DUSHANBE, January 4, 2011, Asia-Plus — “It seems to me that annual meetings of the government have turned into a kind of show and they are broadcast by national TV channels in order to demonstrate that the government is working,” Tajik independent expert Nourali Davlat told Asia-Plus in an interview, commenting on the upcoming meeting of the government that will take place on January 18 to review the results of the past year’s work.
“I think the government ought to give up broadcasting these meetings because they are assessed by the majority of the population as a show. I remember the first government meeting that was held in January 1993; nothing has changed since that time. It is a single-player theater, the only change is increasing laudation for President Rahmon,” the expert noted.
“Every year, one or two members of the government are being harshly criticized, and if they are from president’s inner circle, they will be cautioned to improve their work within a certain period or will be transferred to other jobs,” Nourali Davlat stressed.
Labor migration is growing from year to year and the main dream of Tajik rising generation is to leave for Russia for seasonal work.
“In my opinion, Tajikistan’s independence has turned into a mere formality over the past twenty years,” said the expert. “Russia has deployed its military base here, a part of territory has been ceded to China and transit corridor to Afghanistan was provided for the United States. The game is not yet over; it is going on and it is still unknown what our independence will come to.”
On the three strategic tasks set by the government (energy independence, food safety, and communication independence), he noted that two of them – energy independence and food safety – are unrealizable. As far as the third strategic task (communication independence) is concerned, all the roads that are being built due to Chinese loans will pass into ownership of Beijing in twenty years, Nourali Davlat said.
“I think that under these conditions it is necessary to form absolutely new government – honest and non-corrupt. The incumbent government is not accountable to the people; it is appointed by the president and depends mainly on his will. The president ought to give up the position of head of government. Holding of more than one office has demonstrated its inefficiency.”
