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Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan May Swap Territories to Ease Border Tensions

In order to solve their long-running border demarcation dispute, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan may consider the option of exchanging territories. That's according to remarks made by Marat Imankulov, the Secretary of the Security Council of the Kyrgyz Republic, in an interview with state news agency, Kabar. According to him, the remarkable thing is that the border in the Batken region passes through difficult terrain, densely populated areas, bisecting streets, yards, and even houses. “Therefore, it should be separated. This is a difficult compromise. It is impossible without it. We have to give way. If necessary, the option of exchanging regions can be considered. Of course, there should be a preliminary agreement with local residents; that's how things are going now,” said Imankulov. The Secretary of the Security Council noted that each country has its own interests, but the parties are now looking for balance and compromise. Imankulov added that all border negotiations should proceed peacefully. Demarcation of the border has been a long-standing source of conflict between the two nations, it is emblematic of the problem that even the length of the border - sometimes cited as being 975-kilomtres long, and at others times 972-kilomteres - is rarely agreed upon. In January 2023, Tajikistan’s President Rahmon stated that 614-kilometres had been settled upon, backtracking on a previously stated figure of 664. In a sign of thawing relations, however, on November 9th 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic announced that a further 17.98 kilometers of the border had been agreed. With its scant natural resources and dwindling water supplies, the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan has been the scene of numerous skirmishes for many years. In 2014, all borders between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan were closed indefinitely to Kyrgyz and Tajik citizens following clashes over a bypass road in disputed territory; mortars were fired and both armies suffered casualties. Trouble spilled over again throughout 2021 and 2022, reportedly starting over a water dispute in the Vorukh enclave, and leaving an unknown number in the hundreds killed, and up to 136,000 people evacuated. In September 2022, another shooting took place on the border between the two countries.

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Czech Authorities Suspend Investigation of 2014 Explosions; One Suspect Allegedly Posed as a Tajik Citizen

The Czech Republic has suspended an investigation of ammunition depot explosions in 2014 that it blames on Russian military intelligence, including an agent who allegedly used a Tajik passport during the operation. Two Czech citizens died in the first of two explosions at warehouses in the village of Vrbětice, an alleged act of sabotage that led to years of unexploded ordnance cleanup, an international investigation and Russian denials of involvement, and a tit-for-tat expulsion of Russian and Czech diplomats from each other’s countries. Tajikistan was pulled into the case in 2021 when Czech investigators said they were looking for two suspects who used Russian passports, and then used different identities under Tajik and Moldovan passports. At the time, Tajikistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said it had not issued a passport to a person matching the reported name and birthday of the suspect. Reports said the suspects had posed as potential arms buyers from the National Guard of Tajikistan, though an analysis by a group of media organizations said it was unclear whether that particular ruse enabled them to get onto the ammunition storage sites. Czech law enforcement halted the probe into the Vrbětice blasts because the suspects are in Russia, which is not cooperating, said Col. Jiří Mazánek, head of the organized crime division of the police. He said in a statement on Monday that all other avenues of investigation in the Czech Republic, and in countries that have cooperated with requests for help, “have been exhausted.” Therefore, Mazánek said, additional information that would allow a criminal prosecution to move forward can’t be obtained for now. Evidence indicates that the explosions were “part of a long-term diversionary operation by Russian military intelligence on the territory of the European Union and Ukraine,” the police official said, blaming members of the Russian agency GRU whose alleged aim was to prevent the delivery of weapons and ammunition to areas where the Russian Army was operating. In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and fighting erupted in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists, in a prelude to Russia’s invasion in 2022 and the ongoing war today. Russia denied it was responsible for the Vrbětice explosions and noted media reports that the ammunition depots were controlled not by the Czech government, but by a private company owned by a Bulgarian citizen.

