Land scarcity in the Ferghana Valley is a growing cause for concern in Kyrgyzstan. The slow governmental response to the long-standing problem means the issue could create a spark that reignites inter-ethnic conflict.
One potential flashpoint is a plot of about 70 hectares of farmland near Osh [6], which was the scene of interethnic violence last June that left hundreds dead. Uzbek farmers contend they have held leases for the land since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. But last November, roughly 1,000 ethnic Kyrgyz tried to occupy the plot, according to various accounts. Authorities managed to drive off the would-be squatters with a promise to address the question in early 2011. Yet spring has now arrived, and the issue remains unresolved.
The November incident was a direct outgrowth of the June violence [7]. In the aftermath of the rioting, Kyrgyz-language media outlets tacitly encouraged a belief that land in Kyrgyzstan belonged to ethnic Kyrgyz and that Uzbeks should be regarded as mere tenants. These same media outlets also painted Uzbeks as having only tenuous loyalty to the Kyrgyz state. Emboldened by such reporting, some desperate Kyrgyz decided try to take for themselves what they had not been able to obtain via the state.
To a great extent, the land problem represents a massive failure in governance. The issue is far from new, underscored by the fact that a land dispute played a role in inciting deadly rioting in the Osh Region back in 1990. Observers say that authorities have long ignored underlying causes, in particular the social and economic complications generated by the steady migration of rural highlanders into Ferghana Valley villages and cities.
Among those involved in the squabble over the 70-hectare Osh plot, frustration remains near the boiling point. “For the last 20 years, my three children and I have been living in dormitories of the former textile factory in Osh,” said Ysysby Isakulova, 46, an ethnic Kyrgyz from Osh Province’s mountainous Alai District.
She said repeated pleas to authorities to allocate a small plot went unaddressed, so when an opportunity presented itself late last year to take her fate into her own hands, she seized it. And if authorities are unresponsive to her concerns this year, she added, she is inclined to try again to resolve matters herself.
“So last year my relatives from Alai, whose children graduated from Osh universities and have failed to obtain land plots to build houses, together with other people like us, tried to take fields farmed by ethnic Uzbeks,” Isakulova recounted, referring to the attempted seizure last November. “[Osh Province Deputy Governor] Kushbak Tezekbaev talked to us and asked to leave the grabbed lands, promising to give us lands for the next season. So, if we are not given lands this spring, we will have to take them by ourselves so that we can start building our houses.”
Still traumatized [8] by last summer’s pogroms, Uzbeks involved in the tussle say they feel at the mercy of forces beyond their control. Their time horizon is just day-to-day, which does little to foster a sense of security.
“When about a thousand Kyrgyz came to our fields, including lots of horsemen, we thought a second wave of violence was about to come. Many Uzbek families started moving to the border with Uzbekistan seeking protection and shelter,” Pulat, an ethnic Uzbek farmer from the outskirts of Osh, recalled about the November incident. “But to our surprise, Special Forces came and easily dispersed the crowd. So, this spring we have started farming our fields again with the thin hope that the Kyrgyz authorities will protect our property rights and won’t let the Kyrgyz land grabbers come back.”
In March, Osh regional authorities announced a plan to distribute unused farmland farther away from Osh. But eligibility requirements remain unclear and it seems that no matter what local authorities do, they cannot please everyone. Moreover, the process is slow and patience is running thin.
Moldobazar Erkebaev, the deputy head of the State Directorate for Reconstruction and Development of Osh and Jalal-Abad, says undeveloped parcels in Osh Province’s Kara-Suu and Aravan districts have been slated for disbursement. “About 31,200 land plots will be allocated to people -- 0.06 hectares per claimant -- and for sure this process will positively affect peace building in southern Kyrgyzstan, taking into account the fact that these lands will be provided not only to representatives of one ethnic group,” Erkebaev told EurasiaNet.org.
Other officials, however, indicate the plan, as currently envisioned, may not alleviate the problem. A representative for the State Directorate for Reconstruction and Development of Osh and Jalal-Abad noted there are over 63,000 people requesting land.
In January, a commission was established to check claimant lists, explained Guljan Ajimatova, an Osh city spokesperson, who added that the number of requests continues to rise. “Today, over 30,000 applications have been registered, which will be passed to the State Agency for Property Registration for verification and approval.”
In addition to distributing land plots, authorities have ambitious plans to build apartment buildings in Osh and Jalal-Abad. One building has been completed in Osh so far.
Imperfect though the current distribution plan may be, some local observers believe it is better than nothing. “Of course, not all [needy] people will obtain land plots or apartments, but this will, to a certain extent, mitigate risks of … new conflicts,” said Svetlana Gafarova, an Osh-based analyst from Yuzhniy Vector (Southern Vector), a non-governmental organization working to train media outlets on ethnic sensitivity.