Defense - The Times Of Central Asia

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Kazakhstan Proposes to Abolish Compulsory Military Conscription

In Kazakhstan, activists have led calls to abolish compulsory military service by publishing a petition on the epetition.kz platform directed to the Ministry of Defense. The petition has been provoked by recent tragic cases among servicemen, which, the document's authors say, revealed severe problems in the Kazakh army. The petition emphasizes that the main issues are hazing and non-statutory relations, which exert strong pressure on conscripts, causing psychological trauma and, in some cases, suicide. The authors are also concerned about soldiers' inadequate training. They believe modern challenges and technologies can be effectively countered only by professional soldiers, not temporarily conscripted ones. The authors cite weak medical and psychological supervision as one of the military's critical problems, as it does not help conscripts adapt to army conditions. They propose a switch to a thoroughly professional army, which they believe would improve training and reduce the number of tragic incidents. The petition will be open until October 4. To be considered by the government, a petition in Kazakhstan must garner at least 50,000 votes. In recent years, Kazakhstan has observed an alarming increase in suicides among soldiers. In 2022, President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev ordered an investigation to identify the causes of these incidents. Hazing and psychological pressure remains one of the key causes of these tragedies. Despite the measures taken, such incidents continue. Last month Kazakhstan was shocked by the death of a conscripted soldier in the Mangistau region. According to some reports, an officer shot the enlisted man in the face with a pistol.

Central Asia Defense Tajikistan International Affairs Tajikistan International Affairs Kyrgyzstan International Affairs Kyrgyzstan Kazakhstan International Affairs Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan Hosts CSTO Exercises

According to a statement from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), troops from five of the organization's six member states -- Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Tajikistan -- have convened this week at the Edelweiss military training ground in Kyrgyzstan's Issyk-Kul region for training. The joint exercises involve over five thousand people and 900 units of military equipment, with only Armenia not represented. “The tasks of the exercise include improving mechanisms for making and implementing decisions on the use of forces and means, as well as increasing coherence between the armies of the allied countries and the interoperability of military formations in preparing and conducting joint operations,” said Andrei Serdyukov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff. The exercises combine various training components. The maneuvers include special exercises with intelligence forces, and logistics exercises. The Interaction-2024 command-staff exercise is aimed at preparing for a joint operation to resolve a potential armed conflict. [caption id="attachment_22933" align="aligncenter" width="300"] @TCA. A.Chipegin[/caption] The CSTO press service said that one of the exercise's priorities this year is to improve the deployment of the collective forces, including managing the transit of military contingents through allied countries. Observers from nine countries are present at the Edelweiss ground: Algeria, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Uzbekistan. Also observing the exercise are representatives of the UN Secretariat, the SCO Secretariat, the CIS Executive Committee, and the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center. “In our dynamically changing world, security is becoming paramount, and this requires new approaches, effective coordination, and clear solutions... Our countries have become direct participants in the beginning reshuffle of forces in the world,” Lieutenant General Baktybek Bekbolotov, Kyrgyzstan's Minister of Defense, commented at the opening of the exercise. According to Bekbolotov, the main threats to the countries of Central Asia are terrorism, separatism, and extremism, as well as the arrival of radical groups from the Middle East to the region's borders. “With a global threat, the efforts of one country are not enough. There are regional organizations for this purpose; in our case, the main one is the CSTO,” Bekbolotov stressed.

Central Asia Defense Uzbekistan International Affairs Uzbekistan International Affairs

Uzbek Security Chief: SCO Must Help Afghanistan to Fight Islamic State Khorasan Province

