Rashod Kamalov: A respected imam or “chief Islamist” in Kyrgyzstan?

13.02.2015 14:31 msk Analytics Ferghana Valley Human Rights Religious life Central Asia Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan

Rashod Kamolov, a relatively young but very popular and respected imam, was arrested in Southern Kyrgyzstan. Mr. Kamolov is the son of a local influential theologian, who was assassinated by secret services during former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s term in office eight years ago. The current Kyrgyz authorities claim that they collected solid evidences that Mr. Rashod Kamalov recruited and sent people to participate in the civil war in Syria, by making such propaganda that allegedly made his parish think like “zombies.” Meanwhile, Mr. Kamalov’s lawyers maintain their client’s innocence and police actions’ illegality. It is difficult to make sense in this story, but one thing is certain: Law-enforcement and judicial bodies continue completely forgetting about human rights and respect for appropriate procedures in their chase for success in “combating extremism.”

Ex-Irish Deputy Premier: «Azimjan Askarov must be free»

11.12.2014 13:55 msk Ferghana Valley Human Rights Politics Interview Kyrgyzstan

Eamon Gilmore, the former deputy prime minister and the former minister for foreign affairs of Ireland, visited Аzimjan Askarov, a human rights activists imprisoned for life, at the proposal of Front Line Defenders on the eve of the International Human Rights Day. Mr. Askarov has told about his case to Mr. Gilmore in details; the latter has then discussed the matter with Kyrgyz officials. Upon completion of his trip to Kyrgyzstan, Mr. Gilmore is planning to not only meet representatives of the EU and the UN to raise the issue of unjust conviction of Mr. Askarov, but also send a letter to the Kyrgyz president with a request to assist in freeing the world-renowned rights advocate. Mr. Gilmore has kindly agreed to an exclusive interview with Fergana.

Slain journalist Alisher’s daughter Zulaykho: “My father was a journalist!”

26.10.2013 13:06 msk Ferghana Valley Human Rights Central Asia Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan

Western fast food in Kyrgyz south: kitsch, affordable, tasty

19.08.2013 13:02 msk Ferghana Valley Business Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan

Kyrgyzstan’s southern capital, the city of Osh, is known for its national cuisine and cooks. Only in Osh one would eat the world-renowned baked samsa, pilaf, lagman and a variety of shish kabobs and mantys. While the locals are, of course, well aware of the local foods, tourists find Osh’s “sweet spots” in its cafes and restaurants. Shahid Tepa is a heavily Uzbek-populated neighborhood in Osh. Owners of two local cafes decided to diversity their menus and add “Western flavor” to their traditional pilaf and shish kabob.

New place, old problems: No water or electricity. Glimpsing at life of resettles in Osh (images)

13.08.2013 23:11 msk Ferghana Valley Human Rights Politics Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan

In April 2013, we wrote that ethnic Uzbek natives of Osh were forcibly moved from their homes to a suburban settlement of On Adyr (The Ten Hills). The houses that were preventing roads from expansion were destroyed and their owners were resettled. Fergana’s own correspondent Yekaterina Ivashchenko traveled to Osh again to see how their lives changed over the last several months. In order to reduce traffic on central streets, the Osh city hall launched the construction of new roads. Those roads, for some reason, had to be built on those areas where one-story houses are built, which are owned by ethnic Uzbeks (mahallas). Monuyev Street in Osh was one of such expanding roads, which resulted in the demolition of privately owned houses of Uzbeks. While the road construction is completed, half demolished houses are hastily covered with ad-hoc fences.

Islam Karimov and the Goldfish

18.03.2013 09:59 msk Analytics Ferghana Valley Politics Central Asia Afghanistan Uzbekistan

Several Uzbek mass media outlets unexpectedly started beating the war bells over the last several days. Alert! The motherland is in danger! Russian and Central Asian mass media outlets echoed said concerns in reprinted articles with hints of dysphoria. This time around the chief alarmist is Ubaydullo Hakimov, supposedly a “former law enforcing agency officer” and “currently a security expert.” “An unidentified analyses department officer” at the Uzbek national security service sings along: “Hey, get up! We are facing an unexpected danger! Damned IMU shall attack us any minute from beyond the Pamir Mountains! As soon as snow on mountain slopes melts and mountain paths reveal themselves, the hordes of armed cap-a-pie militants will stream into the Fergana Valley!”

Uzbekistan: New Ferghana Railway Plan Tweaks Tajikistan

13.03.2013 21:31 msk Ferghana Valley Business Tajikistan Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan’s plan to build a new rail line linking Tashkent to the Fergana Valley would mean eliminating the current international route through Tajikistan, which has relied on roughly $25 million a year in transit fees. Following the break up of the Soviet Union, Tajikistan’s rail lines have become marginalized and underutilized, such as this abandoned track in Tajikistan's Sughd Province.

Uzbekistan: “You need to die to reach Sokh”

24.01.2013 09:55 msk Ferghana Valley Uzbekistan

The Kyrgyz-Uzbek border in the Fergana Valley remains closed and inaccessible on both sides. The status quo leaves citizens of respective countries a few choices to deal with it and resolve daily issues: buying food, trade, and observing religious rituals. Several visitors of the Fergana website and other voluntary informants told us about their life in blockade. It appears that despite tensions between Tashkent and Bishkek and the stalemate over the exact location of borderlines, local authorities, border guards, and businessmen are able to negotiate and compromise even in extreme situations. Apparently people learned how to live with each other and deal with day-to-day issues despite the conflicts at the highest echelons of power several hundred kilometers away…

Kyrgyzstan's Osh Mayor Myrzakmatov: The city savior and Man of Year?

