Day: April 25, 2022

Saudi Arabia has allotted a quota of 3,562 pilgrims to Tajikistan who will be able to perform the annual Hajj ritual this year, according to the Committee on Religious Affairs (CRA) under the Government of Tajikistan.

Haramain Sharifain, an English Social Blog, has published pilgrimage quotas allotted by Saudi Arabia for countries this year on its Facebook page.

“We have seen the pilgrimage quota allotted to Tajikistan on Internet, but he have not yet received an official letter from Saudi Arabia,” Afshin Muqim, a spokesman for the CRA, told Asia-Plus today morning.

However, the CRA is beginning preparations for sending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, Muqim added.

This year, the Hajj will take place in July. The cost of the Hajj for Tajik Muslims has not changed over the past decade and amounted to US$3,700 – US$3,720.

Muqim had earlier said that there will be no new list of pilgrims this year. “5,000 persons who were put on the list made in 2019 could not perform Hajj due to pandemic restrictions that forced two years of drastically pared-down pilgrimages. They were supposed to perform the pilgrimage back in 2020, therefore, they will be sent first,” Muqim told Asia-Plus on April 19.

As far as age restrictions are concerned, the CRA for the first time introduced age restrictions on those who want to perform the Hajj in 2010. Only citizens aged 18 to 80 were able to perform the Hajj.

In April 2015, Tajik authorities introduced new age restrictions. Citizens under the age of 35 were no longer allowed to perform the Hajj.

In 2016, the new age restriction were instituted raising the age limit for 39 to 40.

The aim of the decision to introduce new age restrictions is reportedly to give older people an opportunity to achieve their dream to perform the Hajj.

In 2011, the CRA designed a new Hajj uniform; men don two-piece suits, while women wear long-sleeved dresses complete with headscarves. The Tajik Hajj uniform is embroidered with the country’s symbols.

Meanwhile, Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced in a statement on April 10 that the kingdom would host a million Hajj pilgrims this year while allowing people residing abroad to participate in the ritual as well, a sharp uptick after pandemic restrictions. Usually, about 2.5 million people took part in this world's largest religious gathering.

The pilgrimage, which will take place in July, will be limited to vaccinated Muslims under age 65, the statement said.

Those coming from outside Saudi Arabia, who must apply for hajj visas, will this year also be required to submit a negative Covid-19 PCR result from a test taken within 72 hours of travel.

Each year, Saudi Arabia welcomes millions of Muslims from abroad traveling on Umrah and Hajj. Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is a pilgrimage to Mecca which adult Muslims must make at least one in their lifetime, provided they are physically and financially able. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God. The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th and last month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, eleven days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, the Gregorian date of the Hajj changes from year to year.

Source: Asia-Plus

France 24, citing an estimate from the IPsos polling institute, said on April 24 that Emmanuel Macron was elected for the second term as French president Sunday evening with 58.8% of the vote.

His far-right challenger Marine Le Pen reportedly won 41.2% of the vote in an election that saw the country’s highest abstention rate in 50 years.

CNN said on April 24 that Macron took 58.55% of Sunday's vote, making him the first French leader to be reelected in 20 years. He and Le Pen advanced to the runoff after finishing in first and second place, respectively, among 12 candidates who ran in the first round on April 10

While the contest was a rematch of the 2017 French presidential runoff, much of Europe watched the election with unease. A Le Pen presidency would have fundamentally changed France's relationship with the European Union and the West, at a time when the bloc and its allies rely on Paris to take a leading role in confronting some of the world's biggest challenges -- most notably, the war in Ukraine, according to CNN.

And though Macron's pitch to voters of a globalized, economically liberal France at the head of a muscular European Union won out over Le Pen's vision for a radical shift inward, the 41.45% of people who voted for her put the French far right closer to the presidency than ever before.

CNN says Le Pen's performance is the latest indication that the French public is turning to extremist politicians to voice their dissatisfaction with the status quo. In the first round, far-left and far-right candidates accounted for more than 57% of the ballots cast.

Many of those unsatisfied with the final two candidates stayed home. The voter abstention rate for the runoff was 28%, according to the French Interior Ministry, the highest for a runoff since 2002.

In his victory speech, Macron vowed to be the "president for each and every one of you." Macron said that his second term would not be a continuation of his first, committing to address all of France's current problems.

