DUSHANBE, August 22, 2009, Asia-Plus — A joint board meeting of Tajik and Russian interior ministries that was held in Kazan, the capital of Russia’s Tatarstan Republic on August 21 resulted in signing of agreement on crime prevention in 2010-2011.
According to Russian media, speaking to reporters after the meeting, Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev blamed the ongoing economic crisis and job cuts for a rising crime rate among migrants and guest workers.
“In the conditions of economic crisis, when many companies that used migrants” labor, are shutting town, they dismiss people who have no money to leave the country. The desperate people may go as far as commit a crime,” he said. Among such crimes are robberies, thefts and murders, he added.
Cooperation in fighting economic crimes, fraud, smuggling and drug trafficking was the focus of the meeting.
Russian minister urged law enforcement authorities to combine efforts in fighting terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking.
“We agreed to hold the next session in Dushanbe, Tajikistan,” Nurgaliyev said.
During the next meeting, Russian and Tajik police officials are expected to consider the fight against organized transnational crime, discuss migration problems, international search for criminals and plans of work in 2011.
For his part, Tajik Interior Minister Abdurahim Qahhorov told reporters there are some 400,000 Tajik citizens staying in Russia illegally at present. “Approximately 391,000 Tajiks work in Russia, and as many stay illegally,” the minister said.
He underlined that the law-enforcement bodies of the two countries are taking all measures to regulate labor migration.
Speaking about the fight against drug trafficking, Qahhorov stressed that “Tajikistan does not produce opiates.” “They mostly come from the neighboring Afghanistan. Despite the efforts by the coalition forces, the drug production areas in Afghanistan do not decrease, and the threat of their spreading remains,” Tajik minister said, adding that Tajik law enforcement authorities are doing everything to stop drug trafficking.
Nurgaliyev called for ensuring the rights of guest workers in Russia in full measure. “We have to focus on the individual, his rights and freedoms, including the right to labor,” he said.
Russia and Tajikistan have set up a joint working group on migration. “This group must work better and more substantively, in order to protect the life and health, rights and freedoms of migrants, both in Russia and Tajikistan,” Nurgaliyev said.
In 2008, more than 37,000 Tajik citizens were held responsible for violating the migration legislation.
Migration flows from Tajikistan to Russia increase each year. Beginning from 2008, some one million of Tajiks have entered Russia, according to Russian minister.
Much work is being done to form the legislative basis. The main document is the plan of measures to implement the agreement of labor and the protection of rights of Russian citizens in Tajikistan and Tajik citizens in Russia.
The two countries are opening multi-functional centers to provide services to employers and labor migrants.
They are foremost opened in the regions that have a shortage of workforce, the Russian interior minister said.
The Russian and Tajik interior ministries concluded an agreement on crime prevention in 2010-2011. The document was signed by the police chiefs of the two countries. One of the most important fields of cooperation is the investigation of transnational crimes.
According to Itar Tass, the aggregate number of crimes committed by Tajiks in Russia in the first half of this year increased by 1,420, as compared to the same period last year, and exceeded 6,400. One-third of these crimes relate to drug trafficking.
The Russian news agency quoted Abdurahim Qahhorov as saying, “Tajikistan is located on the front line; it borders with Afghanistan wherefrom this deadly cargo arrives.” This year alone, more than 3,000 attempts to move narcotics across the border have been prevented,” he said.