10.01.2013 16:02 msk Ferghana Valley Kyrgyzstan

Is Melis Myrzakmatov really such a significant personality for Southern Kyrgyzstan? Is he really who he says he is? We talked to a native resident of Osh, who wished to remain anonymous, about this. He says Myrzakmatov is only pulling wool on people’s eyes and cares about his own personal benefit alone. “This is just another PR stunt. He has donned the crown of a restorer and is now walking around with it. It is sad to know that our mayor is just a conspicuous individual, and journalists are supporting that,” N. says.

Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan: Incident leads to hostage taking, mutual accusations

09.01.2013 14:12 msk Ferghana Valley Kyrgyzstan

“At around 1800 hours on 5 January, some 50 Uzbek citizens approached the [Kyrgyz] Charbak border outpost. A road designates the borderline there, albeit it is jointly used [by both Uzbek and Kyrgyz citizens]. There were six or seven concrete [electricity] poles erected on the Uzbek territory (beyond the demarcated borderline). These people came and said the poles were erected in a wrong location. Additionally, there were holes dug [for new poles] and an informal leader [among the aforementioned Uzbek citizens] demanded they be filled up. “In the morning of 6 January, some 1,000 people came [from Uzbekistan] and were rather aggressive. Despite Kyrgyz border guards’ warning shots, they started pulling the poles down. A local [Kyrgyz] police officer was there, but they did not listen to him. Moreover, he was beaten up and his vehicle was totally damaged. Then the border guards (the Charbak outpost commander and a soldier) fired warning shots into the air. The crowd stepped back and the police officer was saved. The crowd then moved onto the village of Hushyar and tore down 10 new poles and 15 older ones, which were erected 15-20 years ago…”

Living in Osh: Cheremushki, tourists, mazaar, lepeshki and bazaar

16.03.2012 10:45 msk Ferghana Valley Kyrgyzstan

Early March 2012. Another trip to the city of Osh in the south of Kyrgyzstan. In the last two years I have visited this place quite often and every time I come across some new development in the Kyrgyz-Uzbeks relationship. Indeed, there is no saying that life in Osh is fully back on the normal track. One thing for sure - the life goes on. First thing to do in Osh is to visit the “Cheremushki”, a residential area that suffered most in the June 2010 events, In June 2011, citizens were worried that the city’s mayor did not want to have the houses rebuilt. A local woman told me that donors were ready to start the reconstruction and waited for a permission but “mayor Myrzakmatov would not issue such a permission, as he wants to compel Uzbeks away and use the free land anyway he wants”.

Kyrgyzstan: A nazi and a drug lord in charge of police in Osh?

17.01.2012 10:42 msk Ferghana Valley Kyrgyzstan

On January 11, a new chief of police was appointed in the Osh city police department. According to the local online news agency, the new police chief Suyun Omurzakov used to be a deputy minister of interior and a representative of the Kyrgyz ministry of interior in Russian Federation. Personnel of the Osh city police department confessed that new appointment of Mr. Omurzakov came out of the blue. In various media, Mr. Omurzakov has been regularly called a very influential drug lord, a leader of organized criminal groups and a loyal supporter of the former president Bakiev.

A Murder in Kyrgyzstan. Is a prominent human rights activist also a cop killer?

12.06.2011 22:33 msk Ferghana Valley Kyrgyzstan

The night before he was stabbed and burned to death, a small-town cop named Maktybek Suleimanov brushed off his wife's pleas that he stay home and sit out the commotion on the streets. Suleimanov had wanted to be a policeman ever since he was a kid growing up in this turbulent corner of Central Asia. He'd ask his mother to pin strips of fabric to his t-shirt so they'd resemble rank insignia. Sometimes he'd go so sleep that way. Now Suleimanov was 41 years old, had four kids of his own, and wore real shoulder straps of a police captain. A broad-faced ethnic Kyrgyz with a buzz-cut and a thin mustache, Suleimanov was a gregarious man who liked to sing at family gatherings. He had been a cop for 20 years.

Osh: Winter in Transitional Housing

27.02.2011 20:56 msk Ferghana Valley Kyrgyzstan

In June last year, the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh was struck by a terrible tragedy. In the inter-communal conflict - provoked by cruel and cynical gangsters - more than four hundred people were killed and thousands were injured. Hundreds of private homes were looted and burned down. As things gradually died down, refugees returning to the their neighborhoods found they no longer had anywhere to live. In autumn, with the help of foreign donors, the authorities began building transitional housing for victims of the violence. In this photo essay, "Ferghana" is looking at the conditions in which victims are now living now that real winter has reached southern Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyzstan: Black lists of June

16.12.2010 15:25 msk Ferghana Valley Kyrgyzstan

The workers of Kylym Shamy human rights center (Kyrgyzstan) conducted serious work and prepared a revised list of people, killed in the June tragedy. The list is not final yet and it does not have all the last names of deceased people. There are still 36 unidentified bodies and some missing people, but the Kylym Shamy representatives decided to publish their own information about victims and caused damage, since official information is still not available. Aziza Abdirasulova, the head of Kylym Shamy, shared with Ferghana correspondent about the work, how the list was prepared and how it differs from official information.