JAN. 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Delegations from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan continued their discussions on how best to delineate their troublesome border. This was the second Uzbek-Kyrgyz border meeting in January. Last year tension flared between the two sides around a disputed border area.
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(News report from Issue No. 170, published on Feb. 5 2014)
JAN. 27 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz security forces killed 11 armed men who crossed its north-eastern border with China, media reported. Bandits and smugglers are relatively common along this border. The Kyrgyz authorities initially said the group was made up of ethnic Uyghurs who were looking to smuggle arms back into China.
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(News report from Issue No. 169, published on Jan. 29 2014)
JAN. 20 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Reports from the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border said tension remained high between the two sides following a shootout that injured several soldiers earlier this month. Radio Free Europe also reported that Kyrgyzstan had called up reservists living in the area for a three day military exercise.
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(News report from Issue No. 168, published on Jan. 22 2014)
JAN. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Border guards from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan fired at each other in a relatively rare skirmish. Several soldiers from both sides were injured in the firefight, media reported, and Kyrgyzstan later recalled its ambassador from Dushanbe. Tension has been escalating along the Kyrgyz-Tajik border for months.
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(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)
JAN. 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a speech at a military parade, Uzbek President Islam Karimov said the withdrawal of NATO soldiers from Afghanistan would increase tension along the Uzbek-Afghan border and could give Islamic militants the chance to attack. NATO soldiers are planning on withdrawing steadily through 2014.
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(News report from Issue No. 167, published on Jan. 15 2014)
NOV. 28 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia complained to Kazakhstan after Kazakh border guards shot and killed one Russian fisherman in the Caspian Sea on Nov. 25, media reported. In the same incident, the Kazakh border guards also arrested seven other fisherman, all from the North Caucasus region of Dagestan, for fishing illegally.
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(News report from Issue No. 163, published on Dec. 4 2013)
DEC. 1 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — An Azerbaijani border guard died in a shootout on the border with Iran. The Azerbaijan-Iran border is used heavily by smugglers although the incident could also inflame tension between the two neighbours. Separately, Azerbaijani authorities released an Iranian they had suspected of plotting to bomb the Israeli embassy in Baku.
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(News report from Issue No. 163, published on Dec. 4 2013)
NOV. 6 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan has accused Iran’s military of firing shots across the border in the latest escalation of tension between the two neighbours, media reported. The Azerbaijani authorities reportedly closed a border crossing for several days after the alleged incident. Azerbaijan-Iran ties are strained
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(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
OCT. 9 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Trouble appears to be brewing on the border between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Traditionally, Uzbekistan closes its border with its southern neighbour for 72 hours around its Independence Day celebrations on Sept. 1 each year. This year, though, the border remains shut, more than one month later.
Media also reported that Uzbek officials had cancelled a deal made in June with Turkmenistan that allowed citizens from both countries to visit the other for three days without a visa.
It’s unclear what exactly has happened or when, although officials from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan did meet in Bukhara at the end of last month to discuss border issues.
Whatever the official reasons for the border problems, the implications are fairly serious. Business and families are cross border affairs and detouring to the nearest consulates for visas and various permissions to travel is a time consuming tedious business.
One agency that will benefit from the confusion is the border guards’ service. The guards on the borders are notoriously corrupt and, although officially closed, people will still be crossing back and forth. The size of the bribe they need to pay will have increased.
Uzbekistan currently imposes visa requirements on citizens of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan but not Russia or Kazakhstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 155, published on Oct. 9 2013)
OCT. 1 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbek soldiers are expected to withdraw from disputed territory on the border with Kyrgyzstan, media reported. Local Kyrgyz accused the Uzbek soldiers of occupying the land days earlier. Tension has been rising on the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan border for the past year.
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(News report from Issue No. 154, published on Oct. 2 2013)