Tajikistan Civil War - Research Paper Example

Tajikistan Civil War Tajikistan got independence in on 9 September 1991 from Soviet Union. Official name of country is Republic of Tajikistan with its Capital Dushanbe. {US Department of State). Country data as compiled by US department of state is as following; “ Area: 143,100 sq. km. Capital: Dushanbe; Terrain: Pamir and Alay mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest. Climate: Mid-latitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains. Population (July 2010 estimate): 7,349,145.Population growth rate (2010 estimate): 1.9%. Ethnic groups: Tajik 80%, Uzbek 15%, Russian and others 5%.Religion (2010 Embassy est.): Sunni Muslim 95%, Shi'a Muslim 3%, other 2%. Language: Tajik (the official state language as of 1994, with follow-up legislation in 2009); Russian is widely used in government and business; 74% of the population lives in rural communities where mostly Tajik is spoken. Education: Literacy (according to the Tajikistan Living Standards Survey for 2007)--97.4%. The Tajik education system has been struggling through a period of decline since independence, however, and some evidence suggests functional literacy is much lower. Health (2010 est.): Life expectancy--62.29 years men; 68.52 years women. Infant mortality rate--41.03 deaths/1,000 live births. Work force (2010): The official work force is 2.1 million. The actual number of working age citizens is closer to 4 million. As many as half of all working age males, and an increasing number of females, seek jobs outside of the country, primarily in Russia. The Republic of Tajikistan gained its independence during the breakup of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) on September 9, 1991 and soon fell into a civil war. From 1992 to 1997 internal fighting ensued between old-guard regionally based ruling elites and disenfranchised regions, democratic liberal reformists, and Islamists loosely organized in a United Tajik Opposition (UTO). Other combatants and armed bands that flourished in this civil chaos simply reflected the breakdown of central authority rather than loyalty to a political faction. The height of hostilities occurred between 1992 and 1993. By 1997, the predominantly Kulyabi-led Tajik Government and the UTO had negotiated a power-sharing peace accord and implemented it by 2000. Once guaranteed 30% of government positions, former oppositionists have almost entirely been removed from government as President Rahmon has consolidated power. The last Russian border guards protecting Tajikistan's 1,344 km border with Afghanistan completed their withdrawal in July 2005. Russia maintains its military presence in Tajikistan with the basing of the Russian 201st Motorized Rifle Division that never left Tajikistan when it became independent. Most of these Russian-led forces, however, are local Tajik noncommissioned officers and soldiers. Tajikistan's most recent parliamentary elections in 2010 and its 2006 presidential election were considered to be flawed and unfair but peaceful. The parliamentary elections, in which the ruling party secured 55 of the 63 seats, failed to meet many key Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) standards on democratic elections, and some observers saw them as even worse than the flawed 2005 elections. In June 2003, Tajikistan held a flawed referendum to enact a package of constitutional changes, including a provision to allow President Rahmon the possibility of re-election to up to two additional 7-year terms after his term expired in 2006.” Civil War Brief Summary of The Conflict After the civil war in 1992, sporadic fighting continued in remote areas. The road to peace in Tajikistan has been long and tedious. (Tajikistan Civil War), “The process of national reconciliation in this impoverished Central Asian country was set in motion by a June 1997 UN-mediated settlement between Tajikistan's Moscow-backed government and the Islamic-led United Tajik Opposition - or UTO. But the country missed almost every deadline set in the power-sharing agreement that ended the bloody five-year civil war, and some armed clashes involving renegade forces still take place. The rugged terrain, along with the political and religious differences in the country, has created a strong sense of local identity and rivalry. The population of 6 million is 65 percent Tajik; 25 percent Uzbek; 3.5 percent Russian (including Russian- speaking nationalities). The Slavic population of Tajikistan has declined by almost ten percent since the 1989 census. Approximately 70 percent of the population lives in rural areas, making Tajikistan the least urban of the former Soviet republics. Tajikistan is located at a crossroads of major world civilizations--Russia, Turkey, Iran, India-Pakistan, and China--and has been influenced by each. Russia, China and India share an interest in restraining Islamic fundamentalism, while Iran and Pakistan vie to reinforce Tajikistan's Islamic identity. Russia and Tajikistan's fellow Central Asian neighbors--Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan--have been concerned about drug and gun running across the borders as well as Islamic fundamentalism, and have mostly supported Tajikistan's secular regime. Russia has been concerned to safeguard the 90,000 ethnic Russians still residing in Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, to safeguard the 1.5 million ethnic Uzbeks residing there. Discrimination against