He also addressed those who supported Le Pen directly, saying that he, as president, must find an answer to "the anger and disagreements" that led them to vote for the far right.

Le Pen reportedly delivered a concession speech within a half hour of the first projection, speaking to her backers. "A great wind of freedom could have blown over our country, but the ballot box decided otherwise," Le Pen said.

Marine Le Pen was applauded by supporters as she embraced her mother in Paris Sunday; photo / AFP

Still, Le Pen acknowledged the fact that the far right had never performed so well in a presidential election. She called the result "historic" and a "shining victory" that put her political party, National Rally, "in an excellent position" for June's parliamentary elections. "The game is not quite over," she said.

Source: Asia-Plus

US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III reportedly visited Kiev.

A day earlier, Mr. Zelensky disclosed plans for the highest-level U.S. delegation to visit Ukraine since Russia launched its so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine two months ago. And in an interview broadcast on Sunday, as the U.S. government remained silent, an adviser to Mr. Zelensky, Oleksiy Arestovych, said on Ukrainian television that the men were there, according to The New York Times.

“They’re right now in Kiev, talking to the president,” Mr. Arestovich said. “Maybe something will be decided regarding how they can help.”

The New York Times says less secret was the agenda of the meeting: Ukraine’s plea for more military aid from Western allies as it tries to fend off an attack that has crushed cities and left thousands dead. One Ukrainian lawmaker said it sent “a powerful signal to Russia that Ukraine will not be left alone with this war.”

Already, Congress has reportedly approved $13.6 billion in emergency spending related to the invasion, including for weapons, military supplies and one of the largest infusions of U.S. foreign aid to any country in the last decade. The funds also cover the deployment of U.S. troops to Europe.

Recall, US President Joe Biden on April 21 announced an additional US$800 million in security assistance and $500 million in economic support.

But top-level U.S. officials had not visited the country since it was invaded, even as European leaders went to witness firsthand evidence of atrocities committed by Russian soldiers in the suburbs of Kiev, The New York Times noted.

Source: Asia-Plus

Usmonzoda notes in his appeal that these historical buildings should not be demolished in memory of the period of life of the Tajik people in the Soviet Union.

At the same time, DPT leader proposes to change appearances of a number of buildings, “which had been built in the Soviet time under the slogan of “internationalism.” He, in particular, proposes to change the appearance of the Kokhi Borbad State Complex building, "which had been built in the form of “a Mongolian yurt.”

Recall, CNN in 2017 listed the Rohat chaikhana (teahouse) located in Dushanbe among eleven of the world’s best teahouses.

Literally translated chaikhana means "teahouse," and they can be found all over Tajikistan, CNN says.

Folks -- mainly men -- once gathered inside chaikhana for discussions, but these days they're a place for anyone to socialize over a cup of tea.

The ornate Rohat in Dushanbe is one of the finest places to lounge and sip tea while enjoying city views, according to CNN.

Meanwhile, Rohat Teahouse has not been inscribed on the list of sites of historical and architectural significance in Dushanbe.

The Opera and Ballet Theater named after Sadriddin Ayni was built in Dushanbe in 1946 and is a classic example of Stalinist architecture.

The Opera and Ballet Theater named after Sadriddin Ayni was built in Dushanbe in 1946 and is a classic example of Stalinist architecture

The Dushanbe Opera and Ballet Theater has a very beautiful architecture. The theater hosts many performances and plays. The first Tajik ballet was performed here and the culture then started to grow and develop. Later, a new wave of Tajik artists became part the Theater and made it very popular. They participated in Russian and Western classic operas and visited Russia.

Demolition of historical buildings in Dushanbe began several years ago as part of ambitious municipal redevelopment plan that includes the construction of modern building and the first was the building of the Main Post Office.

The authorities then demolished the Mayakovsky Russian Drama Theater. Recall, the founding of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic was declared at the Mayakovsky Theater in 1929.

A string of high-profile demolitions soon followed across Dushanbe. There was the Jomi cinema, which when it was erected in the city’s main square in 1956 was one of only five panoramic cinemas in the Soviet Union. Then, in March 2017, the city administration building – built in the 1950s in a style that combined classical European and local architecture – was demolished.

