Day: October 10, 2022

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Tajik blogger goes on trial on charges of illegal entrepreneurship, false denunciation and cooperation with banned opposition group

Tajik blogger Daler Imomali has gone on trial in Dushanbe on charges human rights organizations call unfounded.

 

Citing sources close to prosecutor’s office, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, known locally as Radio Ozodi, reports a court in Dushanbe’s Shohmansour district started the trial behind closed doors on October 7.

 

Daler Imomali is charged with illegal entrepreneurship, premeditated false denunciation, and cooperating with the banned opposition movement Group 24, which was officially designated in Tajikistan as a terrorist organization in 2014.

 

Recall, the Group 24 founder, Umarali Quvvatov, was killed in Istanbul, Turkiye in March 2015.

 

Daler Imomali reportedly pleaded guilty to the illegal entrepreneurship charge, but rejected the other two. If convicted, Imomali faces more than 10 years in prison.

 

Known for his articles critical of the government, Daler Imomali was detained along with other noted blogger Abdullo Ghurbati on June 15 and sent to pretrial detention three days later.

 

Daler Imomali’s case moved to a court on September 25.

 

The Dushanbe Shohmansour city court sentenced Abdullo Ghurbati to 7 1/2 years in prison on October 4.

 

The sentence followed his conviction on charges of publicly insulting an authority, minor assault of an authority, and participating in the activities of an extremist group.

 

Ghurbati pleaded not guilty to all three charges.

 

International media watchdogs have released statement urging Tajik authorities to release independent journalists who have been critical of the government.

 

Ranked 152nd out of 180 countries in Reporters without Borders (RSF)’s 2022 World Press Freedom Index, Tajikistan has fallen 36 places in the index since 2015.

 

Source: Asia-Plus

 

 

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CIS leaders gather for informal summit in St. Petersburg to discuss multifaceted cooperation

The Tajik president’s official website reports that the meeting participants discussed issues related to further expansion of multifaceted cooperation between the CIS member nations and the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the Council of the Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States that will take place in Astana, Kazakhstan this week.

 

They reportedly also exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues being of mutual interest.

 

The Kremlin says that speaking at the meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: “I am very glad to see here, in this room, leaders representing countries that, considering a plethora of reasons and historical factors, are our closest friends, allies, and with whom we share a genuine strategic partnership. We are committed to working together in the spirit of good neighborliness, mutual benefit and respect for each other’s interests.”

 

“Today, we have an opportunity to make sure that we are on the same page ahead of the annual meeting of the CIS Heads of State Council to be held next week in Astana. As its chair, Kazakhstan focused its agenda on major topics related to political, economic and humanitarian integration. As usual, a solid package of joint documents is being drafted for our approval,” Russian leader noted.

 

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov did not attend the meeting. Some sources note that although no official reason has been given, on October 4 Putin signed a decree awarding Tajik President Emomali Rahmon the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class, for strengthening the Russia-Tajikistan strategic partnership and “ensuring regional stability and security.” Kyrgyz authorities made clear their displeasure at the award.

 

Source: Asia-Plus

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Farmers of Khatlon province suffer huge losses due to lack of irrigation water

Thus, residents of Madaniyat village in Jaloliddin-Balkhi district say about 300 hectares of land were left without water this season and their crops have dried up.

 

Representatives of the Jaloliddini-Balkhi water management department have reportedly “confirmed the existing problem and stated that the main reason for the lack of water is the increase in the number of farming units.”

 

Mahmadamin Rajabov, the head of the Jaloliddini-Balkhi water use department, was cited as saying that this year they have provided 96 percent of the district agricultural lands with irrigation water.

 

According to him, there are 16,700 hectares of agricultural lands in the district, and 9,800 hectares of them have been sown with cotton.

 

“The lands of some farming units are irrigated by pumps, sometimes the pumps fail and there is a problem of water shortage. Actually, only about 100 hectares of farmlands in Madaniayt village community have a problem with watering. We have decided that we will supply the lands with water in accordance with the quota,” Rajabov was quoted as saying.

 

Officials at the Jaloliddini-Balkhi water management department say Madaniayt village community has 3,500 hectares of agricultural lands and only 100 hectares of them are faced with the lack of irrigated water.

 

Meanwhile resident of Madaniyat village community say that more than 400 hectares of their agricultural lands have been left without irrigation water this year.