ethnic Russians in Tajikistan has increased and fuels a continuing exodus. The only political violence in Dushanbe has been a number of killings of ethnic Russians, usually soldiers, which has been of little comfort to Russian civilians. Tajikistan's neighbors in the region, in particular Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation, maintain great influence over the course of internal Tajik politics, and neither state has behaved as if it considered Tajikistan a genuinely sovereign and independent country. Due to the geography of the region and the whims of Soviet planners, Tajikistan is largely at the mercy of Uzbekistan for all overland and rail transport. Tajikistan has moved to reduce its energy dependency on Uzbekistan by signing a tripartite agreement on trade, economic, and cultural relations with Turkmenistan and Iran. Turkmenistan provides Tajikistan with reduced cost fuel and natural gas as part of the agreement.” In May 1992, the Tajik opposition seized power from the Tajik Supreme Soviet, precipitating civil war. The opposition was defeated in December 1992 and the current Tajik government assumed control. The defeated opposition comprised a coalition of self-declared democratic and Islamic groups and Islamic fundamentalists, a plurality of whom originate from the Garm-Kartogin region of the country, and Pamiris, who were traditionally underrepresented in the ruling coalitions during Soviet and pre-Soviet rule. Since early 1993, the ongoing armed insurgency of the opposition forces, in particular from across the Tajik-Afghan border, continued to destabilize the country. Parties to the conflict Tajikistan was ruled in 1993 by a coalition of regional and clan groupings [dominated by Tajiks from the southern Kulyab/Kulob region] which won a clear-cut military victory in a civil war racking the country, particularly its southern regions, during 1992. The winning coalition was supported by Russian, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and Uzbek forces. The Supreme Soviet (parliament) elected Imomali Rahmanov, Kulyab regional executive chairman, as its Chairman and Head of State in November 1992. Much of Rahmonov's support came from the victorious People's Front forces, which originated in Kulyab and Kurgan-Tube, the Uzbek-dominated Hissar region which aided in the battle of Dushanbe, and members of the traditional northern economic elite of Leninabad. Tajikistan remains in the hands of a largely authoritarian government, although it has established some nominally democratic structures. The Government's narrow base of support limits its ability to control the entire territory of the country. The Government of President Emomali Rahmonov, which consists largely of natives of the Kulyab/Kulob region, continues to dominate the State, even though some Kulobis were removed from senior positions in 1998 and opposition members were taken into Government. Some regions of the country remain effectively outside the Government's control, and government control in other areas exists only by day, or at the sufferance of local opposition commanders. In addition to the Tajik Armed Forces, Russian Border Forces, with the approval of the Tajik Government, were deployed along the border to repel infiltration. The Commonwealth of Independent States has a peacekeeping force deployed within the country. The Russian Army's 201st Motorized Rifle Division, part of a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) peacekeeping force established in 1993, remains in the country. Russia, which already had 25,000 armed troops in Tajikistan, tentatively agreed in April 1999 to the establishment of a military base which would help increase the stability in Tajikistan. The Russian Border Guard Force (RBF) reports to Moscow and has primary responsibility for guarding the border with Afghanistan. It consists mostly of Tajiks with some Russians and a limited number of other Central Asians, although the officer corps remains principally Russian. The new Government gradually extended its control over all major towns and most roads throughout the country except in the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) where, by agreement with the regional authorities, its security forces did not enter. In return, the regional authorities pledged to control their own territory and to preclude operations by opposition forces. Although the Government by and large respected the agreement, the GBAO officials were unable to prevent armed opposition elements and their foreign allies (Afghan mujahedin) from using their territory for antigovernment attacks. Opposition forces, based in Afghanistan and supported by mostly fundamentalist Afghan forces, posed a serious military challenge to the Government and to CIS (principally Russian) units by staging frequent raids across the border in southern Khatlon province and western GBAO. Although these raids and incursions did not threaten central government control outside the border areas, they caused casualties, blocked roads, and interfered with the movement of relief supplies and refugees. The Government worked to reconstitute the principal elements of the former security forces: the Ministry of Interior, the National Security Committee, and the new Ministry of Defense. It sought to incorporate elements of the progovernment People's Front militia into these security organs, with limited success. Many People's Front units remained outside of central government