A year later, the city decided to demolish the Green Theatre, a 1933 building that in the 1940s had hosted theatre troupes evacuated from Leningrad and Moscow during the Nazi invasion; the building was demolished in September 2020.

In February 2020, the decision was made to demolish the former presidential palace, which had once been the headquarters of the Tajik Communist Party. Built in 1957 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution, the almond-colored neoclassical building was perceived by many to be inextricably linked to the country’s history. This historic building was demolished to make space for a new, Chinese government-funded palace that will be the centerpiece of a new government complex.

Plans to demolish some of the most popular landmarks in Dushanbe have sparked outrage and city residents have repeatedly signed petitions addressed to the president and Dushanbe mayor.

Source: Asia-Plus

In his message of congratulations, Rahmon wished the President of France good health and success in his future activities.

Tajik leader also expressed satisfaction with the current level of cooperation and “the current content of friendship relations between Tajikistan and France” and noted that Tajikistan is interested in further expansion of bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation with France in all fields.

At the end of the message, Emomali Rahmon invited Emmanuel Macron to pay an official visit to Tajikistan.

Emmanuel Macron has won France's presidential election with taking 58.5% of Sunday's vote. He and Marine Le Pen advanced to the runoff after finishing in first and second place, respectively, among 12 candidates who ran in the first round on April 10.

Emmanuel Macron has become the first French leader in 20 years to win a second term in office.

Source: Asia-Plus

On April 25, the Founder of Peace and National Unity — Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon sent a congratulatory telegram to the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frederic Macron, which reads:

«Your Excellency,

It is with great pleasure that I congratulate You on your re-election to the high post of President of the French Republic.

With best regards, I wish you strong health, well-being and every success in your responsible future activities, and peace, tranquility and growing progress and prosperity to the friendly people of France.

We express satisfaction with the current level and content of the relations of friendship and cooperation between Tajikistan and France, and are always interested in their ever greater comprehensive development and expansion in all areas of mutual interest.

I am confident that through joint efforts, including through dialogue at the highest and high levels, constructive partnership ties between our countries will consistently develop in the future in accordance with the fundamental interests of our peoples.

In this context, I reiterate my invitation to You, Mr. President, to pay an official visit to Tajikistan.

I avail this occasion to renew my assurances of the highest respect for You.”

Source: National information agency of Tajikistan

Afghanistan should join a list of the "worst of the worst" violators of religious freedom in the wake of the Taliban's return to power, a U.S. advisory body is recommending to the State Department.

In its annual report issued Monday, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom says religious minorities have "faced harassment, detention and even death due to their faith or beliefs" since the Taliban reimposed its harsh interpretation of Sunni Islam on Afghanistan. It also cited attacks on religious minorities by an Islamic State affiliate that is an enemy of the Taliban.

Afghanistan is among 15 nations that the commission says should be on the State Department's list of "countries of particular concern." The commission, in its report summary, defined these governments as the "worst of the worst" in tolerating or engaging in "systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom."

The commission, created in 1998 under the International Religious Freedom Act, makes nonbinding policy recommendations to the administration and Congress. The State Department has adopted some but not all of its recommendations in the past.

In the new report, the commission recommends maintaining 10 countries currently on the State Department list, including China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

It also recommends adding four more in addition to Afghanistan — India, Nigeria, Syria and Vietnam. The commission criticized the Biden administration for removing Nigeria from the list last year.

The report said that in Afghanistan, many minority Jewish, Hindu and Sikh residents have fled the country after the Taliban returned to power. It said many members of other religious minorities, such as Ahmadiyya Muslims, Baha'is and Christian converts are worshipping in secret for fear of persecution.

Many religious minorities fled Afghanistan out of fear for what could happen under the Taliban, rather than in response to specific actions or edicts issued by the Taliban.

Some Sikhs still live and worship in Kabul, and the report notes that Taliban representatives visited a Sikh gurdwara or house of worship to assure them of their safety. But the report said many Sikhs and Hindus have fled to India "due to the lack of safety and security."

The commission also cited a Human Rights Watch report of the Taliban attacking and seizing property of ethnic Hazaras belonging to the Shiite Muslim minority, plus an Amnesty International report of a Taliban massacre of Hazara men in 2021.