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Lavrov Calls Tajik Counterpart to Smooth Over Cracks

Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov has called his Tajik counterpart to explain Russia´s anti-terrorism measures at border points, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, following Tajikistan’s complaints that its citizens are being singled out for tough treatment on arrival at Moscow airports. Lavrov’s telephone call to Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin of Tajikistan was initiated by the Russian side, indicating that Moscow is seeking to ease tension between the two countries in the aftermath of the killing of more than 140 people by gunmen who stormed the Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow on March 22. Several Tajik suspects were arrested, leading to increased scrutiny and harassment of the large population of Tajik migrants in Russia. This past weekend, Tajikistan urged its citizens to temporarily refrain from traveling to Russia “unless absolutely necessary,” and said more than 1,000 Tajik nationals were being held in detention facilities at Moscow airports in unsanitary conditions and without access to hot meals. In the phone call, Lavrov and Muhriddin agreed on the need to preserve the “time-tested” alliance between their two countries, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Muhriddin has previously complained about an “information campaign” of racism and xenophobia against Tajik migrants since the terrorist attack. “The Tajik side was given additional detailed explanations about the measures taken by Russian services to prevent terrorism in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation,” the ministry said. “The tragic events at Crocus City Hall became the main reason for more thorough checks of foreign citizens arriving to us. The temporary nature of the measures taken, their non-direction against a specific nation or religion, and the gradual normalization of the situation at checkpoints are especially emphasized.” The Islamic State group, which has recruited some people from Central Asia, claimed responsibility for the Crocus City Hall attack.

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Britain’s Cameron to Central Asia: Work with Us

Britain’s foreign secretary is in Central Asia this week, seeking deeper ties with a part of the world seen as increasingly vital to international security, energy flows and efforts to combat climate change. The trip, which David Cameron described as overdue, followed criticism that Britain had neglected what the envoy’s own office describes as a “pivotal region of the world.” Cameron´s visit comes months after a British parliamentary committee report said there was a perceived “lack of seriousness” in Britain’s engagement with Central Asia. The committee said Russia and China were courting the region, while Britain was “a leading enabler for corrupt Central Asian elites and a key node for capital flight out of the region.” Cameron spent the first day of his trip in Tajikistan, meeting President Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe and visiting the Nurek hydropower project, which supplies about 70% of the country’s electricity. He will also visit Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. “These countries aren’t often talked about in the U.K., so you might ask why,” Cameron said on Monday. “Well, these countries are sandwiched between China, Russia, Afghanistan and Iran. They’re making a choice of who to work with, and in a more competitive and contested world, if you want to protect and promote British interests, you need to get out there and compete.” Britain intends to provide investment funds for small businesses as well as “green” projects that can mitigate the effects of climate change, Cameron said. Without providing specifics, he told Tajik television that he and Rahmon discussed security and “all the difficulties and conflicts in the region.” The Islamic State group, which is said in some quarters to have increasingly recruited Central Asians into its ranks, claimed responsibility for the killing of more than 140 people by gunmen who attacked the Crocus City Hall in Moscow on March 22. Several Tajik migrants are among the detained suspects. Cameron will “advance discussions on sanctions circumvention, human rights and reform,” his office said. Britain is a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia, which has had success in dodging Western sanctions, partly by trading with Europe via Central Asia. For example, British firms´ exports to Kyrgyzstan have soared by over 1,100%, Sky News reported. “Major European economies are quietly continuing their economic cooperation with Moscow by circumventing sanctions to take advantage of the vacated market,” says a commentary in the Center for European Policy Analysis, which is based in Washington. “And they’re doing it by finding partners in the South Caucasus and Central Asia.” Cameron praised the Nurek Dam as an example of the kind of “great schemes” that can help reduce the use of coal-fired power plants and drive down carbon emissions by providing clean energy from Central Asia to South Asia under the CASA-1000 project. On the second leg of his tour, Cameron arrived in Kyrgyzstan later on April 22, where he met with President Sadyr Japarov. They exchanged views on the prospects for Kyrgyz-British cooperation in the political, trade,...

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Tajikistan Takes Steps to Punish Sorcerers and Fortune-Tellers