control. These units, as well as the Ministry of Interior forces, committed numerous human rights abuses. The National Security Committee's forces and those of the Ministry of Defense were also responsible for abuses, though less frequently. On 29 October 1992, at the invitation of the Acting President of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Secretary-General sent a good offices mission to Tajikistan. This was followed by the dispatch of a small United Nations unit of political, military and humanitarian officers on 21 January 1993, to monitor the situation on the ground. The Secretary-General appointed a Special Envoy on 26 April 1993. Between April and October 1994, the Special Envoy chaired three rounds of Inter-Tajik talks on national reconciliation, which resulted in the signing of an agreement on a temporary cease-fire and the establishment of a Joint Commission for oversight of its implementation. On 16 December 1994, by resolution 968(1994), the Security Council established the United Nations Mission of Observers to Tajikistan - UNMOT. Fraud and intimidation marred the presidential election on 06 November 1994; the Government declared Rahmonov the winner with 58 percent of the vote. Also on 06 November 1994, a new Constitution, a significant improvement over the Soviet-era document, was overwhelmingly approved in a popular referendum. The opposition coalition of nationalists and Islamic groups defeated in the 1992 civil war boycotted the election and continued to wage a bloody insurgency along the Tajikistan- Afghanistan border and in the southeastern district of Tavildara. Under United Nations auspices, the Government and the opposition engaged in several rounds of talks which led to a prisoner exchange, a provisional cease-fire, and establishment of joint commissions to monitor refugee issues and the cease-fire and a United Nations Mission of Observers to Tajikistan (UNMOT). The cease-fire began on 20 October 1994 and remained in effect through the end of the year, although several alleged violations were reported by both sides. Important Events / Developments Occurring During The Conflict In the meantime, efforts to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict continued. In May 1996, the Secretary-General appointed a resident Special Representative and Head of Mission of UNMOT. On 27 June 1997, President Emomali Rakhmonov, Sayed Abdullo Nuri, leader of the United Tajik Opposition [UTO], and Mr. Gerd Merrem, then Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, signed in Moscow the General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan and the Moscow Protocol. The signing of the Agreement and the subsequent convening of the Commission on National Reconciliation launched the period of transition. During this period, refugees were to return; UTO fighters were to be demobilized or reintegrated into the governmental structures; the armed forces, police and security apparatus were to be reformed; and the democratic processes in the country were to be improved, leading to elections and the formation of a new Government. The parties requested United Nations assistance in the implementation of the Agreement. Due in part to the actions of those opposed to the implementation of the June 1997 peace accords, the situation in the capital and its environs remained insecure. Reporting to the Security Council on 4 September 1997, the Secretary-General indicated that to carry out its new tasks UNMOT should be strengthened significantly. The Mission's civil affairs component would need to be increased and additional expertise added in the areas of public law (including human rights), police, electoral affairs and coordination of international assistance. The military component would also be increased to 120 military observers from its previous authorized strength of 45. In November 1997, the Secretary-General reported that substantive progress towards addressing the security concerns had been made, leading him to recommend that the Security Council expand UNMOT's mandate as proposed in his September report. The Council, by its resolution 1138 (1997) of 14 November, expanded the mandate of UNMOT and increased the size of the Mission in accordance with the Secretary-General's recommendations. The peace process was disrupted by violence and made only slow progress. In May 1998, the Secretary-General reported that the process would take longer than allowed for in the timetable of the peace agreement As a result, it seemed unlikely that elections could be held in 1998. Causes Of The Conflict On 3 November 1998, a force led by Mahmud Khudoiberdiev and former premier Abdumalik Abdullojonov launched an offensive in Leninabad Province, the largest and most prosperous region of the country. Khudoiberdiev is a former army colonel who has been mentioned in connection with anti-Government activities in the Khatlon Province, from which he was ousted in August 1997. His force took control of Khujand, the main city and provincial capital, including the airport, and the mountain pass in the south linking the province with the rest of the country. A number of demands were made, including a share in the Government. On 6 November 1998, the Government began a counter-offensive, in which UTO joined. By 10 November, the Government had retaken control of the Province after intense fighting. Khudoiberdiev's whereabouts were unknown; it was believed that he had left the country. According to the