Based on the article by Abdullo Rakhnamo , an expert on international issues on the topic “Tajik-Kyrgyz border conflicts. Who is the real aggressor?” I come to the conclusion that the author, based on historical documents, has formed a complete understanding of the essence of the position of the Tajik side on the current issue, in particular, outlined the essence and legal foundations of the position of the Republic of Tajikistan in the border dispute with the Kyrgyz Republic.
Explaining the reasons for the border dispute between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, it should be noted that, according to official documents defining the borders, today the Kyrgyz Republic has 211,000 hectares of land plots of the legal territory of the Republic of Tajikistan at the disposal of the Kyrgyz Republic. Such data were announced on September 23, 2022 in a statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan at the UN General Assembly. According to official data, these lands are referred to as “disputed areas”, occupying 84,000 hectares of land in the Bobojon Gafurov territory. Gafurov district, mainly in the jamoat Khistevarz , 66,000 ha – Andarak forest zone, in Kuhistoni Mastchoh region , 61,000 ha, in the territory of Isfara, in jamoat Surkh , Lakkon , Chilgazi , Shahrak, Chorkuh and Vorukh. And also, some other small lots in Jabbor Rasulov and Spitamen districts. The practical need for Tajikistan’s persistence is based on the fact that 211,000 hectares of “disputed land” in the use of Kyrgyzstan have been leased over the past 90 years through acts such as the interaction of ordinary citizens or local officials. That is, these lands were assigned to the Kyrgyz at different levels by unauthorized individuals and legal entities.
One of the “arguments” of the Kyrgyz side in this dispute are some administrative and local acts on the use of part of the land. The Kyrgyz side does not publicly provide any evidence of its correctness. However, he insists that Vorukh is an enclave, like a spell. It’s convenient not to go into details, but simply write: “ Legally, Vorukh belongs to Tajikistan, however, due to the redrawing of borders in the past, it remained an enclave within Kyrgyzstan.”
But the advantage of the position of Tajikistan is that none of these documents, which were signed between individuals, farms, districts and land use departments, did not go through the necessary legal procedures both in the Soviet period and after gaining state independence. In negotiations on the border with the Kyrgyz Republic, the Tajik side relies solely on documents that have passed all stages of interstate procedures and are recognized as defining the border between the two countries. The documents of 1924-1927, 1932 and 1936 are the only package of documents in which the state borders between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are officially confirmed. These documents are the only ones that have fully passed all the established constitutional intra-republican and state procedures for determining the boundaries between the republics within the USSR and have passed legal formalities.
From historical data, we know that when the union republics were formed as part of the USSR, in the border regions between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, Tajiks lived on the side of our country, and on the side of Kyrgyzstan, there were mainly pastures and mountains. There were almost no settlements near the border areas. Then, with the growth of the population, settlements appeared near our borders. They even mastered part of our territory near the village of Khistevarz (Kostakoz) and now almost a seventh of the population of Khistevarz is Kyrgyz. And the village of Vorukh ended up in an enclave, i.e. they do not have direct roads to Tajikistan and pass part of the road through the territory of Kyrgyzstan. An artificial barrier has been created for them. They do not have the right to use the pasture around their village. The Kyrgyz side does not publicly provide any evidence of its correctness . However, he insists that Vorukh is an enclave, like a spell. It’s convenient not to go into details, but simply write : “ Legally, Vorukh belongs to Tajikistan, however, due to the redrawing of borders in the past, it remained an enclave within Kyrgyzstan.”
It should be noted that now from the side of the Kyrgyz media there is a real information war in which there is not a drop of truth and they shout to the whole world that Tajikistan attacked the Kyrgyz people. Firmly condemning the undiplomatic and groundless speech of the President of Kyrgyzstan at the General Debate of the 77th UN General Assembly , it is important to note that in his speech Sadir Japarov spoke about the border conflicts and single-handedly blames all the incidents on Tajikistan. At the same time, they forget how they violated the agreement on not using drones at the border and hit the mosque with the Turkish Bayraktar drone during the evening prayer, in which believers prayed for peace, resulting in the death of 20 people. Let’s not forget that on January 27, 2022 at about 18:40 at the crossroads of the villages of Zarafshoni and Somoniyon of the rural jamoat Chorkuh of the city of Isfara between the border guards of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan there was an armed conflict. As a result of the border conflict on the Tajik side, 10 people were injured, including 6 servicemen and four civilians. Previously, they also attacked our country at the behest of their Western curators, vilely, suddenly, treacherously. Their most vile act is a shell strike on an ambulance in which the family was, as a result of which a 5-year-old boy, her sister and a woman who was 8 months pregnant, who was expecting a child , were burned alive. At the same time, it should be noted that Kyrgyzstan continues to ignore key agreements, primarily on the ban on the use of firearms by military personnel and their strict adherence to the line of conduct of border guards. We remind you of the wise proverb: Ignoring breeds despair. And despair breeds violence. Ignoring a problem is not the same as solving it.
Tajikistan at all levels and stages declares its commitment to a peaceful solution to the problem. The history of our country convinces us that all-round fraternal cooperation and mutual assistance of nations and nationalities that have embarked on the path of development in our multinational state is one of the driving forces for the development of society, in interethnic relations it is the basis of unity in the struggle for peace, which is based on a strong moral basis. Without such a foundation, a stable and sustainable order is unthinkable in the country, which alone gives people real confidence in their future.
F. MAMAJANOV,
Member of the Department of Science and
Innovations
S. MAKSUDOVA,
Senior lecture of the Department of Foreign Languages