On September 23 a teacher at a school in Tashkent’s Chilonzor district slapped a student when the child asked for the Russian language class to be taught in Russian.
The Children’s Ombudsman of Uzbekistan, Surayyo Rahmonova, has begun an investigation into the incident — but not before news of the assault reached Russia.
Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that she was concerned about the content of a video of the slap that was posted on social media. “We have requested official clarification from the Uzbek side,” Zakharova commented. “The Uzbek side is urgently asked to give the media material a legal assessment and, if justified, to take action against the perpetrator of cruel treatment of the child. We are keeping this issue under the closest attention.”
The leader of Uzbekistan’s Milli Tiklanish (National Revival) party and deputy speaker of the lower house of parliament, Alisher Qodirov commented on Telegram that “it would be better for [Russia] to deal with their own affairs [which are] full of problems than to deal with our internal issues. The violation of rights of an Uzbek child at a school in Uzbekistan will be investigated in accordance with Uzbek laws.”
A vocal critic of Russian influence, earlier this year Qodirov proposed a ban on the provision of public services to persons who don’t speak the Uzbek, and the promotion of Soviet ideology and symbols in Uzbekistan.