Government, casualties amounted to 110 killed, almost half of them civilians, and 600 wounded. On 25 December 1998 UTO leader Abdullo Nuri formally declared the return of all UTO fighters to Tajikistan and the closing of all its bases outside the country. He further pledged, on 28 December, that the UTO would disband its military forces in early 1999, in accordance with the General Agreement, to pave the way for the lifting of the ban on UTO political parties. According to the military protocol, armed units that do not cooperate with its provisions will be considered illegal and subject to forcible disarmament. On 5 January 1999, CNR issued a formal resolution which recognized that UTO had not fully complied with the provisions of the military protocol. That resolution was preceded by a serious incident, on 30 December 1998, in which two opposition groups engaged in a firefight outside the CNR building in Dushanbe, killing five persons and injuring six. Both the Government and the UTO expressed concern that the situation might deteriorate and have asked for international assistance to support the fighters. Temporary assistance for UTO personnel was originally envisaged in the context of strict implementation of the Protocol on military issues (notably the quartering of the fighters, registration and control of their arms, adherence to the six-month timetable), and UNMOT did provide food and other necessities until its limited means, which were meant to bridge only the first two months, were exhausted. In the present circumstances, the United Nations has explained to the Tajik parties that the international community could not be expected to subsidize armed forces for an indeterminate period. The lack of support for their fighters and the absence of any further appointments of UTO personalities in accordance with the power-sharing agreement has deepened suspicion of the Government among UTO field commanders and diminished their support for the peace process generally. This is particularly pronounced in the Darband and Tavildara areas. The latter area is controlled by the UTO's chief of staff, who had been proposed for the defence portfolio under an understanding between the parties that a UTO member would be appointed to head a power ministry. President Rakhmonov has rejected this nomination. Opposition groups not aligned with the UTO, citing continuous disagreement over implementation of the peace accord in 1999, questioned the effectiveness of the ongoing peace process. During 1999, the UTO twice pulled out of the Commission on National Reconciliation that oversees the peace process under 1997 accords. The UTO complained that the government had failed to live up to its commitment to power sharing, legalizing the banned political parties and releasing jailed opposition fighters. In late April 1999, an opposition field commander (Mansur Muakalov) abducted six policemen to put pressure on the government to release his comrades from jail. In June 1999 President Imamali Rahmanov approved amendments to the Tajik constitution demanded by the United Tajik Opposition. The changes, adopted in a national referendum in September, allow the formation of religious-based political parties. They also stipulate the creation of a professional bicameral parliament and extend the president's term in office from five to seven years. The landmark shift - making Tajikistan the only former Soviet Central Asian republic that tolerates registered Islamic parties - followed two other major achievements. On 03 August 1999 UTO leader Sayed Abdullah Nuri reported that the process of integrating opposition fighters into the Tajik armed forces had been completed. The move, which practically transformed the opposition from a military faction into a political force, led to a decision by the Tajik Supreme Court to lift its 1993 ban on four opposition parties (the Democratic party, the Islamic Revival Party, the Rastakhez and Lali Badakhshan movements). These developments reduced the risk of renewed armed conflict in Tajikistan. There can be no illusions about the threat to peace by third parties and renegade armed groups that roam the mountainous regions of eastern Tajikistan. Acts of violence, ascribed to armed bands not controlled by either the government or the UTO, continue to occur in otherwise peaceful neighborhoods. In August 1999 an appeal by the CNR to renegade armed bands to submit weapons was ignored. More than one thousand Uzbek Islamists - including a number of renegade militants who fled persecution in Uzbekistan - settled in the eastern Qarategin valley causing a security problem. The militants were involved last summer in guerrilla attacks in Kyrgyzstan. The government and the UTO representatives agreed already in June that the Uzbek fighters on the Tajik territory have to leave. There are signs the Uzbek fighters in Qarategin valley have left Tajikistan. Tajikistan's minister of emergency situation and former UTO Military commander, Mirzo Ziyoyev, told the media in November 1999 that Uzbek militant Islamist leader Jumma Namangani and hundreds of his gunmen were deported to Afghanistan. However, there are no guarantees that they will not return. The latest threat to peace came in the weeks before the 06 November 1999 presidential election in which the incumbent president, Imamali Rahmanov, ran unopposed. The UTO boycotted the vote and stormed out of the peace talks to protest the exclusion of opposition candidates. The government said