DUSHANBE, January 21, 2014, Asia-Plus — Of 971 kilometers dividing Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, just over half – more than 500 kilometers – has officially been agreed upon, Muhammadtohir Zokirov, head of the State Committee on Land Management and Geodesy, told journalists in Dushanbe on January 21.
According to him, the Tajik-Kyrgyz intergovernmental commission for delimitation and demarcation of mutual border has worked since 2002. “Besides, a high-level commission considering the whole complex of relations between the countries works,” Zokirov said.
“A joint commission has been working in Isfara (Tajikistan) and Batken (Kyrgyzstan) these days to seek way out of the conflict situation that emerged on the disputed segments of the border,” noted Tajik official. “After each meeting the commission reports to the governments of the two countries.”
The Tajik-Kyrgyz intergovernmental commission for delimitation and demarcation of mutual border has already endorsed the plan of its work for 2014, Zokirov added.
Experts note that the segment of border between the Isfara (Tajikistan) and Batken (Kyrgyzstan) districts is one of the most conflict-prone parts in the Ferghana Valley. Conflicts over land ownership, delineation of the border, and water resources have caused tension between villagers on both sides of the border.
Clashes between Kyrgyz and Tajiks along the border have been reported several times this year, especially in the Vorukh area, which is legally part of Tajikistan, but due to past redrawing of borders, it exists as an exclave some 20 kilometers inside Kyrgyzstan.
We will recall that five Kyrgyz border guards, one Kyrgyz policeman, and two Tajik border guards were hospitalized with injuries on January 11 after tensions escalated into exchanges of gunfire along the Kyrgyz-Tajik border.
Tajikistan has suggested working with documents and maps from the 1924-1927 period for delimitation and demarcation of the border while Kyrgyzstan has suggested using the maps of the bilateral commissions from the periods of 1958-1959 and 1989.
The maps of the early 1920s show the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic as incorporating Vorukh within its borders. But the maps of the 1950s show Vorukh as an exclave within the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic.
