Imagine relatives of yours were killed by angry mobs. Your house set alight. Your livelihood wrecked overnight. Knowing that such atrocities took place in the city you called home, and possibly even committed by your neighbors, how could you ever expect to return to life as normal?

It’s a question that is surely being asked by thousands of displaced persons as they return home following the outbreak of bloody interethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan in June. As the government vows to rebuild the homes and communities of ethnic Uzbeks and ethnic Kyrgyz caught up in violence that left at least 275 dead and some 400,000 displaced, it must also find ways to reduce tensions and ensure they don’t erupt again in the future.

Millions Displaced

If the Kyrgyz interim government is looking for an immediate example of how to get the mending process going, it need not look any farther than its southern neighbor, Tajikistan. In 1997, following the end of a five-year civil war, Tajikistan faced a similar test. And while there have been many setbacks, 13 years later Tajikistan’s peace process has been widely hailed as a success.

It’s not a perfect comparison. The Tajik war did not rise from ethnic divisions such as those seen recently in Kyrgyzstan, for example — it was more a battle for political control fought between supporters of the Moscow-backed government in Dushanbe and its opposition led by the Islamic Revival Party (IRP). But the Tajik war did pit fellow civilians against each other — residents of the southern Kulob region, «Kulobis,» against those from the eastern Rasht Valley known as «Rashtis.»

In a conflict in which Kulobis were widely assumed to be government supporters, and Rashtis supporters of the opposition, at least 50,000 people were killed. Most of the victims were civilians, and 1.2 million — some 20 percent of the country’s population at the time — were forced to leave their homes during the 1992-97 armed conflict.

For Suliko Salimova, a 50-year-old from a small village in southern Tajikistan near the Kulob region, the civil war conjures up painful memories.

«I left my house with only the clothes I was wearing. When I came back, I learned that my husband had killed and my house was burned down. I was left with absolutely nothing,» Salimova says.

«When everybody else fled, my husband stayed behind. He said, ‘I don’t belong to any side of the conflict, why would they bother me?’ But he was the first one to be killed. We found his body in a nearby brook.»

Salimova lost four other relatives in addition to her husband, all targeted for being Rashtis. «My life will never be the same again after what I witnessed during civil war,» she laments.

Gulrukhsor Safarova, a native of the Kulob region, has similarly painful memories.

«I saw many bodies [of Kulobis] being brought for burial. When you see them first-hand, you can’t help hating those who did it. I didn’t know who had done it, all I knew was that somebody was killing Kulobis. I remember having some strange feelings inside me,» Safarova says.

Today the two women have each managed to achieve forgiveness, and even reside in the same district of Kumsangir, in the southern Khatlon Province.

Salimova says people need to reconcile, «no matter how painful it is,» in order to move on. Safarova, recalling that she was eyed with suspicion when she first moved to the area at the height of the civil war, is happy to see Rashtis and Kulobis socializing together once again.

Money And Time

Such results were not easy to achieve, and they did not come about by accident. It required cooperation between the Tajik government, the opposition, and international organizations. It took money. And it took time.

The process began with the signing of an internationally mediated peace accord between the government and the United Tajik Opposition in June 1997.

But «signing a peace accord by itself does not mean people immediately start trusting each other,» as Ibrohim Usmonov notes. «And you cannot give people an instruction to do so.»

Usmonov knows this first-hand. He was a prominent member of the key body established by the government and opposition to facilitate the road to peace and harmony — the National Reconciliation Commission.

Recalling the many obstacles faced, Usmonov says «the biggest challenge was rebuilding trust between the two sides.» And this, he says, «required concrete measures by government, political leaders, and international donors.»

Measures included aiding the return of refugees and the displaced, rebuilding their homes, restoring their businesses, and reinstating returnees to their previous jobs.

«There was a rehabilitation program for victims of the conflict, which included psychological and financial support for those who had lost their relatives and properties,» Usmonov says, noting that funding from international donors enabled Tajikistan to implement its peace program.

Usmonov points out that the government’s role is crucial for building trust among people. «People need to see for themselves that the peace process is working and the government’s promises are being carried out,» he says.

Kumsangir district provides proof that today enough trust has been established for people to resume their normal lives.

Suliko Salimova, whose husband was killed for being a Rashti, has moved to Kumsangir, remarried, and become a merchant.

Safarova, who moved to Kumsangir from Kulob, who has since got a job with the local government dealing with women and family issues. «A few marriages between Kulobis and Rashtis have taken place in our district in recent years,» Safarova says.

The two women admit there are times people snap at neighbors, blaming them for what has happened during the war. But as Salimova notes, «no one wants another war or conflict to grip our lives once again.»

Ultimately, the success in restoring peace and unity in Tajikistan derives from «ordinary people’s willpower and ability to forgive,» according to Hikmatulloh Saifullozoda, head of the Dushanbe-based think tank Dialog and member of the Islamic Renaissance Party who was active in the National Reconciliation Commission.

«People knew that revenge wasn’t a solution,» Saifullozoda says. «People knew revenge would bring more violence, more bloodshed, so they made the only right choice, and that choice was peace.»

