April 13, 2022 – Tajikistan News Gazette

April 13, 2022

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan agree to withdraw troops from the border to permanent locations

The parties agreed to withdraw troops to permanent deployments, find out the causes of the incident and reached agreement on security, land tenure and irrigation issues.

The negotiations are expected to end with signing of an appropriate protocol.

The meeting took place at the Ovchi-Qalacha – Kulundu border crossing point (BCP).

The press-center of the Sughd governor’s office says the Tajik delegation was represented by Tajik Border Guard Service chief, Colonel-General Rajabali Rahmonali, and Sughd Province governor, Rajabboy Ahmadzoda.

The Kyrgyz side was represented by Kyrgyz Border Guard Service chief, Ularbek Sharsheyev, and Batken Region governor, Abdikarim Rahmonali.

In an informal conversation with reporters, Sughd governor Rajabboy Ahmadzoda said the incident was caused by misunderstanding between two Tajik and Kyrgyz border guards. What exactly the border guards did not share is not specified.

Recall, two persons have been wounded in the latest shootout along the Tajik-Kyrgyz border. The incident has reportedly increased tension.

The shootout between Tajik and Kyrgyz border guards reportedly occurred Tuesday (April 12) evening near the Khistevarz jamoat in the Bobojon-Ghafourov district of the Tajik northern province of Sughd.

Bobojon-Ghafourov district head Zafarbek Davlatzoda Tuesday night confirmed in a telephone conversation with Asia-Plus that the shootout between border guards of the two countries took place near Tajikistan’s Khistevarz jamoat and Kyrgyzstan’s Borboduk village.

According to him, the shootout stopped after the meeting of the border representatives of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

“Currently, the situation is under control and assessed as stable,” Davlatzoda added. He refrained from giving further details of the conflict.

Meanwhile Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, known locally as Radio Ozodi, citing its source, says a 27-year-old Tajik border guard Zoir Saidumarov was seriously wounded in the shootout.

“As a result of the shootout, the 27-year-old Sergeant Zoir Saidumarov, the native of the Dousti district in the Khatlon province, was seriously wounded. The sergeant has gunshot wounds to the abdomen and chest. Now he is operated on, his condition is serious,” Radio Ozodi’s source said.

Tajikistan’s border guard service has not yet commented on the conflict.

Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan’s border guard service has accused Tajik border guards of triggering the conflict and opening fire on Kyrgyz border guards.

Kyrgyzstan's border guard service says one person has been wounded in the latest shootout near a disputed segment of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border.

A statement released by the Kyrgyz border guard service says border guards from the two countries started shooting at each other on April 12 near the village of Maksat in the Leilek district after Tajik border guards moved 20 meters inside Kyrgyz territory.

Kyrgyz border guards reportedly fired warning shots, but Tajik border guards then started shooting at the Kyrgyz border guards.

According to the statement, one border guard was hospitalized with serious injuries, and several villages in the Leilek district were evacuated.

The Kyrgyz border guard service described the situation along the border as tense and said the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security is taking all measures to stabilize the situation.

Meanwhile, Kyrgyz news agency 24.kg, citing an official with the Ministry of Health of Kyrgyzstan, says two with shrapnel wounds, one civilian and one border guard, were admitted to a hospital in the Leilek district.

The Tuesday shootout took place just weeks after border guards from the two sides exchanged fire on March 10. According to a resident of Tajikistan’s Chorkuh jamoat, one Tajik border guard was killed and two others wounded then.

In late January, clashes erupted along a segment of the two countries' poorly demarcated border in a standoff over a blocked road.

Tajikistan's State Committee for National Security said at the time that two civilians were killed and 10 other people -- six security force members and four civilians – were wounded.

Kyrgyz authorities said 12 Kyrgyz nationals were seriously wounded and more than 24,200 Kyrgyz citizens were evacuated from the area because of the fighting in January.

In April 2021, clashes involving military personnel along the Tajik-Kyrgyz border left dozens of people dead on both sides.

Almost half of the 970-kilometer Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan border has yet to be demarcated, leading to repeated tensions since the two countries gained independence after the breakup of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago.

Many border areas in Central Asia have been disputed since the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.

The situation is particularly complicated near the numerous exclaves in the volatile Ferghana Valley, where the borders of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan meet.

