DUSHANBE, December 13, 2008, Asia-Plus — Cases of death of Tajik labor migrants in accidents and hate crimes in Russia that have become frequent in recent years evoke serious concern, Abdughani Mamadazimov, the head of the National Association of Political Scientists of Tajikistan, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
Commenting on the Tajik Foreign Ministry delivering a protest note to a Russian diplomat over the recent beheading of a Tajik citizen in the Moscow region, Mamadazimov said, “We missed the time when it was necessary to show our dignity and solidarity against such tragic events and decisively protest over killing of our fellow-countrymen in Russia.”
“When the body of nine-year-old Khursheda Sultonova was returned to Dushanbe from St. Petersburg in February 2004 it should had been met at the airport by the public led by the minister of interiors or foreign minister or it would be best by prime minister,” the political scientist said, noting that Russian envoy should had also been invited there.
“If more than 5,000-10,000 people had gathered at the airport that time and monument in commemoration of innocent victims of migration had been later erected there and national media had widely covered the killing of innocent girl, the situation would have been better now and less Tajiks would have returned home in coffins from Russia, Mamadazimov noted.
According to him, any person would had imagined “for a moment anger and indignation of the entire nation before attacking poor Tajik.”
We will recall that seven defendants were convicted of “hooliganism” for their roles in the fatal attack on a nine-year-old Tajik girl, Khursheda Sultonova, in St. Petersburg in February 2004. They were sentenced to between 18 months” and five and a half years” imprisonment. The only defendant charged with racially motivated murder was acquitted on that count.
On the Tajik MFA’s note over recent brutal killing of Tajik migrants in Moscow, Mamadazimov stressed that the case should not be finished by an official note.
Touching upon recent statement by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin about reduction of quotas for foreign workers, Tajik political scientist noted that it could not be ruled out that there was not direct but indirect connection between that statement and that tragic incident.
“I mean that Russian society has apprehended the statement as leadership’s call for reduction in the number of foreign manpower”
We will recall that Putin, who is also chairman of Unified Russia, told a televised question-and-answer session in early December that quotas for foreign workers should be cut by half. According to Reuters, activists from the youth wing of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin”s ruling party, Young guard, held demonstrations against immigrant workers, demanding they return home and blaming them for Russia”s recent economic woes. About 30 activists from Young Guard gathered outside the Moscow office of the migration service. The group held similar protests across the country, according Reuters. “Every second [migrant] should go home,” the group, mainly under 20 years old, shouted about migrants.
On the effect of the latest events on bilateral Tajik-Russian cooperation, the political scientist expressed hope that they would not affect strategic partnership between the two nations.