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is holding its 10th regional anti-terrorism conference in Tashkent. The conference is being held on September 4 and 5. At the conference's plenary session, Lieutenant General Abdusalam Azizov, the head of Uzbekistan's State Security Service, emphasized that the member countries of the SCO must work together to fight against international terrorism, extremism, and radicalism. “The Afghan government is fighting international terrorism based on its capabilities and resources, and the Afghan special service is leading the fight against the Islamic State and achieving results. We must fight together against the enemy,” Azizov said. Regarding the branch of Islamic State known as Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which has claimed responsibility for several fatal attacks in SCO member countries, including the attack on the Crocus City concert hall outside Moscow earlier this year, Azizov said: “It is important to help Afghanistan in the fight against ISKP, because the weakening of countermeasures will lead to the strengthening of this group, which, in turn, poses a threat to the security of the region.” ISKP was formed in 2014 as a collective of defectors from groups including al-Qaeda, Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP), and former Taliban fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is estimated that ISKP has between 4,000 and 6,000 members. Since the Taliban killed its leader Sanaullah Ghafari in 2023, it is unclear who runs the group.

Education Defense Central Asia Kazakhstan Local Politics Life & Culture Kazakhstan Life & Culture Local Politics Kazakhstan

Lessons in Self-Defense for Kindergarten Kazakhs

From September 1, Kazakhstan will introduce “Personal Safety” lessons to the curricula of its kindergartens, schools, and colleges. Developed by Kazakhstan's Ministry of Education, the program of 130 training sessions aims to teach children the basics of self-defense and develop a responsible attitude towards their own and others' safety. According to Nasymzhan Ospanova, Chair of the Committee for the Protection of Children's Rights, the lessons are tempered according to the children's age and developmental level to help motivate and support participants. Conducted in batches of weekly ten-minute classes, repeated three times a year, the training courses will include practical tips, games, interactive teaching methods, demonstrations, and videos, making the material accessible and exciting for children of all ages. It is worth noting that over the past three years, the number of children who have committed criminal offenses has increased by 20.3%. In 2023 alone, 1,823 juveniles were convicted. In most cases, crimes are committed by teenagers 16 - 17 years old (80.4%), with about 93.6% of juvenile offenders being boys. Statistics confirm that crime is higher among those with little education and those living in difficult situations. Thus, the share of those who neither study and nor work is 51.9%, the share of those who study in colleges is 26.9%, and in schools, gymnasiums, and lyceums, 20.6%.

Defense Central Asia Uzbekistan Tajikistan International Affairs International Affairs Tajikistan Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan International Affairs Kazakhstan Kazakhstan International Affairs Uzbekistan International Affairs

CSTO to Hold Series of Military Exercises in Central Asia

In the coming days, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will hold a series of exercises to protect stability in the Central Asia region. The director of the First Department of the CIS countries, Mikael Agasandyan, told RIA Novosti: “Russia is consistently making efforts to develop the CSTO’s potential as an effective structure responsible for maintaining stability in member states and the vast Eurasian space. In the coming weeks, a series of exercises are planned with various components of the Organization’s Collective Forces on the territory of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, aimed at practicing joint actions in the Central Asian region to protect the stability and collective security, in particular, taking into account the situation in Afghanistan.” He also noted the interest in the CSTO's work on the part of Eurasian states that share the opinion on the importance of creating a single, indivisible, and reliable security space on the continent. The Times of Central Asia has previously written about other CSTO military exercises held in Kazakhstan.

Defense Central Asia Uzbekistan International Affairs Business & Economy Uzbekistan Business & Economy Uzbekistan International Affairs

U.S. Refurbishment of Pilatus PC-12 Aircraft for Uzbekistan

US company Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has been awarded a $64.2 million contract to refurbish six Pilatus PC-12 aircraft for Uzbekistan. The work will be performed in Uzbekistan and completed by August 2027. According to the U.S. Defense Department's website, the contract which was awarded under the U.S. Department of Defense's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, includes not only the restoration of the aircraft but also logistical support and on-site maintenance. The Pilatus PC-12 is a single-engine turboprop aircraft widely used for various missions, including surveillance and transportation. Since the aircrafts' proven reliability lends itself to civilian and military applications, their rehabilitation will have a significant impact on the expansion of Uzbekistan's aviation capabilities, including long-range monitoring and transportation missions. It is worth noting that the Pilatus PC-12 aircraft is often used in difficult conditions due to its ability to take off and land on short runways, making it indispensable for operations in Uzbekistan's remote and hard-to-reach regions.