As one of options to solve the border problem, Tajik political scientists proposes a long-term lease of Kyrgyz land plot through which the Isfara-Vorukh road runs.
Tajik political scientist Abdughani Mamadazimov considers that the situation along the Tajik-Kyrgyz border requires an urgent intervention. “There ought to solve simultaneously three issues: a border problem; road; and a water problem,” Mamadazimov said.
The expert offers four options to solve the existing border problem.
As one of options, Mamadazimov proposes to cede a proportional land plot in other place of the district [Isfara] to Kyrgyzstan in exchange for the Kyrgyz land plot through which the Isfara-Vorukh road runs.
As another option, Mamadazimov proposes a long-term lease of Kyrgyz land plot through which the Isfara-Vorukh road runs or for construction of a new road connecting Vorukh and Isfara.
As the third option, he proposes to conclude an interstate agreement on joint use of the Isfara-Vorukh and Batken-Lailak roads giving them international status.
The political scientist also proposes to “dig two tunnels that would replace the existing surface roads Isfara-Vorukh and Batken-Lailak in the course of time.”
Recall, a new clash that broke out among residents of border areas of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan Monday left at least one dead and several wounded.
There are rival accounts about what sparked the clash in the afternoon of July 22.
Residents of Tajikistan’s Vorukh exclave in Kyrgyzstan told Asia-Plus by phone that the clash erupted when people on the Kyrgyz side sought to erect a roadside sign bearing the name of an adjacent village of Ak-Sai in Tajik territory.
According to them, Kyrgyz villagers used hunting guns in the violence, while Tajiks threw stones.
One resident of Vorukh, Jalol Qarayev, was killed and several others were wounded in the clash. Three of them are reportedly in critical condition.
Meanwhile, Kyrgyz news agency 24.kg, citing the Kyrgyz border service, reports the tensions spilled over when residents of Vorukh exclave began installing Tajik flags on the Isfara-Vorukh road, which angered Kyrgyz villagers.
The road has now been blocked by Kyrgyz residents as troops reportedly restore calm.
The clash broke out just days before the presidents of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan were to meet for talks at a conflict-prone border crossing. Villagers on both sides of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border have been hanging flags ahead of visits by the presidents of the two countries to the region.
