DUSHANBE, November 30, Asia-Plus — Kyrgyz experts are concerned about continuous migration of the country’s able-bodied population and are skeptical about its ability to preserve its statehood and national self-identity. Some of them claim that Kyrgyzstan may lose its Batken region in several years. According to them, residents of this region bordering on Tajikistan are leaving for other countries seeking better employment opportunities, while Tajiks are actively buying their houses.
A conference on problems of illegal migration from Tajikistan to Kyrgyzstan was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on November 29, Kyrgyzstan’s news agency AKIPress said.
Speaking at the conference, Raya Kadyrova, chairperson of the Public Foundation “For International Tolerance”, noted, “Kyrgyzstan may lose its Batken region, which borders on Tajikistan, in several years; the region residents are leaving their homeland seeking better employment opportunities and their houses are being illegally occupied by residents of neighboring republics.”
She also noted that according to survey recently conducted by her organization, more than 200 Tajik families now live in the territory of the Batken region. “The region authorities cannot stop outflow of local population because there is no long-term national program,” Kadyrova said.
During the conference it was noted that an active development of disputable territories by residents of Tajikistan is under way, and unfinished process of demarcation of border worsens the situation.
“It is time to sound the alarm because today’s situation paves the way for threat to territorial integrity of country and strained inter-ethnic relations,” Kadyrova.
In this connection, the Public Foundation “For International Tolerance” has decided to send a letter to President Bakiyev and acting Prime Minister Aydaraliyev submitting its proposals to tackle the problem. The organization is ready to provide all its analytical and expert resources.
In the meantime, representatives of Tajikistan have not been invited to attend the conference. The Migration Service of Tajikistan’s Ministry of Interior noted that such problems should be discussed and tackled in common. “Moreover, there ought not to exaggerate this issues,” the source at the migration service said, “residents of border areas marry, create families and have relatives on both sides of the border. Quite a number of ethnic Kyrgyzs are living in border areas of the Sughd province but we do not sound alarm because for that.”
