Jogorku Kenesh (Kyrgyzstan’s unicameral parliament) on September 26 discussed the government’s information on Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan border clash and adopted decision to classify the document as “top secret,” according to Kyrgyzstan’s online news agency 24.kg.
The government is reputedly continuing negotiations on speeding up the process of delimitation and demarcation of the disputed stretches of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border. Parliamentarians will control the issue, 24.kg says.
On the whole, Jogorku Kenesh has assessed the government’s work as satisfactory but made a number of remarks. Members of the commission on delimitation and demarcation of the border have promised to take them into consideration.
The latest negotiation, the results of which have been reported, took place on September 18 in the Tajik village of Ovchi-Qalacha, which border the Kyrgyz village of Maksat.
Two-and-a-half hours of talks have reportedly led to some preliminary breakthroughs. Kyrgyz officials pledged to pull down an observation tower built by them in a location near where fighting occurred, and the Tajik side has said they will refrain from building their observation tower near the same spot. Both sides had committed to pull back military reinforcements from the flashpoint by the evening of the same day.
Recall, the most recent incident on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border occurred on September 16 in an area adjacent to the Tajik settlement of Ovchi-Qalacha, not far from the northern Tajik city of Khujand, and the Kyrgyz village of Maksat. Troops on both sides exchanged gunfire in a confrontation that left at least four dead and dozens injured.
The shoot-out broke in evening following a dispute over construction at a non-demarcated section of the border and both sides blamed each other for starting the shooting. The clash reportedly stopped at 9:30 pm and officials were taking measures to prevent further escalation.
According to some sources, there have been 12 cases of violent unrest on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan so far this year. And there is no indication that anybody knows how to put a stop to these outbursts.