The authorities in Tajikistan plan to introduce punishment in the form of compulsory labor for up to six months for those involved in fortune-telling, sorcery, or witchcraft. "On the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan, inspection and preventive work is continuing to prevent violations related to non-compliance with the requirements of the Laws of the Republic of Tajikistan, 'On the Ordering of Traditions, Celebrations and Rites,' 'On the Responsibility of Parents for the Education and Upbringing of Children,' 'On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations,' and others. In this context, control is exercised over persons practicing witchcraft, illegal religious teachings, Mullo, distributing talismans and amulets, and a single register has been introduced for such persons," the Interior Ministry said in an official statement. Police stated that such violations of the law will be punished more severely in future, with the republic's Interior Ministry considering people engaged in various "occult" businesses as fraudsters. "Persons earning a living by fraud (witchcraft, fortune-telling, distribution of talismans and amulets, illegal religious instruction) are [to be] punished with forced labor for up to six months," the law enforcement agency stressed. Back in 2007, against a backdrop of rising energy prices, unemployment and discontent, the government introduced a bill banning witchcraft and fortune-tellers, the visiting of whom was a popular pastime in Tajikistan. Consequently, a law was passed which stated that "those indulging in sorcery and fortune-telling shall be fined between 30 and 40 times the minimum monthly wage." Despite this, however, research released in 2012 found 26% of Tajiks still wore talismans for protection. With the belief in jinns and the "evil eye" holding strong, the appeal of the occult has never gone away, and earlier this year it was reported that demand for exorcisms is on the rise. In March of this year, President Rahmon delivered a speech in which he stated: "People of Tajikistan! The Prophet of Islam strictly forbade going to fortune tellers and sorcerers and said: 'Whoever goes to a fortune teller, his prayers will not be accepted for 40 days, and if he believes what the fortune teller says, he will leave the faith.'" Despite Rahmon citing Islamic scripture, however, Tajikistan has always been a country where religion has been viewed as a challenge to the government's authority, and it pays not to be too devout. In September 2015, clashes over the death in police custody of a man detained for "wearing his beard long" led to seventeen fatalities. In that year alone, the police forcibly shaved 13,000 men's beards and shuttered over 160 shops selling Muslim clothing. Today, the authorities continue to surveil religious institutions.

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Tajikistan Denounces “Torture” of Tajik Suspects in Moscow Attack, Urges Fair Trial

Tajikistan’s foreign minister has described the beating and abuse of several Tajik suspects in the mass killing of more than 140 people at a Russian concert hall as “torture” that is at odds with the need for a thorough investigation and a fair trial. Foreign Minister, Sirojiddin Muhriddin also said that Tajik people had faced an “information campaign” of racism and xenophobia since the attack at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow on March 22. His comments were some of the strongest yet by Tajikistan’s Government, reflecting increased worry over the national image and the plight of many poor Tajik migrants in Russia who were already living in precarious conditions. Muhriddin urged the Russian authorities to conduct an investigation into the Crocus City Hall attack according to international norms, including the right to a fair trial, reported Asia-Plus, a media group in Tajikistan. He spoke at a meeting of regional foreign ministers in Minsk, Belarus. “The demonstration in the open information space of footage of the detention of suspected perpetrators of a terrorist act with the use of torture against them in the form of bodily mutilation is unacceptable,” Muhriddin said. “The price of confessions obtained in this way is well known to everyone.” Several migrant laborers from Tajikistan were among suspects charged with terrorism in the wake of the attack, and they appeared in court with visible injuries. At the time, videos and photographs circulating on social media showed the men being beaten and abused while in detention. In one video, a man in camouflage cuts off part of the ear of a suspect and forces it into his mouth. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Crocus City Hall attack, which focused attention on the group’s efforts to recruit people from Central Asia into its ranks. Muhriddin alluded to widespread reports of harassment and hostility toward Tajik migrants, particularly in Russia. “As a result of an ill-conceived information campaign, a negative perception of citizens of Tajikistan and Tajiks is being formed,” the Tajik foreign minister said. As for the attack, he said: “All criminals must be punished: the organizers, the perpetrators, the accomplices, and the masterminds of this monstrous crime.” In the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, despite ongoing Russian attempts to pin the blame for the atrocity on Ukraine, Russia has pressed ahead with new laws targeting migrants. Focusing on Russia’s “unreliable narrative” regarding the attack, Noah Tucker, a Senior Research Consultant at the Oxus Society and Program Associate of the Central Asia Program at George Washington University stated that the “last major attack inside Russia was the 2017 metro bombing. [In a] strategy of authoritarian cooperation… that was also blamed on Central Asian migrants, and the security services arrested two Uzbek brothers and sent them to jail as the direct orchestrators of the attack – only the facts never added up… One of the brothers, who was charged as being the mastermind, was lying in a hospital in Osh during the attack, and...