Source: Asia-Plus

April 13, 2022

19 of 520 natural hazards reported in Q1 this year cause more than TJS4,2 million worth of damage

This was reportedly noted during a meeting of the Emergencies Committee Board that took place on April 12.

The meeting reviewed the results of the past quarter’s work

Of 520 natural hazards reported in the first quarter of this year, 19 natural hazards alone have caused 4,235,400 somonis (TJS) worth of damage.

The natural hazards reported in January-March this year (avalanches, landslides, mudflows and rockfalls) have reportedly left five dead.

Speaking at the meeting, Tajik emergency management chief, Colonel-General Rustam Nazarzoda, pointed to the necessity of discussing issues related to existing and additional reserves, conducting exercises for population in the framework of the Unified State Emergency Situations Prevention and Management System, early warning system, expansion of international cooperation and unified early warning system and control over the implementation of the signed international documents, Ms. Umeda Yusufi, a spokesman for the Emergencies Committee, said.

Meanwhile, 359 natural hazards were reported in Tajikistan last year. Of them, 52 natural hazards caused more than TJS141.984 million worth of damage the population and the country’s economy.

Source: Asia-Plus

April 13, 2022

A 54-year-old man has been charged with fraud

Criminal proceedings have been instituted against a 54-year-old resident of Khujand under the provisions of Article 247 part 4 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code.

In January-February 2020, he fraudulently entered into a trust with a 27-year-old resident of Istaravshan, took $ 25,000 and 1,000 somoni from him under the pretext of acquitting his father, but has not yet returned the money.

An investigation is under way.

Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan

April 13, 2022

Tajikistan Receives Three Portable X-Ray Machines

Three portable X-ray machines were delivered to Tajkistan to take X-rays in mountainous conditions, reported the press center of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population.

Modern devices can play an important role in the detection and treatment of tuberculosis.

The equipment was donated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to the Republican Center for the Protection of the Population.

Deputy Minister thanked USAID for its support, especially in the field of diagnosis and prevention of tuberculosis in the country.

USAID Central Asia TB Project Coordinator Khuriya Khisomova during the training noted that today due to the efforts of the government and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population, the number of cases of tuberculosis in Tajikistan is decreasing compared to previous years.

“Tuberculosis is curable, the main reasons for its spread are low awareness about the disease, untimely referral of patients to medical institutions, and the stereotypical idea of the disease,” she said.

Source: National information agency of Tajikistan

April 13, 2022

Comprehensive Maternal and Child Services Awarded ADB Honorable Mention

Yesterday, the Minister of Health and Social Protection of the Population, Director of the Comprehensive Services for Mother and Child Project Jamoliddin Abdullozoda was awarded an honorary certificate from the Asian Development Bank.

The certificate was presented by the head of the ADB Project Implementation Unit in Tajikistan Rodora Concepción.

The project is being implemented with the support of ADB in the pilot districts of republican subordination — Rasht and Faizabad, as well as Shamsiddin Shohin of Khatlon region.

Its implementation started on the basis of the decree of the President on March 29, 2019 and will continue until August 31, 2025.

The goal of the project is to provide women and children with quality primary health care services.

The cost of the project is $35.2 million, of which $3.2 million is the contribution of the Government of Tajikistan.

Source: National information agency of Tajikistan

April 13, 2022

Tajik Soldier Wounded In Latest Violence Along Kyrgyz Border Dies

DUSTI, Tajikistan -- A Tajik soldier wounded in the latest shootout at a disputed segment of the border with Kyrgyzstan has died at a hospital.

The governor of the Dusti district in Tajikistan's southern Khatlon region, Davron Nishonzoda, told RFE/RL on April 13 that 27-year-old Zoir Saidumarov died shortly after surgery overnight and has been buried in his native district.

Saidumarov was wounded a day earlier when two shootings occurred on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border. A Kyrgyz border guard and a Kyrgyz civilian were also wounded.

The governor of Kyrgyzstan's southern region of Batken, Abdikarim Alimbaev, said on April 13 that Kyrgyz-Tajik talks on the situation ended overnight with an agreement to withdraw additional armed forces from both sides.