the opposition candidates had failed to meet the registration deadline and were therefore not allowed on the ballot. The UN Observer Mission in Tajikistan mediation led to a breakthrough between the opposition and the government. On 05 November 1999 President Rahmanov and Chairman Nuri signed a protocol guaranteeing for preparation and holding of parliamentary elections. The protocol is a basic document which guarantees that parliamentary elections will be held in a free and fair atmosphere.” (Tom Cooper ) “To no small degree it is the Russian and Uzbekistan interests that prevent more positive development of the country, as neither side considers Tajikistan a genuinely sovereign and independent country. In an attempt to make itself independent, Tajikistan signed agreements on trade, economic- and cultural relations with Turkmenistan and Iran. The fact remains that the government of Tajikistan is almost completely authoritarian, even if some nominally democratic structures were established, as well as that the support base on which the government was established is insufficient for control of the entire country. In 1998 some opposition members were taken into government, and by 1999 the UTO reported that the integration of its fighters into the Tajik military was complete. Consequently, it could be said that at least in the case of Tajikistan the UN and OSCE were successful in negotiating something that appears similar to lasting peace. Nevertheless, most of well-informed observers warn time and again that a new civil war can erupt at any time: sizeable regions of the country remain effectively outside the government’s control, and the differences between different fractions, as well as their inability to organize a functional democracy, remain too massive. The war in Tajikistan can therefore be described as characteristic for its rapid escalation and sudden outbreak, as well as for its relatively quick conclusion through a negotiated settlement. In military sence, sadly, except during its advances on Dushanbe and Kofanikhon, in September 1992, the Russian military failed to show anything else but characteristic - mediocre at best - performance, frequently preferring to target civilians when no viable military objectives were within reach. Despite the successful conclusion of the campaign through negotiations, it is highly questionable if anybody drew any kind of useful conclusions from this conflict.” (Sayfiddin Shapoatov) “According to many scholars the sole reason of the Tajik Civil War was regionalism and that all other factors originated from regionalism. In other words, regionalism in Tajikistan led to both Islamic revivalism and the intervention of external powers in the domestic affairs of Tajikistan. Some scholars argue that the Tajik Civil War erupted because of economic hardships and that the war was not an ideological war. Of course, economic decadence increased the competition between regions. But again economic hardship cannot be regarded as the sole reason of the eruption of the Civil War. In Tajikistan, the armed struggle against Sughdis was predominantly legitimized by Islamic principles and the struggle was depicted as a resistance against “atheists”. In understanding the Tajik Civil War, all three factors- Islam, regionalism and external factors- should be considered, more or less, as intermingled phenomena. None of the three factors was the basic result of the other two factors. Thus in the case of absence of any of these three factors, the Tajik Civil War would not erupt. Consequently, in analyzing the Tajik Civil War one should not ignore any of these three factors. Absence of any of them will give an incomplete picture of the Civil War. Similarly, none of the three factors that led to the Tajik Civil War and shaped events developed before, during and after the Civil War would lead to the Civil War alone. The revival of Islamists could not be enough for the eruption of the Civil War in Tajikistan unless supported by external forces. As the bloody Civil War in general discouraged political participation of citizens in Tajikistan, interest in political Islam decreased in post-Civil War Tajikistan” Time Line Tajikistan conflict :A chronology of key events: Late 1980s - Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's policy of glasnost, or openness, leads to the formation of unofficial political groups and a renewed interest in Tajik culture. 1989 - Tajik Supreme Soviet (legislature) declares Tajik to be official state language; Rastokhez People's Front established. Independence and civil war 1990 - State of emergency declared and some 5,000 Soviet troops sent to the capital, Dushanbe, to suppress pro-democracy protests, which are also fuelled by rumours that Armenian refugees are to be settled in Dushanbe; Supreme Soviet declares state sovereignty. 1991 - Tajik Communist leader Qahhor Makhkamov forced to resign after supporting the failed anti-Gorbachev coup in Moscow. Supreme Soviet declares Tajikistan independent from the Soviet Union; Rahmon Nabiyev, Communist leader during 1982-85, wins Tajikistan's first direct presidential election with 57% of the vote; Tajikistan joins Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) following the collapse of the Soviet Union in December. 1992 - Anti-government demonstrations in Dushanbe escalate into civil war between pro-government forces and Islamist and pro-democracy groups which eventually claims 20,000 lives, displaces 600,000 and devastates the economy. Violent demonstrations force Nabiyev to resign in September; Emomali Rahmonov, a pro-Nabiyev communist, takes over as head of state in November. 