Page 91 - bneMag Dec22

bne December 2022
Opinion 91
These things did not happen after the September war broke out.
The shooting finally stopped late on September 17 and, from September 19-20, the head of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security, Tashiyev, and his Tajik counterpart, Saimumin Yatimov, met to sign agreements meant to stabilise the situation along the border, as they did following the conflict in 2021.
But this time, away from the negotiation table, the comments from other officials on both sides of the border were not about peace or reconciliation.
On September 18, Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Ministry said Tajikistan had carried out an act of armed aggression, had crossed into Kyrgyz territory and briefly occupied several Kyrgyz villages.
At a press conference in Dushanbe on September 19, Tajik Deputy Foreign Minister Sodik Imomi accused Kyrgyz troops of conducting targeted strikes against civilian infrastructure in Tajikistan and claimed Kyrgyz reinforcements and heavy weaponry had not been withdrawn from the border area as agreed and that “their presence there leaves no doubt that all their [Kyrgyz] thoughts are only about violence.”
On September 20, Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Ministry called Imomi’s comments “reckless” and said: “Despite all the clumsy and absurd attempts of the Tajik side to mislead the world community, the inhumane armed aggression committed by Tajikistan against Kyrgyzstan... remains a fact.”
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov addressed the UN General Assembly in New York that same day, and mentioned “Tajik aggression” during his speech.
The mutual accusations and recriminations continued. The secretary of Kyrgyzstan’s security council, Marat Imankulov, claimed that there were Afghan militants on the Tajik side and other Kyrgyz officials made reference to bearded men in black clothing taking part in the fighting.
The Tajik Foreign Ministry said Kyrgyz authorities were putting pressure on Tajik nationals studying or working in Kyrgyzstan and on ethnic Tajiks who lived in Kyrgyzstan. The Tajik Foreign Ministry asserted: “Law enforcement agencies of Kyrgyzstan plan to deport more than 500 students.”
Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Ministry described that statement as “an attempt ... to destroy the fragile peace that with great efforts manages to sustain between the parties.”
The war of words subsequently eased – until the announcement on October 4 that Russian President Vladimir Putin was to bestow the “Order of Merit for the Fatherland”
to Tajik President Emomali Rahmon for the latter’s service to preserving regional stability.
In an aggressive move, Kyrgyzstan’s security chief Kamchybek Tashiyev posted photos on Facebook of himself admiring a model of a Turkish-made Aksungur military drone. / Cropped from Facebook.
Kyrgyz parliamentary deputy Chyngyz Kustebayev wrote on his Facebook page: “What kind of regional security can we talk about, when from year to year the actions of the leadership
of Tajikistan in the region undermine peace and harmony between the peoples of the countries of Central Asia?”
The next day, Shohin Samadi, the Tajik Foreign Ministry’s press secretary, responded on his Facebook page, writing that “after the armed aggression against Tajikistan, and in order to cover up their criminal actions, the Kyrgyz authorities launched a powerful information attack against our country, accompanied by unconfirmed facts and heinous lies, which still hasn't stopped.”
Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Ministry stepped in again, with a reply that urged Tajikistan “not to create an atmosphere of intolerance.”
Then, on October 19, the Tajik border guard service claimed Kyrgyzstan was bringing reinforcements to the border area and fortifying firing positions. It added that between September 26 and October 15, Kyrgyzstan had violated Tajik air space 13 times by sending reconnaissance drones over Tajik territory. The guard’s statement included photos, allegedly of placed equipment and improvements to military positions along the border.
Kyrgyzstan’s border guard denied the accusation, countering that since September 25, on the Tajik side of the border, there had been the preparation of new firing positions and the digging of trenches. The guard added that Tajik reconnaissance drones had flown over Kyrgyz territory 10 times.
While all this was happening, there were reports that Tajikistan was buying military drones from Iran – which was interesting since, in May, the chief of Iran’s armed forces, General Mohammad Bagheri, visited Dushanbe to attend the opening of a factory that will produce Iranian Ababil-II military drones.
The two sides are not talking to each other. They are talking at each other, ratcheting up tensions as they increase their military capabilities along the border. That suggests another military conflict is coming.
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