DUSHANBE, April 28, 2016, 2016, Asia-Plus – An article “Russian-Led Security Group Warns of Growing Threat of Islamist Violence to Tajikistan” by Thomas Grove that was posted on
The Wall Street Journal’s
website on April 26 notes that a Russian-led security organization said Tuesday it has plans to ensure rapid deployment to Tajikistan, where authorities face the growing threat of Islamist violence from neighboring Afghanistan.
The plans reportedly signal the first attempts by Moscow’s answer to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to become more than a paper agreement and establish a military presence beyond training exercises in former Soviet states where it competes for influence with China and the U.S.
The article says that Russia sees impoverished Tajikistan as fertile ground for Islamic State (IS) militants who have carried out attacks in Afghanistan not far from the two countries’ shared 1,400-kilometer border. Moscow and other Central Asian capitals fear that Tajikistan could be used as a foothold by Islamist extremists to destabilize the rest of the fragile and predominantly Muslim region.
According to the article, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has suffered from internal bickering and the perception it is only a political tool of Moscow.
It is still working to overcome its image after it failed to respond to requests for help from Kyrgyzstan during antigovernment uprisings that unseated its president in 2010 and subsequent ethnic violence, the article noted.
Last week, the CSTO finished training exercises in Tajikistan, where 1,500 servicemen from member countries practiced a scenario in which they killed terrorists who were planning attacks to take power in the mountainous country, the article said.
