DUSHANBE, August 30, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan’s government decision to break the contract with Rusal for constructing the Roghun hydroelectric power station (HPS) and establish open joint-stock company to take up the remaining work to build the facility has resulted from Rusal’s stalling the hydroelectric plant project that is crucial for Tajikistan and failing to fulfill points of the contract, Tajik political scientist Rustam Haidarov said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, Tajikistan should not seek partners to construct hydroelectric power stations (HPSs) in Russia or China. “These countries promised to help us but they then denied their promises to please Uzbekistan, showing themselves as two-faced and unreliable partner,” said Haidarov. “These countries do not realize that intentions of President Rahmon to construct the Roghun and Dashtijum HPSs are not regionalism. They are aimed at strengthening of socioeconomic and political situation in Afghanistan and the Central Asian region.”
Tajik political scientist stressed that Uzbekistan and Russia, as well as China that has joined them, do not realize that by preventing construction of the Roghun HPS they are promoting rise in religious extremism and production of drugs in Afghanistan. “These countries probably do not quite realize that Afghanistan has to create basis to rehabilitate its education and health sectors, production of consumer goods, construction sector, etc,” Haidarov said, noting that all this impossible without cheap Tajik electricity.
He considers that countries of international community, which really want strengthening of peace and stability in Afghanistan and in the whole Central Asian region, should support “peaceful plans of Tajik president.”
On the countries that could be potential partners to construct HPSs in Tajikistan, Haidarov said that Tajikistan should expand cooperation with Afghanistan, the United States and the European Union as well as obtain support of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. “In my opinion, this is the only way to settle this problem. I believe neither Russia nor China will ever assist us with tackling this problem, because friendship with Uzbekistan is more important for them than commitments to the peoples of Afghanistan and Tajikistan.”
