Tag Archives: Tajikistan

Comment: Cameron tours Central Asia to secure migrant labour routes

APRIL 23 2024 (The Bulletin) — The British government has framed David Cameron’s trip to Central Asia as a push to persuade the region’s leaders to take a pro-West stance on global affairs, particularly around the war in Ukraine.

But this is only part of the British foreign minister’s visit. The other part is strengthening labour migration routes.

Over the past four years, Britain has turned to Central Asia to plug labour gaps created by Brexit. It has set up schemes to import migrant workers, particularly from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, to Britain to pick fruit, the sort of job that workers from the Baltics were doing until Brexit made it far more difficult.

Either way, it is a win for the West as the more contact there is between Britain and Central Asia, the more chance there is of breaking down Russia’s hold over the region.

On another level, it has been an awkward trip for Cameron, having to pose for photos with Kyrgz Pres. Sadyr Japarov after he imposed Kremlin-inspired laws that make operations for Western-backed media and NGOs far harder.

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— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

UK foreign minister goes on “grand tour” of Central Asia

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APRIL 22 2024 (The Bulletin) — David Cameron, Britain’s foreign minister, started a “Grand Tour” of Central Asia designed to win backing for migrant labour deals from the region’s presidents and persuade them to support the West over the Kremlin. Lord Cameron becomes the first British foreign minister to visit Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, highlighting the increased importance of the region. Britain has been trying to plug Brexit labour shortages with migrants from Central Asia.

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— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

Uzbeksitan, Tajikistan take alliance “to next level”

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APRIL 18 2024 (The Bulletin) — In Dushanbe, the presidents of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan signed deals which they said placed their alliance at the “highest level”. The deal is set to improve bilateral relations across a range of sectors from tourism to agriculture. Bilateral relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan had been poor until Shavkat Mirziyoyev took over as Uzbek president in 2016 from the paranoid Islam Karimov.

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— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

Migrant flow from Tajikistan to Russia has picked up, says airline

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DUSHANBE/APRIL 17 2024 (The Bulletin) — Migrant flows from Dushanbe to Moscow have picked up since a drop after a terrorist attack in Moscow, Tajik media quoted aviation officials as saying.

This is important because Tajik officials had reported that thousands of Tajik workers wanted to leave Russia at the end of March because of an increase in xenophobic attacks and pressure from the police.

Remittances sent back by workers in Russia are vital for the Tajik economy, making up around 25% of its GDP.

An official for Somon Air, a Tajik airline, said that by the end of April passenger traffic between Tajikistan and Russia should have returned to normal.

“We’re seeing a trend towards an increase in passenger traffic in the direction of Russia and back compared with the figures two weeks ago,” the official said.

Somon Air operates between 130 and 140 flights per month between Russia and Tajikistan.

Police arrested four Tajik men for killing at least 144 people at a rock concert in Moscow on March 22, the worst terrorist attack in Russia for 20 years.

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— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

Tajik opposition in exile “disappear”

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APRIL 16 2024 (The Bulletin) — Human rights groups said that several people linked to Group 24, an organisation banned in Tajikistan have disappeared from Lithuania, Poland and Turkey over the past few weeks. Human Rights Watch and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee accused Tajikistan of orchestrating a secret extradition project against Group 24 members. Group 24 is a political movement opposed to Tajik Pres. Emomali Rakhmon and has been labelled a terror group by the Tajik government.

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— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

Tajikistan cuts visa-free access to Turks

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APRIL 16 2024 (The Bulletin) — Tajikistan said that it would now impose visa conditions on Turkish citizens after Turkey cancelled its visa-free regime for Tajiks. Turkey cancelled visa-free access to Tajiks after a terrorist attack in Moscow in March that has been blamed on Tajik migrant workers. Turkey is an important source of work for Tajik workers and analysts said that the visa ban would be economically painful.

