1907 Solar Eclipse Expedition by Sergei Prokhudi-Gorskii, Russian Photographer
I decided to start a little weekly newsletter on Saturdays about Tajikistan because I think this Central Asian country bordering Afghanistan needs more attention all around. If you want to get the page of links in your email box, write me at catfitzny@yahoo.com with header TAJIKISTAN.
Summary Comments:
Winter is a time of greater vulnerability in Tajikistan but there don't seem to be major disasters. Did you know the main ingredient of the Tajik diet is wheat? While it has shortages of its own, Tajikistan exports electricity to war-torn Afghanistan -- but Afghans don't appreciate this because they don't seem to even know about this or any other much-trumpeted Central Asian humanitarian assistance. The US often feverishly thanks Central Asia for helping Afghanistan, but a public opinion poll by the Asia Foundation found Afghan people unaware of it. If Central Asian leaders are trying to buy good will, they need a PR program to go with it.
The US is intensifying its military activity with Tajikistan as it plans to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. The SOCCENT Commander visited Dushanbe this month; the US also helped open two border guard stations under the banner of combating narcotics -- and it's my operating theory that most military and police activity will be under that banner. And what are "special operations"? OSCE also trained some border guards -- a few. Does this do any good? Meanwhile Russia's CSTO, the Warsaw Pact replacement at least for the rump Soviet Union, promises never to interfere in Tajikistan's internal affairs and isn't chartered to do so. I don't believe them, because they can change their minds or their charter or call something cross border as not so internal. Example of something not so internal that is cross border:an IMU member, only 24, was convicted recently in Tajikistan for terrorism. Of course, his legal defense was not likely the most brilliant -- and one independent lawyer's association has been shut down this month.
The World Bank reports that ALMOST HALF of Tajikistan's GDP - 47% -- comes from migrant labour remittances, making it the world's largest remittance contribution to GDP anywhere -- a dubious distinction. The toll on women is great -- fergananews.com reports suicides among females left as heads of household. The rate does not appear to be going up and is 111 cases for 2011; one problem is that Tajik males don't come home after finding Russian women partners. Russia is making it harder for migrants to enter their labour market with a new law next month requiring migrants to have knowledge of Russian. But there's hope! Coke is coming to Tajikistan, and that investment of $30 million is going to create Tajik jobs...right?
Not surprisingly, the Islamic Revival Party backed Palestine in the Gaza war and delivered a one-sided statement complaining of "Israeli war crimes" without mentioning Hamas rockets or dragging suspected Israeli spies through the streets on motorcycles. The West will not win the minds much less hearts of Central Asian intellectuals and youth on the Internet unless they polemicize more with this kind of radical Islamic position. We have no idea of what the average Tajik's attitudes are to Islamism because there aren't polls (if you know one, send me a link).
Regrettably, when the West *does* engage as Catherine Ashton is doing now on a tour of Central Asia, she does it in the form of garble about "women's empowerment" (is that what you get when you don't get women's rights?) and rhetorical questions, like "what about freedom of religion"? Well, what about people tried without benefit of lawyers and tortured when they may merely be devout religious believers? It's hard to get the population to appreciate the need to counter terrorism if a heavy hand is used on their young. The rhetorical questions need to be sharpened, i.e. what about the lawyers' group closed down and the prison probes?
Tajikistan Vulnerable to Hunger
Wheat is the most widely consumed cereal and provides the majority of calories to households in Tajikistan while cooking oil provides the second most calories,says ReliefWeb. Potatoes and rice are leading alternative staples. PDF report of prices in Tajikistan
In November, expected precipitation at lower elevations, and snowfall at higher elevations can lead to flash flooding when rapid melting occurs, ReliefWeb reports. Freezing temperatures can also cause local damage to crops.
OSCE Trains OSCE Border Guards
Tajiks were among 26 senior border guards from Eurasia who participated in an anti-corruption training, held from 19 to 23 November, organized in co-operation with the Borders Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, OSCE reported. Earlier, OSCE trained Tajik, Afghan and Kyrgyz border guards in cross border interdiction.
Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT) Commander, Maj. Gen. Ken Tovo, visited Tajikistan yesterday and met with senior U.S. and Tajik officials on issues of bilateral cooperation and regional interest, theUS Embassy in Dushanbe reported.
During his visit, Tovo met with U.S. Ambassador Susan Elliott and discussed areas of continued military cooperation between the two countries, including SOCCENT’s relationship with the Tajik Special Operations Forces. Tovo also met with senior military officials as he underscored SOCCENT’s support to stability and security in Central Asia.
US-Tajik Open Two Border Posts
Representatives from the U.S. and Tajikistan governments celebrated the opening of two border guard posts in Sayod and Ribhoz, Tajikistan, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Nov. 6.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Middle East District constructed the facilities under the Department of Defense's counter-narcotics program.
Russia Says CSTO Won't Suppress Tajik Unrest
The Russian troops stationed at the 201st base in Tajikistan won't be involved into suppression of protest actions in Khorog in case of their recurrence, Collective Security Treaty Organization Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha said, according to C-A News.
"I exclude this absolutely. The Russian troops stationed at the 201st base are aimed to provide assistance to Tajikistan in combating external threats,” Bordyuzha said in an interview with The Moscow News.
