Soviet-era projects, it has actually invested millions of dollars in the idea. Russian President Vladimir Putin personally travelled to Bishkek and Dushanbe, the two regional hosts of Russian military bases, to sign bilateral agreements to that effect. On top of Russia’s support, Tajikistan secured the World Bank’s “green light” for what is expected to be the tallest dam in the world: Rogun at 335 meters. Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan was actually able to launch parts of a cascade of Russia-funded hydropower stations.
If giving money and throwing political support behind Kyrgyz and Tajik energy initiatives is the Kremlin’s carrot, the stick it may wish to use can hit both sides of the conflict. Toughening conditions for millions of Kyrgyz, Tajik and Uzbek migrant laborers in Russia, thereby indirectly forcing them to return to their homelands, is a tool Moscow has used frequently in the past. And this time around these migrants could thwart Uzbekistan’s attempts to prevent Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan from building dams. The sanctions the West slapped on Russia for Crimea and Ukraine have obvious implications for millions of Central Asians seeking work in Russia. On top of this, a report the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released in November suggests that falling prices of oil coupled with sanctions will negatively impact the Russian economy next year, sending shockwaves across Central Asia. These factors could lead some migrants to return from Russia, permanently.
The return of even a portion of the migrants to join the growing local populations would put Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan under pressure. Ironically, therefore, both sides of the water conflict equally need it: Uzbekistan needs water to keep tens of thousands of returnees busy on agriculture fields, lest they voice discontent with the government’s inability to employ them, while Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan need water to generate electricity to keep their own returning migrants from taking to the streets in protest. No sane Tajik or Kyrgyz politician would back down in the face of such challenges.
Advancing Legal Protection for Women in Tajikistan | IREX – Civil Society, Education and Media Development
Mufara Hamidova provides legal assistance to women in Tajikistan on issues ranging from domestic violence to early marriage. As a manager at the League of Women Lawyers of Tajikistan, she addresses domestic issues through litigation and mediation and also uses media and trainings to inform community groups about the legal status of young girls getting married and the legal and psychological consequences of early marriage. For more on early marriage in Tajikistan, click here.
As a 2011 LEAD fellow, she is studying at the University of Missouri-Kansas City this year and is accompanied by her husband and three-year-old son. Recently Mufara answered IREX’s questions about her legal work assisting women in Tajikistan and how she juggles a demanding legal career, family responsibilities, and coursework for a graduate degree in the US.
Central Asia – Enclaves Of The World
3.12 Sarvan (Tajikistani enclave within Uzbekistan)
The village of Sarvan (or Sarvak, Sarvaksoi and Sarvaki-bolo) is surrounded by Uzbekistan territory and is located in the Fergana and Isfara valleys region where Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan meet. The enclave covers a valley with an area of about 8 km². The principal economic activity is agriculture, particularly cotton.
This enclave appeared following the disintegration of the USSR in 1991.
3.13 Vorukh, Western Qalacha (Tajikistani enclaves within Kyrgyzstan)
Two Tajikistan enclaves are found within Kyrgyzstan territory. Both are located in the Fergana and Isfara valleys region. These enclaves appeared following the disintegration of the USSR in 1991.
The village of Vorukh is located south of the mountain Ak-Tash (3 058 m). It covers an area of 130 (or 97) km² and has a population between 23,000 and 29,000. 95% of these are Tajiks and 5% Kyrgyz.
A small settlement near the Kyrgyz railway station of Kairagach is referred to as Western Qalacha by the Kyrgyzstan Development Gateway website. It is located next to the Kyrgyz-Tajik border in the Leilek district. The enclave covers less than 1 km².
The area’s economy is based on agriculture and gardening (irrigated by the Karavshin River), while a substantial part of the male population works in markets in Russia selling fruit and vegetables. Vorukh experienced ethnic tensions related to land and water between Tajiks and Kyrgyz from nearby Samarkandek in 1989, 1993 and 1999.
Tajik Web users rail against online censorship – Washington Times
Tajik Web users rail against online censorship – Washington Times.
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Internet users and providers in Tajikistan are voicing concerns about online censorship after the government lifted a six-day ban on Facebook and several news websites last week.
“I assume the reasons for blocking Facebook is that its Tajik segment has become very active recently,” said Parvina Ibodova, president of theAssociation of Internet Providers in Tajikistan.
“There are many groups and pages that discuss current issues in Tajikistan, including politics. Moreover, prominent opposition figures actively use Facebook in their daily work.”