 

Source: Asia-Plus

 

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Kyrgyzstan cancels planned military exercise for CSTO military personnel

The exercise, dubbed The Indestructible Brotherhood-2022, was reportedly scheduled for October 10-14 and was to include military personnel from all six member nations of the CSTO – Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.

 

Besides, military personnel from five other countries, including Mongolia, Serbia, Syria, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, were reportedly also supposed to participate in that war game that was to be conducted at the at the Edelweiss training range.

 

It is to be noted that no reason was given for the cancelation announced on October 9.

 

Some experts say that it could not be ruled out that suppose that the exercise was canceled due to the recent deadly clashes along Kyrgyzstan’s common border with Tajikistan.

 

Thus, Former Kyrgyz Vice-President Feliks Kulov told Kommersant in an interview the reason cancellation of the military exercise is one – relationships with Tajikistan.

 

“It is clear that without the command of the commander-in-chief, President Sadyr Japarov, the military itself could not have taken such a drastic step,” Kulov cited as saying by Kommersant. “People were killed, <…> houses were destroyed in another border war. In such a situation, it was unacceptable to conduct joint exercises. And the exercise name itself — The Indestructible Brotherhood — sounds at least mocking.”

 

Recall, Kyrgyzstan was involved in deadly clashes with fellow CSTO member Tajikistan along the two countries’ border in September, after which it called on the CSTO to take an active role in resolving the dispute.

 

Bishkek says 63 Kyrgyz nationals were killed and 198 others were injured in those clashes, while Dushanbe says 41 Tajik nationals were killed and 30 others were injured in the latest border clashes.

 

Kyrgyz lawmakers have reportedly objected to Tajikistan being allowed to participate in the exercises.

 

Founded in 1992, the Collective Security Treaty Organization is a Russia-led military alliance currently grouping the six former Soviet republics of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.

 

Source: Asia-Plus

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Russian, Belarusian leaders agree to deploy joint regional group of forces

Belarusian president, in particular, recalled that he had a one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the informal CIS summit in St. Petersburg. “Given the aggravation on the western borders of the Union State, we agreed to deploy a regional group of forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. This complies with our documents. It says that if the threat level reaches the level as it is now, we begin to use the Union State group of forces. The basis (I have always said this) of this group is the army, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus. I must inform you that the formation of this group has begun. It’s been going on for, I think, for two days. I gave an order to start forming this group,” the Belarusian leader was cited as saying by BelTA.

 

Meanwhile, CNN reports that the head of the Center for Civil Liberties, Ms. Oleksandra Matviichuk, whose organization jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 7, has called for an international tribunal to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and “other war criminals to justice.”

 

In a Facebook post on October 7, Matviichuk said she was glad that the center had received the prize, along with the human rights group Memorial and jailed Belarusian advocate Ales Bialiatski.

 

She called for Russia to be removed from the United Nations Security Council for what she called “systemic breaches of the UN Charter.”

 

Source: Asia-Plus

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New York mayor declares state of emergency over asylum seekers

New York City expects to spend at least US$1 billion by the end of this fiscal year on the burgeoning shelter crisis that now has more than 61,000 people — more than a third of them children — in its system, Mayor Eric Adams said on October 7 as he declared an asylum seeker state of emergency.

 

One in five of those in the system are asylum seekers, people who have been bussed to the five boroughs from other parts of the country over the last few months, Adams was cited as saying. And hundreds more are reportedly arriving each week.

 

As of October 7, the just-over 61,000 shelter system population included about 20,000 children. On any given day last June, the average shelter census was closer to 47,000 people, including about 15,000 children. The numbers keep rising — and at the current pace, the city’s shelter census will surpass 100,000 in the coming year.

 

The mayor noted that thousands of asylum-seekers had been dropped off in the city “without notice, consideration or care,” and while New York agencies have worked to assist them, the influx has been overwhelming. More than 40 emergency shelters have been set up and 5,500 children enrolled in schools, but the city lacks resources to keep up, he said.

 

“Our right-to-shelter laws, our social services and our values are being exploited by others for political gain. New Yorkers are angry. I am angry too,” Adams was quoted as saying. “This responsibility was simply handed to us without warning as buses began showing up. There’s no playbook for this, no precedent.”

 

Source: Asia-Plus

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Iran, Tajikistan to witness new chapter in cooperation, says Iranian president

IRNA says President Raisi sent a message of congratulations to Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on October 7 to felicitate his birthday, expressing hope that the deep cultural, historical, civilizational and lingual affinities will continue with the continuation of joint meetings; so, we can witness new pages of cooperation in line with securing mutual interests, and enhancing stability of the region.