1993 - Government re-establishes control, suppresses political opposition and imposes strict media controls; Supreme Court bans all opposition parties, leaving the Communist Party of Tajikistan as the only legal party; CIS peacekeeping force deployed on Tajik-Afghan border to prevent Islamist guerrilla groups infiltrating from bases in Afghanistan. 1994 - Cease-fire between government and rebels agreed; Rahmonov announces willingness to negotiate with opposition; referendum approves draft constitution reinstituting presidential system; Rahmonov elected president in ballot deemed by international observers as neither free nor fair. 1995 - Rahmonov supporters win parliamentary elections; fighting on Afghan border erupts. 1996 - Islamist rebels capture towns in southwestern Tajikistan; UN-sponsored cease-fire between government and rebels comes into effect. Peace accord 1997 - Government and rebel United Tajik Opposition (UTO) sign peace accord; National Reconciliation Commission, comprising government and opposition members, created to supervise implementation of accord; Rahmonov injured in grenade attack. 1998 - Rahmonov announces pardon for all opposition leaders in exile and agrees to appoint one of the Islamist opposition's leaders as first deputy prime minister. Rebel who declines peace offer launches uprising in north but is crushed with the help of former opposition groups. Tajikistan joins CIS Customs Union. 1999 - Rahmonov re-elected for second term with 96 % of the vote; UTO armed forces integrated into state army; Rahmonov awarded order of Hero of Tajikistan. 2000 - Last meeting of the National Reconciliation Commission held and a new bicameral parliament set up in March; a new national currency, the somoni, introduced; visas introduced for travel between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. 2001 January - Minimum wage tripled to equivalent of just over one US dollar. 2001 April - Deputy Interior Minister Habib Sanginov assassinated in Dushanbe. 2001 June - Leaders of China, Russia and four Central Asian states launch the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and sign an agreement to fight ethnic and religious militancy while promoting trade and investment. The group emerges when the Shanghai Five—China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan—are joined by Uzbekistan. ime line 2001 September - Culture Minister Abdurakhim Rakhimov is shot dead by an unidentified gunman, the third senior official to be assassinated in a year. Tajikistan is quick to offer support to the US-led anti-terror coalition, set up after the September 11 attacks on the US. War in Afghanistan 2002 July - Tajikistan doubles the number of border guards along its 1,300-km frontier with Afghanistan to prevent al-Qaeda members from entering the country to escape US forces. 2003 February - Eleven Islamic militants sentenced to death and dozens to lengthy jail sentences for murder and kidnapping during and after the civil war of the 1990s. 2003 April - Russian President Vladimir Putin visits and announces plans to boost Russian military presence. 2003 June - Shamsiddin Shamsiddinov, deputy leader of the opposition Islamic Rebirth Party, arrested and charged with murder. Party leadership asserts that the arrest is politically motivated. Referendum vote goes in favour of allowing President Rahmonov to run for a further two consecutive seven-year terms when his current one ends in 2006. The opposition describes the referendum as a travesty of democracy. 2003 July - Parliament approves a draft law abolishing the death penalty for women and reducing the number of crimes for which men can face punishment. Supreme Court sentences Shamsiddin Shamsiddinov, deputy leader of opposition Islamic Rebirth Party, to 16 years in jail. 2004 July - Parliament approves moratorium on death penalty. 2004 October - Russia formally opens military base and takes back control over former Soviet space monitoring centre. 2005 April - Opposition leader Mahmadruzi Iskandarov released in Moscow after extradition request turned down but kidnapped and rearrested in Tajikistan. 2005 June - Russian border guards complete withdrawal, handing the task over to Tajik forces. 2005 October - Opposition leader Mahmadruzi Iskandarov sentenced in Dushanbe to 23 years in jail on terrorism and corruption charges 2006 May - Several killed when gunmen attack border post before crossing into Kyrgyzstan. 2006 August - Gaffor Mirzoyev, former top military commander, sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted on charges of terrorism and plotting to overthrow the government. His supporters say the trial was politically motivated. Said Abdullo Nuri, leader of the opposition Islamic Revival Party, dies. Rakhmonov re-elected 2006 November - President Rakhmonov wins a third term in office, in an election which international observers say is neither free nor fair. 2007 March - President Rakhmonov orders that babies no longer be registered under Russian-style surnames, and himself drops the Russian ending -ov from his own name. 2007 November - A powerful explosion kills a guard near the presidential palace 2008 February - Tajikistan appeals for help after suffering its worst winter in 50 years as well as an energy crisis. 