Inter-Ethnic Tension Threatens Fragile Tajik-Uzbek Relations

Tajikistan and Uzbekistan over the past 18 months managed to repair what had been perhaps Central Asia's most contentious relationship. But some Tajik experts are concerned that still-fragile relations are coming under renewed threat, with simmering inter-ethnic tension serving as the potential flashpoint of confrontation.

Tajik and Uzbek leaders are striving to maintain the appearance of cordial relations. A Tajik television report January 30, for example, stressed that a telephone discussion the same day between Tajik President Imomali Ramonov and his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov occurred in a "friendly and constructive atmosphere." Tajik and Uzbek working groups have likewise worked in recent months to improve cooperation in key areas, including rail links, water resources management and energy supplies.

The facade of friendship rests on a shaky foundation, however, as the two governments have not substantially addressed sources of tension, especially border issues. The frontier has served as a source of contention for decades, long before the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Hard feelings continue to linger among Tajiks over the boundaries established during the early Soviet period, when Communist planners left large areas populated predominately by Tajiks, including the regions around Samarkand and Bukhara, under Uzbek authority.

In recent weeks, attention has once again focused on the border, as Uzbekistan has taken steps to drastically curtail inter-state trade with all of its neighbors. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archives]. The Uzbek border action has perhaps the largest ramifications for Tajikistan, not so much because of the impact on trade, but because of the fact that large numbers of ethnic Tajiks continue to live in southern and eastern Uzbek provinces, Surkhandarya in particular.

Political observers in Tajikistan say they are concerned about alleged acts of discrimination committed by Uzbek authorities against ethnic Tajiks in Uzbekistan. They are also worried that Tajiks on both sides of the border are being targeted by Uzbek customs officials when they attempt to travel between the two countries.

"The violation of human rights in Surkhandarya region and at Uzbek-Tajik border in this area can lead to complications in relations between governments of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan," said Rustam Bahromov, an independent political analyst in Dushanbe.

During the late 1990s, Tajik-Uzbek relations sharply deteriorated amid accusations by Tashkent that Dushanbe wasn't acting as forcefully as possible to contain radical insurgents belonging to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU). [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The IMU guerrillas utilized Tajikistan as a transit country as they launched raids from their Afghan bases into Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Border tension in Surkhandarya dates specifically to 2000. After Uzbek security forces reportedly drove IMU militants out of the region that summer, local officials established minefields along the border. Tajik experts also say that Uzbek security forces forcibly removed about 5,000 residents from border villages. Most of those removed were Tajiks.

The majority of the internally deported were resettled about 100 miles away, in Sherabad, an arid district in central Uzbekistan. Some Tajiks avoided deportation by fleeing across the border to Tajikistan. And according to Uzbek human rights observers, 73 Surkhandarya residents were convicted in June 2001 of providing aid to IMU fighters. They reportedly received prison terms ranging from three to 18 years.

Inter-governmental relations began to normalize after the September 11 terrorist attacks, facilitated by the US military presence in Central Asia. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archives]. "The break up of the IMU had a positive effect on Tajik-Uzbek relations," said Bahromov, the Tajik political observer. "But the American presence had an even greater effect."

Despite improving official relations, though, many Tajiks have continued to chafe under what they consider to be arbitrary actions by Uzbek customs officials. A recent report by the Dushanbe-based Asia-Plus news agency said Tajiks have been subject for the past few years to extortion and humiliation at the border post "Kushkand" in Yangiabad district. In several cases Tajik drivers refused to obey the unlawful demands of Uzbek border guards and were subsequently beaten.

Karimov's administration has taken steps recently to curb abuses, including prosecuting some customs inspectors and inviting Tajik exiles from Surkhandarya to return. But such moves have yet to have much effect on easing the discontent of Tajiks, both in Uzbekistan and in Tajikistan.