Several deadly attacks on Hazaras have been attributed to Islamic State in Khorasan Province or IS-K, which is hostile to the Taliban and has proven to be an intractable security challenge. The cover of the commission's report includes a photo of a deadly attack by IS-K on a Shiite mosque last year in Kunduz province.

The report echoes CIA World Factbook data from 2009, which said non-Muslim Afghans comprised a tiny fraction of the population. It said 99.7% of Afghans are Muslim, most of them Sunni Muslims, with about 10% to 15% Shiite Muslims.

"The Taliban, while they promised they would form an inclusive government, promising they would be a different kind of government, their actions have proven otherwise," commission chair Nadine Maenza said in an interview. She said that even members of the Sunni majority who don't share the Taliban interpretation of Islamic law are being required to conform to strict dress codes and other measures.

The annual report, while based on developments in 2021, foreshadowed worries about a Russian invasion of Ukraine, citing religious persecution in Russia of Jehovah's Witnesses and of religious minorities such as Muslim Tatars in Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014. The State Department first designated Russia as a country of particular concern last year.

"We fear that violence will continue to increase because of Russia's blatant violation of religious freedom in Russia and in this conflict that exists in Ukraine," said commission member Khizr Khan at an online news conference Monday.

This year's report marks the first time since 2001, when the Taliban last ruled in Kabul, that the commission recommended designating Afghanistan as a country of particular concern, the report said. The State Department last year already listed the Taliban on a similar list of non-state violators of religious freedom based on its actions before returning to power in August.

The commission recommended sanctioning individual Taliban officials deemed responsible for severe violations of religious freedom and urged that those facing persecution receiving priority in refugee resettlement.

In its report, the commission cited Myanmar's military for "atrocities against religious communities"; China for detaining Uyghur and other Turkic Muslims "arbitrarily in concentration camps, prisons and forced labor"; Pakistan for enforcement of anti-blasphemy laws that endanger minorities; and India for worsening conditions for religious minorities under its Hindu-nationalist government.

The commission also recommended that 12 countries be placed on a "special watch list" due to religious freedom concerns. They include three on the State Department's list — Algeria, Cuba and Nicaragua — along with Azerbaijan, the Central African Republic, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

Source: Voice of America

China is hunting Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities through an expanding global dragnet that is increasingly relying on cooperation with governments in the Middle East and South and Central Asia.

Using a complex tool kit of intimidation, harassment, surveillance, detentions, and extraditions, Beijing's transnational campaign has grown to unprecedented depths across the world and is documented in detail in a new report, Great Wall Of Steel, by the Wilson Center's Kissinger Institute on China and the United States.

The new research shows how China's global rise -- exemplified by its outsized economic influence through projects like the multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) -- has granted Beijing newfound leverage over governments and allowed it to co-opt them as partners in a spreading repression campaign.

The study's dataset has documented 5,532 cases of Uyghurs facing intimidation, 1,150 cases of Uyghurs detained in a host country, and 424 cases of Uyghurs deported or extradited to China, from 1997 to January 2022.

As the study notes, of the 10 countries where Uyghurs as well as ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other groups remain most vulnerable to detention or extradition, China is the largest financial creditor for five of them: Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Cambodia, and Myanmar, leading to deals in which leaders "trade human rights for economic opportunity," according to the report.

Beijing launched a brutal crackdown that has swept more than 1 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other Muslim minorities into detention camps and prisons in its western Xinjiang Province under the pretext of fighting Islamist extremism. But those efforts have led to allegations of imposing forced labor, mass internment, forced birth control, erasing Uyghur cultural and religious identity, as well as accusations of genocide.

To find out more, RFE/RL spoke with Bradley Jardine, a fellow at the Wilson Center and the author of the study, which was released on April 25.

RFE/RL: How has the scale of China's transnational campaign against Uyghurs and other groups evolved over the years and what are the main tools being used by Beijing?

Bradley Jardine: China's campaign against the Uyghurs has been evolving for quite some time. I track most of my data back to 1997, when we saw the first deportations from Pakistan. This was in response to incidents in a town called Barin in southern Xinjiang and this was really where China started to pay attention to the Uyghur diaspora community. Since then, the scale has accelerated dramatically.

