Tajikistan: Political Apathy Hampers Democratization

A study released June 13 by Freedom House focuses attention on a "governance gap" in energy-rich states in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

The report, titled Nations in Transit 2006, identifies several disturbing trends in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and other nations in the European Union's "Eastern neighborhood," including weak political institutions, plummeting standards, expanding limits on press freedom and rampant corruption. The accumulation of wealth, through the development of energy resources, does not stand to foster stable societies, the report suggests.

"National leaders in these countries appear not to understand that improving accountability will provide citizens what they want – prosperity and rule of law – and would give their states more options internationally," the report's editor, Jeannette Goehring said in a written statement.

"Instead, they are taking advantage of high energy prices by building authoritarian regimes," Goehring continued. The report also singles out Russia for criticism over President Vladimir Putin's evident disdain for democratization. The Kremlin's backsliding is all the more serious, given Russia's broad political, economic and social influence throughout the countries of the former Soviet Union.

Tajikistan

Tajikistan's leaders are growing more authoritarian, but the general population appears largely unworried by the trend, the Nations in Transit 2006 report by Freedom house has found.

The annual report, released June 13, suggested that the country's war-weary population is largely apathetic toward politics, and is instead preoccupied with preserving peace and promoting stability. As a result, the ruling elite has bolstered its position with a series of measures design to stifle reform-minded groups and individuals. President Imomali Rahmonov's administration "redoubled its efforts to suppress dissent by harassing opposition parties, closing major opposition newspapers, and arresting several key opposition figures most notably the leader of the Democratic Party, Mahmadruzi Iskandarov," the Freedom House report said.

Tajikistan earned an overall score of 5.93 in the Freedom House rankings of seven democracy indicators, each of which are rated on a scale of 1 to 7 with 7 marking a complete absence of political rights. "Tajikistan increasingly resembles a dictatorship, yet the public seems genuinely supportive of Rahmonov's government," the report said.

Tajikistan's rating for national democratic governance fell from 6 to 6.25 because of "a lack of progress in bringing about genuine pluralism and distribution of power, the ongoing use of and heavy reliance on patronage networks by the ruling elite, and a heightened degree of heavy-handedness practiced against opposition groups and dissidents before and after the February 2005 parliamentary elections."

Tajikistan's rating for electoral process also fell from 6 to 6.25. Despite new laws designed to increase fairness and transparency, the report found the "election atmosphere" to be "unfair and intimidating." The March 2005 revolution in neighboring Kyrgyzstan deeply troubled many Tajiks, who are still recovering from a 1992-97 civil war. Government suspicion of foreign NGOs grew and many were subjected to financial audits, new procedures and restrictions. As a result, Tajikistan's rating for civil society dropped from 4.75 to 5.

Regional and clan affiliations continued to shape the political landscape in Tajikistan, which lacks any effective form of local representation. The report said that "local communities in Tajikistan are usually unable to choose their own leaders, and participation and decision-making continue to be largely contingent on business and political connections, with most decisions made in a nontransparent manner. As such, Tajikistan's rating for local democratic governance remains at 5.75."

Although some progress has been made with the judicial and legal framework, the report states the system "remains largely unjust, corrupt, and reliant on assumption of guilt, with the state prosecutors having disproportionate power over the fate of the accused." This, along with other "major shortcomings," keeps Tajikistan's rating for judicial framework and independence rating unchanged at 5.75. "Owing to an increase in government tactics of suppressing information and activities of journalists and media deemed critical of government policies and organs, Tajikistan's rating for independent media worsens from 6 to 6.25," the report added.

Corruption continues to undermine social and political structures. Tajikistan is the poorest of the post-Communist states and despite some economic growth, most Tajiks live below the poverty line. Failure to address corruption, the drugs trade and shady privatization deals keep Tajikistan's corruption rating at 6.25.