 

In the message, the Iranian president wished good health and success of his Tajik counterpart, as well as welfare for the people of Tajikistan.

 

Relationships between Tajikistan and Iran have been growing since 1991, and many political experts believe that the developing relationship has its roots in long-standing cultural, religious and historical commonalities.

 

The Week of Culture of Tajikistan that was inaugurated by Iranian and Tajik ministers of culture on October 4 took place in the Islamic Republic of Iran last week. Some art groups held programs and an exhibition was organized not only in Tehran but also in Shiraz and Tabriz.

 

Meanwhile, IRNA notes that the trade and transit of commodities between Central Asia’s nations and Iranian northeastern province of Razavi Khorasan have increased by 40 percent as a result of positive steps taken by the Raisi administration.

 

Razavi Khorasan Province is a province located in northeastern Iran. Mashhad is the center and capital of the province. Razavi Khorasan is one of the three provinces that were created after the division of Khorasan province in 2004. In 2014, it was placed in Region 5 with Mashhad as the location of the region’s secretariat.

 

Source: Asia-Plus

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Tajik MFA updates data on those killed in the latest border clashes, but then removes this info from website

According to information on the Tajik MFA’s official website on October 8, Tajik Deputy Foreign Minister, Sodiq Imomi, speaking at a consultative meeting of deputy foreign ministers from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member nations in Yerevan, Armenia, noted on October 7 that 59 nationals of Tajikistan were killed and 234 others were injured in clashes along the Tajik-Kyrgyz border on September 14-17.

 

“296 civil infrastructure facilities, including three schools, two medical facilities and three mosques were destroyed,” he was cited as saying.

 

This information was posted on the Tajik MFA’s official website on October 8, but for unknown reason the information about losses of the Tajik side was removed from the website after a while, and in the updated text, all that remains is that “Imomi provided his colleagues with detailed information on the consequences of the military aggression pre-planned by Kyrgyzstan against Tajikistan.”

 

The Tajik MFA has declined to comment on the reason for removing that information from the website.

 

Meanwhile, speaking at the meeting, Kyrgyzstan’s First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nouran Niyazaliyev, called on the meeting participants to launch the CSTO mechanisms that would allow preventing armed conflicts between the Organization member nations.

 

Belarusian news agency BelTA says the meeting took place on October 6-7 and its participants discussed a wide range of issues related to international and regional security, with a focus on the upcoming meetings of the CSTO statutory bodies, including the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council.

 

Source: Asia-Plus

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Residents of border villages of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan live in fear after the latest clashes in September

In the latest border clashes between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan that occurred on September 14-17, both sides reportedly lost over 100 people both military population and ordinary citizens. During fierce armed confrontations, a lot of schools, mosques were destroyed in addition to the houses of civilians; administrative buildings were also attacked by fire, according to CABAR.asia.

 

According to border residents, the conflict started on September 14 between the Tajik and Kyrgyz border guards and subsided and flared up intermittently for three days.

 

The latest armed confrontation was the worst since April 2021, when over 50 citizens of both nations died during the armed hostilities.

 

The Tajik president’s official website said that during the recent conflict 85 houses were totally destroyed and over 180 families suffered in Isfara and Bobojon-Ghafourov districts. According to the Sughd regional administration, 16 houses in Bobojon-Ghafourov district were razed to the ground, and 90 houses were partially damaged. 69 houses were reportedly destroyed in Isfara.

 

According to CABAR.asia, Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Emergency reported 640 destroyed houses, 423 of which were beyond repair, and 217 needed repair on the Kyrgyz side.

 

The governments of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan promised to repair the damaged houses of border villagers who suffered during the conflict.

 

During September clashes, not only residential houses were damaged. CABAR.asia says that according to the Ministry of Education of Kyrgyzstan, nine schools and one kindergarten were damaged in Batken district. In educational institutions, buildings, roofs were damaged, windows were broken. All pupils of the damaged schools were reportedly transferred to schools in neighboring villages.

 

In Tajikistan, School No. 64 of Somonien village, Chorkukh jamoat, was reportedly destroyed.

 

The authorities of Tajikistan promised to build the new educational institution in the shortest time. Local residents hope the school will be built in peace and tranquility.

 

Source: Asia-Plus