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— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

Comment: Tajikistan complains of torture to Russia

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APRIL 15 2024 (The Bulletin) –Don’t underestimate the importance of Tajikistan complaining to the Kremlin about the torture of four of its citizens, arrested for a terror attack in Moscow in March.

Dushanbe has been incensed at the cruelty shown by Russian security forces to the four men who were captured relatively unharmed but appeared later in court bruised and battered, their eyes hollow.

Of course, the Tajik government feels shame that its citizens are involved in terrorist incidents but they also link the torture of the men to humiliation felt by the thousands of Tajik workers who are now being stopped and searched on Russian streets and often deported for infractions.

Remittances are vital to the Tajik economy and it is important that Russia keeps welcoming Tajiks. It’s also a worry that Turkey has suspended visa-free access for Tajiks after the terror attack.

Policymakers’ reaction to the terror attack in Moscow may be to shun and discriminate against Tajiks. This would be entirely wrong and it is good to hear the Tajik government standing up for its citizens.

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— This story was published in issue 564 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 15 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

Tokayev cancels Astana International Forum

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ALMATY/APRIL 13 2024 (The Bulletin) — Kazakh Pres. Kassym Jomart Tokayev cancelled his set piece Astana International Forum because of heavy floods in the north and west of the country.

He said that it would be inappropriate to host the annual event after what he has described as the worst snowmelt floods in 80 years forced thousands of people to flee.

In a Tweet, Mr Tokayev said that the priority for Kazakhstan was to “save financial resources to eliminate the consequences of large-scale destruction and provide assistance to the citizens of the country”.

The Astana International Forum was first held in 2008 and is used by the Kazakh government to show off the country to various international dignitaries. Only the Covid pandemic had previously forced the forum to be cancelled.

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— This story was published in issue 564 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 15 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

Tajikistan accuses the Kremlin of ordering torture of terror suspects

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DUSHANBE/APRIL 12 2024 (The Bulletin) — Tajikistan accused the Kremlin of ordering the torture of four of its nationals after arresting them for a terror attack at a Moscow concert hall last month.

The rare criticism of the Kremlin by Tajikistan reveals the anger felt at seeing the men paraded in a Russian court with serious injuries.

“The use of torture against them in the form of bodily mutilation is unacceptable. The price of confessions obtained in this way is well known to everyone,” Tajik foreign minister Sirojiddin Mukhriddin told his CIS counterparts at a meeting in Belarus.

The four men were captured relatively unharmed outside Moscow the day after 144 people died in the terror attack on March 22. Videos, though, showed them being beaten and tortured with electric shocks.

The Afghanistan-based ISIS-K terror group has claimed the attack but the Kremlin has blamed Ukraine. It said that Ukraine had actively recruited the attackers from Dushanbe, an accusation Tajikistan has rejected as having “no basis” in fact.

And analysts have now warned that the Tajik economy will be hit by the fallout from the attack.

Remittances sent back to Tajikistan from Russia are vital but Russian police have cracked down on migrant workers and many now want to leave. Turkey, an important destination for migrant workers from Tajikistan, has also dropped visa-free entry for Tajiks since the attack.

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— This story was published in issue 564 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 15 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

Central Asia worries about food supplies after the Kremlin extends sugar ban

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MOSCOW/APRIL 10 2024 (The Bulletin) — The Kremlin said that it would extend its ban on sugar and grain exports by another five months to the end of August, sparking worries about supplies in Central Asia.

The original ban on sugar and grain exports was introduced in 2023 by the Kremlin to shore up supplies during its war with Ukraine.

But the ban has worried other countries across the former Soviet Union as they are partly reliant on Russian food imports.

Kazakhstan has already boosted its grain production, although heavy floods across the north of the country over the past fortnight will damage harvests, and Uzbekistan immediately issued a statement confirming that it has switched grain suppliers and now “mainly imported from Brazil and India”.

But for Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, Russia’s extended grain export ban is more of a headache.

Tajikistan had leaned heavily on Russia and analysts have said that it relies on Russia for a third of its imports.

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— This story was published in issue 564 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 15 2024