This is driven by two main things. The onset of the [U.S.] War on Terror [in 2001] provided China with new rhetorical tools for building alliances and coalitions for pursuing Uyghur dissidents and diaspora communities; and then, in 2017, with the mass incarceration program in Xinjiang, where China really began ramping up algorithmic surveillance [across the province].

This led to a [greater focus] from Chinese security services [on] pursuing Uyghurs. The scale of where things stand today is that I've tracked some 1,500 Uyghurs who have either been detained within countries such as Saudi Arabia or Egypt, or who have been rendered from places [like] Tajikistan, so the scale is quite large. And this is just the number for detentions and renditions. If we're taking into account cyberattacks, [which] is a growing tool that China is now wielding, or threats against family members, you would see this number [increase] to over 7,000 logged incidents.

Also, my data is derived primarily from reported media cases. So most of these Uyghurs [being targeted] are named or they've been part of reports where there have been investigations into the particular incidents. Seven thousand is a base figure [and is] just the tip of the iceberg for what the reality may be, with [many more] unreported cases.

RFE/RL: It's becoming increasingly difficult for Uyghurs to escape persecution in Xinjiang and flee elsewhere. Central and South Asia were once areas of escape and refuge, but that has changed as governments in the region have formed closer bonds with Beijing. Now we are seeing Turkey, which was seen as one of the last spots for Uyghurs fleeing abroad, also change its policies about extradition. Where does that leave Uyghurs to go?

Jardine: Uyghurs have increasingly lost space. Of course, they've lost political space in Central and South Asia, Southeast Asia, and increasingly in traditional safe havens, such as the Middle East and Turkey, where Turkish President [Recep Tayyip Erdogan] signed an extradition treaty with his Chinese counterpart during a Belt and Road summit forum [that was later ratified in December 2020]. Ever since, there's been a sense of fear among Turkey's Uyghur diaspora community [and] many of them have actually been leaving for Europe or for North America, [with] Japan also [becoming] a major refuge for Uyghurs.

Turkey is still the largest destination, although there is a small exodus of particularly prominent figures, such as Kazakh activist Serikzhan Bilash, who relocated [to] the United States. So there is no real space for them at the moment unless there's more political will in the West to increase its [refugee] quotas. This is where they would be safest.

Of course, they're not entirely safe, as my research points out that within democracies, a lot of Uyghurs are facing cyberattacks [and] their families are still in danger [back in] Xinjiang. The diaspora particularly relies on WeChat and Chinese social-media platforms to communicate with family members. So WeChat has become a tool for both collecting information on Uyghurs, but also for the security services in Xinjiang to reach out to them and curtail their activism.

RFE/RL: Your report focuses on a web of institutions and frameworks that help China enact this repression abroad. Looking specifically at Eurasia, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has played a major role. What tools does Beijing really have at its disposal through this bloc?

Jardine: Central Asia is a very unique case because it was one of the earliest [regions] to develop extensive cooperation with China in terms of transnational repression and monitoring Uyghur diaspora communities.

This diaspora [in the region] was one that China paid particular attention to [and] saw as potentially threatening or destabilizing in the post-Soviet era. All that is to say that China has built and established a number of tools [in Central Asia] that we've not seen elsewhere.

One of these is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which is a multilateral framework [where] China coordinates with its counterparts in Central Asia and with Russia. This largely emerged to deal with border delimitation issues [that] emerged from the [collapse] of the Soviet Union and then started to [focus] on the "three evils" of terrorism, separatism, and extremism. [This] became a rhetorical crutch that allowed China to [adopt] anti-extremist rhetoric in Central Asia -- where secular regimes were [already] pursuing dissidents and labeling them as religious extremists -- [and] apply it to the Uyghur population at home and abroad.

Within the SCO, there are a number of treaties that allow for mutual extradition [with] no questions asked between member states. There are also some frameworks for counterterrorist cooperation, [such as] intelligence sharing of anyone who's been flagged as a terrorist, [often] with minimal evidence in most cases. This [type of cooperation] has really accelerated [and] made the region very dangerous and hostile [for Uyghurs]. For diaspora communities, many of them fled to what [looked like] safer jurisdictions at the time, particularly Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey.

This still remains the case today: [Central Asia] is one of the most dangerous places for Uyghur activists due to these extradition treaties.

Copyright (c) 2015. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.