DUSHANBE, October 29, 2013, Asia-Plus – Tajik Railways (Tajik state railways company) is expected to demand compensation for damage caused to Tajik train in Russia.
An official source at Tajik Railways says the Moscow-Dushanbe train that was attacked by a group of some 20 people at Russia’s Ternovka railway station on October 26, will arrive in Dushanbe tomorrow evening.
“A special commission will be set up to assess the actual damage caused to the train,” said the source. “We will send a protest note to the Russian side and demand compensation.”
The source speculated that anti-migrant sentiment was behind the attack. “I cannot say why a group of 20 people attacked our train,” said he. “It is possible that it is linked to a strengthening in anti-migrant moods in Russia.”
We will recall that according to Mohammad Egamzod, a spokesman for the Tajik Embassy in Moscow, around 20 young men of Slavic appearance, some shouting nationalist slogans, attacked the Moscow-Dushanbe train at the Ternovka railway station in midnight on October 26; several passengers were slightly injured while 20 train windows were broken. “The assault was accompanied by offensive words and racist threats against the passengers,” said Egamzod. “Russian transportation police and railway staff did not take any measures to prevent the attack.”
Tajik Embassy in Moscow has asked Russia to impartially investigate the xenophobic attack that occurred with the connivance of local law enforcement authorities and representatives of the Yugo-Vostochnaya Railway and to cover all expenses related to the attack.
Meanwhile, Eurasianet reports that Tajik Railways disputed this version of events, saying that the incident amounted to no more than a few children throwing stones at the train, breaking six windows. Mahmadyusuf Abdurahmonov, the head of the Tajik Railways passenger service, reportedly told the Tajik Telegraph Agency (TajikTA) on October 29, “I would like to note that this happens everywhere, and even in our country children throw stones at trains.”