Afghans Unaware of Central Asian Aid Except from Tajikistan
Afghans remain largely unaware of any reconstruction project or foreign aid provided to them by the countries of Central Asia, according to a new public opinion survey conducted in Afghanistan by the San Francisco-based Asia Foundation, a major international nonprofit group, reported Silk Road Newsline, according to a CA News report.
Tajikistan was the only Central Asian country identified by just 1 percent of Afghan respondents when the poll measured their perceptions of which country has provided the most aid for the development projects in their area or district.
Tajik Lawyers' Group Shut Down; Amnesty International Protests
Tajikistan has ordered non-governmental organization (NGO) Young Lawyers Association “Amparo” to be shut down in what appears to be a politically motivated case, prompting Amnesty International to reiterate its call for civil society activists not to be harassed or intimidated.
IMU Member Convicted in Tajikistan
A court in southern Tajikistan has sentenced a 24-year-old member of the
terrorist group Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan's Taliban
to twelve years in prison, the Tajik Supreme Court reported on
Thursday, according to Interfax.
"Azamat Elmirzoyev, detained by the Tajik National Security
Committee this summer, fought for the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2010-2011
and then moved to Pakistan to be trained at terrorist camps of the Islamic
Movement of Uzbekistan," the report said
Tajik Rights Defenders Demand Prison Probe
Tajikistan's nongovernmental organization Coalition Against Torture has issued a statement demanding investigations into the alleged mass beatings of prison inmates, RFE/RL reports.
According to the rights group, prison guards brutally beat at least 50 inmates after their transfer from a Dushanbe jail to a prison labor camp in the northern city of Khujand a week ago.
Tajikistan Should Stop Celebrating New Year: Islam Revival Party
Tajikistan is a predominantly Muslim country, which makes New Year an alien
holiday. The authorities should stop celebrating it, says a statement by the
chief editor of the Islamic Revival Party website published on
Friday, according to an Interfax report.
Writer Muhibullo Kurbon proposed to spend the money assigned for
New Year decorations on charity.
"We should admit that New Year is an
alien holiday to the overwhelming majority of people in our country because they
are Muslims," Kurbon said in his appeal to the authorities.
Islamic Revival Party Supports Palestine
The Party of the Islamic Revival of Tajikistan on Wednesday adopted a statement
condemning Israel's actions in Palestine, recognizing the actions taken by
Palestine as legitimate.
"The Party of Islamic Revival of Tajikistan
condemns air and sea attacks on the Palestinian territories by the Israeli
military, in which hundreds of peaceful Palestinians, including many children,
were killed," the Party of Islamic Revival of Tajikistan said in a
statement.
"We express concern about the fact that the world community,
especially the U.S. and some Western countries, have backed the war crimes
committed by Israel, ignoring the lawful demands made by the people of
Palestine, who have been under Israeli occupation for over sixty years," the
document says.
Tajik Labour Migration Chief Sentenced for Fraud
The chief of a Dushanbe-based company involved in arranging Tajik labor migrants' trips to Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, RFE/RL reports.
Nasrullo Zamonov was found guilty of fraud on November 20 after being arrested in April when more than 90 clients of his Zamoni Yunus company filed lawsuits against him.
Tajik Embassy Blasts Russian Manual
Tajikistan's embassy in Moscow is harshly criticizing the publishers of a controversial manual on labor migrants to Russia, calling the document a "provocation," says RFE/RL.
New Russian Law Requires Migrants to Know Russian
A new federal law entering into effect December 1 will require migrants, many of whom are from Tajikistan, to know the Russian language, reports Asia-Plus (in Russian).
Tajikistan First Among Top Recipients of Migrant Remittances as Share of GDP
The World Bank reports that 47% of Tajikistan's GDP comes from remittances from migrant labour abroad. (H/T Zabikhullah Saipov)
Burden of Male Migrant Labour Falls on Tajik Females
Article on fergananews.com reports female suicides in Tajikistan in families separated by migrant labour. (In Russian)
EU's Ashton to Travel to Central Asia, to Meet Tajik President
Asked by RFE/RL if she will raise human rights, Ashton said:
Ashton: It's always part of my dialogue. And it's done in a way that it enables us to talk about what that means in practice. What does it mean for women? What does it mean for women not just in their political rights but their economic rights? I believe, by the way, that economies are much better off when women are engaged; they are usually much more successful. What does it mean for people who want to make their own point politically? What does it mean for freedom of religion? What does it mean for people who are disabled? What does it mean for people who we need to celebrate [as] different and...the same? And for my discussions, it will be a core part of the dialogue that we have when we think about how the EU works with these countries into the future.
Tajikistan is not Switzerland: Tourists
Asia Plus reports on the ruggedness of tourism in Tajikistan (in Russian)
Coca-Cola Plans to Enter Tajikistan Market; Invest $30 Million
Coca-Cola is planning to come next year. (Asia Plus, in Russian)
Tajikistan Exports Electricity to Afghanistan Despite Own Shortages
Asia Plus, in Russian
TALKO Synthesizes Gas to Lessen Dependency on Uzbekistan
Fergananews.com reports that Tajiistan's aluminum factory is synthesizing gas. (in Russian).
