Uzbekistan: Displaced Kyrgyz Citizens Plead for Relief

Families who saw their homes demolished to make way for trenches dug by Uzbek border guards say they refused offers of land within Uzbekistan but complain that Kyrgyz authorities are doing little to help relocate them.

More than 10 families holding Kyrgyz citizenship have been displaced from the disputed border areas between Andijan and Jalalabad. They now say they are homeless and worry that they will not have adequate shelter next winter.

Resettling in Uzbekistan was not an option, Kadyrjan Tajibaev who now lives in Nooken, told the CA-News.org news website on June 16. "They promised [us] land lots on the territory of Uzbekistan, but we will not move there," he said. Almost 150 Kyrgyz citizens remain on disputed territory near the village of Chek. Kyrgyz officials insist they have control of the area.

Separately, Ziyaduylla Pulathodzhaev, Uzbekistan's ambassador in Bishkek, called on Kyrgyzstan to urgently sign a border agreement. "In order to resolve all questions we need to sign a border agreement, which will regulate exactly where it passes as it passes," Kyrgyz news agency Akipress quoted him as saying on June 16.