RFE/RL’s Tajik Service correspondent in Khatlon Nosirjon Mamurzoda contributed to this report

Farangis Najibullah, RFE/RL

Источник: http://www.rferl.org/content/A_Tajik_Peace_Recipe_For_Kyrgyzstan/2096637.html

People in Turkmenistan — where all media is state-controlled — may soon be reading privately-owned newspapers and magazines.

In televised remarks during a cabinet meeting, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov announced plans to allow the creation of private newspapers in the country.

«Proposals for the founding of private newspapers and magazines can be prepared and work on this matter can be accelerated,» Reuters quotes Berdymukhammedov as saying.

Berdymukhammedov also said the country’s union of industrialists and entrepreneurs should also launch its own publication focusing on business success stories.

«Likewise, if there are those who want to create new parties, we will support them too,» the president said, although he also noted that the establishment of political parties should not be rushed, AFP reports.

Turkmenistan is the only post-Soviet country without privately-owned media. The country’s five television channels, 25 newspapers, 15 magazines and one news agency are all state-owned.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Turkmenistan_Plans_To_Allow_PrivatelyOwned_Media/2096284.html

The Tajik weekly Facts & Comments published an article titled “Where does the TVT money go?” (#15, 07.07.2010).

The author, M. Salohiddinov says that due to the Tajik state television he has fallen in love with reading – since all the TV programs are dedicated only to the president’s business trips. Last week, the Tajik TV stations were covering president Rakhmon’s visit to Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province.

“These stories are long as Arabian nights… and they do not require any special investments,” – the author says. – “It takes a lot of efforts, specialists and logistical arrangements to create a real talk show and touch upon something really topical. The TV authorities do not bother. They keep broadcasting these boring reportages, and they do not care about the audience’s opinion”.

NANSMIT monitoring servce

Viktor Ivanov, the head of Russia’s Federal Drug Control Service, was in Tajikistan at the start of July and made a curious remark.

Ivanov said Russian border guards could return to duty in Tajikistan keeping a watch on the Central Asian country’s border with Afghanistan. It was a function the Russian border guards performed from 1991 until 2006, when they completely handed over the task to their Tajik counterparts.

Ivanov said Russia was not holding talks with Tajikistan on sending the Russian troops back but added, «if the countries have goodwill it is possible.» Ivanov made his comments just after meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.

It is no secret Russia, as well as other countries, are concerned about increasing drug trafficking from Afghanistan through Tajikistan and onward toward Russia and Europe or China and Asia.

Many in Russia and some of the Central Asian states were displeased to see the last of the Russian border guards leave the Tajik-Afghan border and feared the Tajik border guards were not up to the task.

Results since have been mixed. Seizures of narcotics are up, but many feel that simply reflects the fact that ever more narcotics are crossing the border and that the percentage of drugs intercepted remains only some 5 to 10 percent of the total.

Russia may have another reason for wanting to help Tajikistan keep watch on its southern frontier. Kyrgyzstan, to the north of Tajikistan, has been experiencing severe difficulties — the ouster of a president and violence between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks.

With instability both to the south and north, Tajikistan’s border guards are stretched thin, a situation that gives the «bad guys» — drug traffickers, Islamic militants, and others — easier access and freedom of movement in the southeastern Central Asian region.

Ivanov said the question was: are Russia and Tajikistan «ready to take this action»? Since Ivanov appears to have been the one talking about it, we can assume Russia at least is ready.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Is_Russia_Considering_Returning_To_The_Afghan_Border/2092083.html

The Tajik National Association of Independent Media has released a new study guide for journalists titled “Legal Regulations in Access to Information”. The study guide was released under support of Internews in Tajikistan and funded by USAID.

The publication contains a compilation of legal documents regulating access to information with relevant explanations and interpretations. It also contains samples of legal complaints and other papers, which might help media professionals in their everyday activities. While working on the study guide, the authors referred to practical experience of Russian, Kazakh and Tajik researchers and legal practitioners.

The study guide is released in Tajik and Russian languages. It is intended for journalists, lawyers, media researchers and university students. The publication is being disseminated free of charge and can be received upon request at NANSMIT.

NANSMIT

A Kyrgyz journalists’ organization says several journalists were attacked while covering the ethnic violence in the southern cities of Jalal-Abad and Osh last month, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reports.

The Public Association of Journalists (PAJ) said that six journalists were attacked and beaten in Osh, another suffered severe burns, and photographer Pazyle Sarybaev is still missing. In addition, the homes of four journalists were damaged after they were set on fire.

It added that Osh-based Keremet TV cameraman Batyr Mamatjanov, who was seriously injured on June 11 when a crowd attacked his car and seized his camera, remains in critical condition in hospital with broken ribs and a head injury.

PAJ coordinator Meri Bekeshova told RFE/RL the association has given financial and technical help to the journalists who suffered attacks, with assistance from International Media Support, a Danish nonprofit organization.

At least 291 people were killed and hundreds of thousands fled their homes in the clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in Osh and Jalal-Abad that began on June 10.

http://www.rferl.org/content/NGO_Says_Journalists_Were_Attacked_In_Southern_Kyrgyzstan/2089261.html