KULOB, August 19, 2008, Asia-Plus — An operation, dubbed Street Children, carried out by officers from the Kulob police directorate on August 17, revealed some 60 children under the age of 12 making some money on local markets and in public places, deputy chief of the Kulob police directorate, Lieutenant-Colonel Azimjon Umurzoqov, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, their parents were summoned to the police directorate for conversation and after consideration of all cases by the commission for minors’ affairs, some of them will be fined. “We make such raids once or twice a month; however, the number of neglected children making money on the markets has not decreased,” the Kulob police official said.
“Some parents claim that their children are feeding their families by earning money on the markets,” said Umurzoqov, “However, it is just a pretext to justify their unwillingness to educate their children.”
He added that this year alone, four criminal proceedings had been instituted against parents that had not allowed their children to attend school.
