In early May, Ferghana.ru reported that Alisher Boikuziev, of Zafarabad, Tajikistan, was gunned down and beaten by Uzbek border security agents in Syr Darya Oblast in Uzbekistan.
Now less than a month later, Uzbek border security agents have killed a Kyrgyz citizen and unilaterally set up a border post along the main road of Jalalabad Oblast in Kyrgyzstan.
As Musafirbek at neweurasia.net notes, tensions between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have been building for some time now, at least since the bombings in Khanabad. But there might be another angle as well: just last week Islam Karimov declared that cross-border traffic between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan—a very common occurrence the Ferghana Valley—would stop at once.
This incident could be a very unfortunate example of enforcing a harsh and unnecessary law. But it could also just be pure thuggery—given previous “incidents” of Uzbek security agents behaving viciously, it is not out of the question. But right now this incident seems tied into the growing tensions between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan—and the invasion of Kyrgyzstan (let’s call it what it is) probably isn’t helping much. What do you guys know about what this might mean?
This post was written by...
Joshua Foust – author of 1771 posts on Registan.net.
Joshua Foust is a Fellow at the American Security Project and the author of Afghanistan Journal: Selections from Registan.net. His research focuses primarily on Central and South Asia. Joshua is a correspondent for The Atlantic and a columnist for PBS Need to Know. Joshua appears regularly on the BBC World News, Aljazeera, and international public radio. Joshua is also a regular contributor to Foreign Policy’s AfPak Channel, and his writing has appeared in the New York Times, Reuters, and the Christian Science Monitor. Follow him on twitter: @joshuafoust
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The border crossing at Khanabad was open and Uzbek’s crossed into Kyrgyzstan to buy vegetables in the markets there because it was cheaper.
According to Kamirov, the attackers were sneaking in with this cross-border traffic. This would make sense if they really were terrorists.
Kyrgyzstan is probably more concerned over the stand-off developing over the use of the US airbase at Manas to transport troops and ammunition into Afghanistan. Turkey and Afghanistan have sent their Presidents in the last week to plead on behalf of the US to keep the base open.
Uzbek border security officers are known for their harsh behaviour with the neighbouring countries’ citizens living close to border. Couple years ago, Uzbek board guards had shot dead a Kazakh citizen who did not cross the border but was in Kazakhstan’s territory (similar even happened again after year of that incident. And now ow they are messing with Kyrgyzs. Uzbeks should know “action-reaction” thing – everything will be responded… but the consequence – a back push might be harsh…