Tag Archives: ethnic fighting

Smugglers triggered ethnic violence, says Tokayev

MARCH 1 2020 (The Bulletin) — Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart-Tokayev said that ethnic fighting in a series of villages in south Kazakhstan that killed at least 11 people, mainly ethnic Dungans, was caused by a dispute between rival smuggling gangs. In the aftermath of the violence, the authorities downplayed any threat to their idea of Kazakhstan as a place for dozens of different ethnic groups to live in harmony together.
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— This story was first published in issue 438 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020

Appeal of Uzbek human rights activist begins in Kyrgyzstan

FEB. 25 2020 (The Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court started hearing the appeal against a life prison sentence given to Uzbek human rights defender Azimjan Askarov. He was originally arrested in 2010, in the aftermath of ethnic violence in Osh that killed 450 people, mainly Uzbeks, and was accused of stirring ethnic tension. The US has criticised the Kyrgyz government for arresting and imprisoning Askarov.
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— This story was first published in issue 438 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020