The International Crisis Group released a new report August 23, The Pogroms in Kyrgyzstan, on the violence in southern Kyrgyzstan in June, finding much damning evidence that the attacks involved Kyrgyzstan’s security forces, including military, were well-planned and targeted mainly e
A standoff is developing in Osh, the scene of ethnic violence in June. The mayor, Melisbek Myrzakmatov, is said to be putting up spirited opposition to provisional President Roza Otunbayeva’s efforts to remove him from office.
After surmounting months of political hurdles, Kyrgyzstan’s interim government faced a new test on August 5 as demonstrators clashed with security forces in a Bishkek suburb.
The Kyrgyz Ministry of Health has revised upward to 355 the officially-registered death toll for the conflict in southern Kyrgyzstan in June, noting that at least 2,326 were wounded. Yet NGOs continue to collect testimony that many more deaths have occurred, and that at least 60 people are still missing.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and Kyrgyzstan agreed on principles and modalities for an OSCE Police Advisory Group and the Kyrgyz Interim Government ultimately approved the deployment of 52 police advisors, but concerns remained about how much cooperation Osh authorities will provide.
Criminal networks have long maintained a strong presence in southern Kyrgyzstan, given the region’s status as a trade hub. In the weeks since inter-ethnic violence in the region left hundreds dead, observers have been wondering about what role, if any, criminal groups played in stoking the violence?
First the violence, now the fear. Uzbeks in southern Kyrgyzstan report that Kyrgyz authorities are rounding up Uzbek men without probable cause. Many of the arrests are taking place during the pre-dawn hours.
In some cases, Uzbeks say they are paying a ransom to secure their loved ones’ release. Several deaths in custody have been reported.
It would seem that the Uzbek government’s handling of the mid-June refugee crisis, in which roughly 100,000 ethnic Uzbeks from Kyrgyzstan fled to Uzbekistan, has given President Islam Karimov’s administration a significant boost.
A tenuous sense of stability seems to be returning to southern Kyrgyzstan, just weeks after the region experienced the worst bout of violence since independence. But, below the surface, Uzbeks are still seething, and some experts worry that prevailing conditions may represent only a temporary lull.
Some returning Uzbek refugees say they were pressured into returning quickly to Kyrgyzstan so that they would be eligible to participate in the country’s constitutional referendum
