AUG. 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The self-styled Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has appointed a Tajik as one of its leaders, media reported. Officials in Tajikistan said the appointment to ISIL, which has beheaded Western journalists, may increase the number of disenfranchised Tajiks heading to fight for it.
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(News report from Issue No. 198, published on Sept. 3 2014)
AUG. 26 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Two Tajiks — a civilian and a soldier — died in a shootout with Kyrgyz forces on the Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan border, the most serious violence along the disputed boundary this year. The row between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan threatens to destabilise the region.
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(News report from Issue No. 197, published on Aug. 27 2014)
AUG. 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan jailed seven men for plotting to attack the TALCO aluminium plant in the west of the country. TALCO is Tajikistan’s biggest economic asset and any successful attack would cripple the Tajik economy. The court said the group wanted to overthrow the government.
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(News report from Issue No. 196, published on Aug. 20 2014)
AUG. 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A lack of opportunities has turned Tajikistan into a prime recruiting ground for radical Islamists, Eurasianet reported. Eurasianet said Tajiks could earn more money fighting for extremists in Syria than they could working on a construction sites in Russia, the usual way for Tajiks to earn money to send home.
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(News report from Issue No. 196, published on Aug. 20 2014)
AUG. 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Demonstrating China’s regional prowess, the Chinese security chief, Meng Jianzhu, pledged to help Tajikistan beef up its law enforcement services and security operations. China has been increasing its clout in Central Asia over the past few years and now considers the region as part of its extended domain.
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(News report from Issue No. 196, published on Aug. 20 2014)
AUG. 5 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan’s military detained five Tajik shepherds and their livestock for a week after they strayed into Uzbek territory, media reported, briefly heightening tension between the two neighbours. Uzbekistan- Tajikistan relations are particularly important to monitor for stability in Central Asia.
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(News report from Issue No. 194, published on Aug. 6 2014)
DANGHARA/Tajikistan JULY 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — To passersby this town of 25,000 people south east of Dushanbe, is indistinguishable from any other poor Tajik settlement.
On one side of the drag running through its centre there is a crowded but limited bazaar, hawking cheap products from China. On the other, the standard array of grocery stores with little to sell and taxi drivers waiting for non-existent customers.
But Danghara is an important part of impoverished Tajikistan’s political vocabulary. The town’s most famous son, Tajik president Emomali Rakhmon, stuffs his government with people from Danghara and its eponymous district.
Making up only 1% of the total population of Tajikistan, Dangharans nevertheless head the ministries of education, health and internal affairs. The first Deputy Prime Minister is also Danghara-born.
“Half of Danghara has already moved to Dushanbe,” said Daler Khalidoev, a courier who lives in the capital but comes from Khujand. “They still smell of the village.”
Since Soviet times, regional divisions have plagued Tajikistan. Back then most of the local elite were plucked from Leninabad region (now Khojand) in the north, now it seems that Dangharans are in favour.
At Mr Rakhmon’s encouragement international organizations have built and equipped Danghara general hospital, one of the best in the country, at a cost of roughly $20m. The newly created Danghara Free Economic Zone 10km outside the city, will host strategic investments such as an Iranian detergent factory worth $1.4b and a Chinese oil refinery that will refine over 1m tonnes of crude per year.
“(It’s) jobs for his people,” said Khalidoev, the courier from Khojand.
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(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)
JULY 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan released on bail Tajik academic Alexander Sodiqov who officials arrested and charged with spying when working for British and Canadian universities in the south of the country. Mr Sodiqov’s arrest triggered international condemnation. As a condition of his bail, Mr Sodiqov has to remain in Dushanbe.
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(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)
JULY 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – TALCO, Tajikistan’s aluminium smelter and its most important industrial asset, cut production by nearly 50% in the first half of the year to 61,100 tonnes because of a fall in demand, media reported quoting an official. TALCO is the mainstay of Tajikistan’s economy.
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(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)
JULY 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan agreed to jointly investigate a shoot-out along its shared borders earlier this month that killed one person, media reported. The announcement was an important step in deescalating tension along the border. There have been several clashes on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border this year.
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(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)