"It was agreed that the two sides' police will take joint control over the border segment crossing the Konibodom-Khujand highway. Special explanatory works will be held among locals residing close to the border area to ensure they are aware of the situation," Alimbaev said.

The clashes took place just weeks after border guards from the two sides exchanged fire on March 10. No casualties were reported then.

In late January, clashes erupted along a segment of the two countries’ poorly demarcated border in a standoff over a blocked road.

Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security said at the time that two civilians were killed and 10 other people -- six security force members and four civilians – were wounded.

Kyrgyz authorities said 12 Kyrgyz nationals were seriously wounded and more than 24,200 Kyrgyz citizens were evacuated from the area because of the fighting in January.

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 more than three decades ago.

Many border areas in Central Asia have been disputed since the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.

The situation is particularly complicated near the numerous exclaves in the volatile Ferghana Valley, where the borders of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan meet.

In April last year, clashes involving military personnel along the Tajik-Kyrgyz border left dozens of people dead on both sides.

April 13, 2022

Kyrgyzstan appoints new ambassador to Tajikistan

By president/s decree Erlan Abdyldayev was appointed Kyrgyzstan’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Tajikistan, replacing Janysh Rustenbekov, who left Tajikistan in February this year in connection with the end of his tenure to the country.

Prior to this, Mr. Abdyldayev had served as Kyrgyzstan’s Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany since 2020.

September 6, 2012 – October 12, 2018, Erlan Abdyldayev served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan.

2007-2012, Mr. Abdyldayev served as head of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR)’s Representative Office in Kyrgyzstan.

In 2001, he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kyrgyzstan to China, and the non-resident ambassador to Mongolia, Singapore, Thailand.

Abdyldayev was born on June 21, 1966, in Alma-Ata, the capital of the Kazakh SSR. In 1989, he graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. He worked in the Soviet / Russian Embassy in Beijing from 1989 to 1994.

Abdyldayev was born on June 21, 1966, in Alma-Ata, the capital of the Kazakh SSR. In 1989, he graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

He speaks Russian, Chinese, and English as well as his native Kyrgyz.

Erlan Abdyldayev is married with two children.

Source: Asia-Plus

April 13, 2022

Rahmon congratulates Shehbaz Sharif on lection as new Pakistani Prime Minister

Tajik leader, in particular, noted in his message of congratulations that he is sure that during Shehbaz Sharif’s tenure in that responsible state position, “the Tajik-Pakistani relations of friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation, which are featured by long-standing good traditions, steadily moving along the trajectory of strengthening and expanding, will have an effective continuation.”

“We highly appreciate the process of developing multifaceted ties between our countries and are interested in further enriching their content in all spheres of mutual interests,” reads the message. .

Rahmon also expressed Tajikistan’s readiness to make further joint efforts in that field.

He wished Shehbaz Sharif good health and great success, “and peace, stability, well-being and prosperity to the fraternal people of Pakistan.”

Source: Asia-Plus

April 13, 2022

U.S. president accuses Russia of committing genocide in Ukraine

President Biden yesterday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of committing “genocide" in Ukraine.

Media reports says Mr. Biden made the accusation in a speech at an ethanol fuel plant in Iowa, where he blamed the Russian invasion for higher gas prices.

"Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide a half a world away," President Biden was cited as saying by the National Public Radio (NPR).

Asked later what made him use the word "genocide," Biden replied, "Yes, I called it genocide. It has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of even being — being able to be Ukrainian.”

Biden reportedly said evidence against Putin and the Russian military was mounting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reacted on Twitter to Biden's genocide remarks, saying that "Calling things by their names is essential to stand up to evil."

"We are grateful for US assistance provided so far," he continued, "and we urgently need more heavy weapons to prevent further Russian atrocities."

Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia’s military operation in Ukraine is proceeding according to a plan and will continue until all its initial goals are achieved.

Russian media reports says he noted this yesterday when arrived at the Vostochny spaceport together with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.

That said, according to him, talks with Kiev have again hit a wall because the Ukrainian side moved away from the agreements reached at a meeting in Istanbul at the end of March.

According to TASS, the leaders of Russia and Belarus in Vostochny met the representatives of the rocket and space industry, held three-hour talks and conducted a joint press conference.

Source: Asia-Plus