Tag Archives: Tajikistan

Tajikistan hosts regional security summit

SEPT. 15 2015, DUSHANBE (The Conway Bulletin) — Leaders from member states of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) travelled to the Tajik capital for their annual summit, with talk of the threat from Islamic extremism dominating the conference.

Security was tight across Dushanbe. Earlier this month twin attacks on police stations, one in Dushanbe and one in a nearby town, killed nearly two dozen people.

The day after the summit, Tajikistan’s Prosecutor-General accused the opposition Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) of coordinating the attacks (Sept. 17). The authorities have been putting the IRPT under increased pressure over the past year. Linking it to the attacks will now, almost certainly, mean it will be banned.

At the CSTO summit, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon said the number of young Tajiks lured to join IS in Iraq and Syria is increasing.

“The spectre of emergencies and security threats in the region is not diminishing, and could even grow,” he said. This rhetoric, Western analysts have said, suits the security- focused agenda of Central Asia. Many think it is overstated.

Russian president Vladimir Putin said he will help Central Asia strengthen its southern border against any Taliban incursions.

“Here in Tajikistan you are confronted with problems, with encroachments and attempts to rock the situation, and I would like to say that you can always count on our assistance and support,” media quoted Mr Putin as saying.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Markets: Inflation rallies in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan

SEPT. 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — On inflation, the data looks worse in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan, compared to other economies which have managed to keep prices flat. In the period between Jan.-Aug. 2015, prices in Armenia grew by 4.8%, in Tajikistan by 3.2%, in Azerbaijan by 3.8%, according to their statistics committees.

Despite the steady growth in consumer prices, the region’s economies are containing inflation. For a comparison, inflation in Russia reached 15% in August.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Tajik opposition ditch meeting

SEPT. 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), the country’s main official opposition, has indefinitely postponed a congress it had planned for Sept. 15, media reported. The IRPT linked the decision to attacks in Dushanbe last week. Earlier this month the authorities also said the IRPT was illegal.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 247, published on Sept. 11 2015)

Kyrgyzstan increases alert on border

SEPT. 9 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kyrgyz military has ordered its units on high alert around the border with Tajikistan because of an increase in tension, media reported. Reports were not specific on what had triggered the alert but Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have rowed about border issues this year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 247, published on Sept. 11 2015)

China buys Tajik somoni

SEPT. 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – China agreed to buy $470m worth of Tajik somoni, media reported, a currency swap designed to prop up Tajikistan’s weakening currency. The somoni has been losing value this year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 247, published on Sept. 11 2015)

Comment: Internal issues trigger violence in Tajikistan

SEPT. 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Last week Tajikistan experienced some of its bloodiest fighting in recent years. Although the regime has been quick to label the rebels as “terrorists” sponsored by outside forces, the conflict is in fact the product of internal factors.

Tajikistan remains a mafia state. Different factions compete over the resources it has to offer. Government posts are not merely daytime jobs; they offer elites access to power and wealth.

With such a contested political economy, conflicts boil to the surface intermittently.

After the country’s civil war ended in 1997, some opposition warlords were incorporated into the regime.

Since signing the power-sharing deal, Emomali Rakhmon’s government has reneged on its promises, imprisoning, killing and exiling many of its former foes.

Not all of them have laid down their arms without a fight. Last Friday’s armed uprising is just the last in a series of conflicts involving former opposition strongmen.

Until recently, Major-General Abdukhalim Nazarzoda was one of the last remaining opposition commanders in government.

A skilful player of the political game, he rose to the rank of deputy defence minister in 2014. At the same time, he amassed a fortune through control of a bread factory, a poultry farm and other assets.

But last week his position came under threat.

According to a statement released by his supporters on September 6, the regime plotted to remove Nazarzoda for refusing to agree with the recent ban on the government’s main opponents, the Islamic Renaissance Party.

Instead of going quietly, he decided to go out fighting. And fight he did, leaving over forty people dead.

Dushanbe seems to have the situation under control for now. Despite sustaining heavy casualties, the security services have now neutralised most of Nazarzoda’s supporters, killing the general himself on September 11.

With the move against Nazarzoda, the regime has sent a clear warning signal to other commanders of dubious loyalty.

Not all of them will step aside without a fight.

Over the next few years Tajikistan’s fractious post-conflict state will sporadically erupt into violence.

By Edward Lemon, PhD candidate at Exeter University focusing on Tajikistan

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 247, published on Sept. 11 2015)

Tajik soft drink produces opens new factory

SEPT. 7 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Obi Zulol, a Tajik soft drink producer, opened a new, 3.7m somoni ($600,000) factory in Dushanbe. The company holds the licence to produce and sell brands from Canadian distributor Cott Corporation, such as RC Cola. This is Obi Zulol’s second soft drinks plant in Dushanbe.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 247, published on Sept. 11 2015)

Tajik hunt for fugitive minister

SEPT. 11 2015, DUSHANBE (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajikistan’s security forces have been scouring rough countryside in a valley 150km from the capital Dushanbe for the country’s most wanted man, General Abduhalim Nazarzoda, a former deputy defence minister.

The authorities accuse Gen. Nazarzoda of masterminding a series of early morning attacks in Dushanbe and a police station at Vahdat, a town 10km away, on Sept. 4 that killed at least nine policemen and 13 gunmen.

In Dushanbe, the authorities blocked access to social media sites and ordered more soldiers to patrol along the streets.

Hoji Said, a local Dushanbe resident, summed up the tense atmosphere in the capital.

“I have not seen so many policemen in Dushanbe,” he said.

Still, despite the extra security, a World Cup football qualifier match between Tajikistan and Australia went ahead. Australia won 3-0.

Gen. Nazarzoda was one of the leaders of the Tajik United Opposition, a coalition that fought against the government in a civil war in the mid-1990s. He fled the country but returned after a UN- brokered peace deal ensured handed him a role in the government.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 247, published on Sept. 11 2015)

Attackers target Tajik capital

SEPT. 3/4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Unidentified men launched a series of attacks on government buildings in Dushanbe, killing at least nine policemen, media reported. Media said the men were linked to Islamic extremism, although this has not been confirmed.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 246, published on Sept. 4 2015)

China to increase investment into Tajikistan’s gold mines

SEPT. 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Chinese Zijin Mining Group Company pledged more investment into Tajikistan’s gold mines, local media reported. Zijin owns a 75% stake in a joint venture with the Tajik government in the development of the Zarafshan gold mine, the largest gold mine in Tajikistan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 246, published on Sept. 4 2015)