On March 2, Bek Zuhurov, deputy minister of transport and communications, ordered Tajikistan’s Internet service providers to deny access to several websites, including Facebook, for “technical and maintenance works.”
Facebook has about 30,000 users in Tajikistan, said Ms. Ibodova, who believes the websites were blocked because they contained content critical of the government.
Tajikistan’s government previously has blocked certain websites, but this month’s action marked the first time the country’s 1.9 million Internet users were denied access to a major social media site.
Dunja Mijatovic, who specializes in media freedom for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, wrote to Foreign MinisterHamrokhon Zarifi on March 5 expressing concerns about free speech on the Web.
UNDP Tajikistan – Scaling-up in Tajikistan: From the Zerafshan Valley initiative to the rural growth programme
TAJIK DANCE INITIATIVE
Tajikistan July – August 2011
During the summer of 2011 six members of our performing arts ensemble were able to travel once again to Tajikistan. The group included dance artists Kristen Sague, Hannah Romanowsky, Mariam Gaibova, Emelie Coleman, musician/composer Neema Hekmat, and Sharlyn Sawyer (ostad Sharlyn) director/artist AACS-BA. The purpose of our journey would be to renew friendships with our Tajik counterparts through TDI now a fully independent local Tajik arts organization based in Dushanbe. During our stay we would have the opportunity to study dance, collaborate with local artists and perform in various settings, and inspire future joint projects.What follows are first hand accounts of the travels and adventures of 2011, as experienced by Afsaneh Art & Culture Society – Ballet Afsaneh members, and honored dance artists/scholars Hannah Romanowsky and Kristen Sague.
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Chinese president’s envoy meets Tajik president on relations
Chen, who is vice chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China, conveyed Hu’s warm greetings to Rakhmon.
Chen said that, thanks to the joint efforts of the two sides, remarkable achievements in the development of bilateral ties between China and Tajikistan had been made in the past two decades.
The two countries had carried out a series of major cooperation projects in such fields as the economy and trade, transportation and electricity, based on the principle of mutual benefit, she said.
Chen said the two sides had also maintained close coordination within the framework of the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and made their contribution to regional stability and world peace.
China is ready to seize the opportunity of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic between China and Tajikistan to enhance China-Tajikistan political mutual trust, tap their cooperation potential and take bilateral ties into ever new stages, Chen said.
Rakhmon said Tajikistan had been committed to developing a new type of friendly relations with China since the two countries established diplomatic ties 20 years ago.
On the Rise in Tajikistan, Islam Worries an Authoritarian Government
After decades of enforced secularism, the people of this impoverished former Soviet republic have been flocking to their traditional religion with all the zeal of born-again movements anywhere in the world.
The authoritarian government here could not be more worried. Spooked by the specter of Islamic radicalism and the challenges posed by increasingly influential religious leaders, the Tajik authorities have been working fervently to curb religious expression.
Bearded men have been detained at random, and women barred from religious services. This year, the government demanded that students studying religion at universities in places like Egypt, Syria and Iran return home. The police have shuttered private mosques and Islamic Web sites, and government censors now monitor Friday sermons, stepping in when muftis stray from the government line.
Last month, lawmakers took what many here said was a drastic step further: they passed a law that would, among other things, bar children younger than 18 from attending religious services at mosques.
With a Russian in a Tajik Jail, Moscow Aims Its Reprisal at Migrant Workers
MOSCOW — The imprisonment of a Russian citizen in Tajikistan has touched off reprisals against ethnic Tajik migrant workers in Russiawho say they have been unjustly targeted for arrest and deportation.
Russia has had recent spats with other regional countries.
Immigration agents have rounded up at least 300 ethnic Tajiks in the last two weeks, according to the Federal Migration Service, though independent human rights workers said they believed that hundreds more might have been detained. Tajik officials said the first deportees began arriving home this week, though it was unclear how many would ultimately be expelled.
“Officers of the Federal Migration Service, together with agencies of the Interior Ministry, are conducting operations to expel citizens of Tajikistan, and we will do so rapidly,” Konstantin Romodanovsky, the head of the Federal Migration Service, told the Itar-Tass news agency last week. “We have been told to restore order, and we will employ the severest measures to do so.”
-Via NY Times- With a Russian in a Tajik Jail, Moscow Aims Its Reprisal at Migrant Workers