2008 April - International Monetary Fund (IMF) orders the return of loan of $47m after it finds Tajikistan submitted false data. 2008 July - Russia agrees to write off Tajikistan's $240m debt in return for cession of a Soviet-designed space tracking station. 2009 January - Agreement signed with US military allowing it to transport non-military supplies to Afghanistan over Tajik territory. 2009 September - Uzbekistan cuts off gas supplies to Tajikistan for three days amid a dispute about Tajikistan's payment arrears. 2010 February - President Rahmon's People's Democratic Party wins an overwhelming majority in parliamentary elections. International monitors say widespread fraud took place. 2010 August - 25 Islamist militants accused of plotting a coup break out of jail. Conflict Management – Un Involvement “UN involvement in the Tajikistan war was initiated in September 1992 by the address of Uzbek president Islam Karimov to the UN Secretary-General, supported by Finnish president Mauno Koivisto. A mission visited Tajikistan in October, and then in January 1993 a small United Nations unit of political, military, and humanitarian officers was dispatched to monitor the situation on the ground. Ismat Kittani was appointed special envoy to Tajikistan in April 1993, followed in January 1994 by Ramiro Pirez-Ballon. Their efforts at promoting peacemaking bore fruit when both sides to the conflict agreed to come to negotiations in Moscow in April 1994. The special envoy chaired three rounds of talks, leading to a temporary cease-fire and the establishment of a joint commission to oversee its implementation. In December, the Security Council established the United Nations Mission of Observers to Tajikistan to monitor the implementation of cease-fire, maintain contact with the conflicting parties, and support the efforts of the UN Secretary-General's special envoy. In February 1994, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe also opened a permanent office in Tajikistan with a mandate to promote institution building, assist in establishing a constitution, organize democratic elections, and survey human-rights conditions. The mission was given the status of observer at ongoing UN-mediated talks. The Inter-Tajik Dialogue on national reconciliation lasted until June 1997. From the beginning, they were held under the auspices of the United Nations. Representatives of Russia, Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan, with the OSCE and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) participating as observers. The venue of the talks shifted among the capitals of the observer countries. Having these countries as observers helped mitigate the potential negative influence of some of the neighboring countries' policies on the domestic actors. Both Russia and Iran played important roles at critical junctures by persuading their allies to make necessary compromises. The General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan (hereafter, General Agreement) is the name given to a package of nine documents that were signed in the course of eight rounds of negotiations between the delegations of the government of Tajikistan and the UTO, and numerous other meetings. The General Agreement stipulated a transition period of twelve to eighteen months during which all the protocols of the agreement were to be implemented. During the transitional period, the following provisions would be implemented: 30 percent UTO representation in government executive structures Voluntary and safe return of all refugees and internally displaced people Disbanding, disarmament, and reintegration of opposition forces into government power structures Reform of government structures Constitutional amendments Amendments to the law on elections, the law on political parties legalizing banned opposition and other political parties and movements, and the law on mass media allowing the functioning of free and objective mass media Full exchange of prisoners of war and other forcibly detained people Adoption of an Amnesty Law and an Act on Mutual Forgiveness Establishment of a Central Electoral Commission for conducting elections and referenda, with 25 percent UTO representation in its composition Setting the date for new parliamentary elections The main monitoring entity of the implementation of the General Agreement was the Contact Group (CG), consisting of eight states (Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) and three international organizations (OIC, OSCE, and the UN) with the special representative of the UN Secretary-General serving as coordinator. In addition to its monitoring functions, CG provided expertise, advice, good offices, and recommendations on ways to ensure the parties' compliance with the General Agreement. The Inter-Tajik Dialogue :Multi Track Diplomacy; There can be no doubt that the Inter-Tajik Dialogue played a role in the peace process in Tajikistan, but determining exactly what that role was illustrates one of the continuing problems in assessing the impact of unofficial dialogues. One of the lessons learned from the Tajikistan peace process, observes Gerd Merrem, former special envoy to Tajikistan and the official mediator at the UN-mediated Inter-Tajik Dialogue, is that "in a two-track approach, an NGO-facilitated dialogue between Tajiks on existing political and socio-economic antagonisms enabled these personalities within the polarized conflict to look beyond what separates them. This exercise, facilitated by a former U.S. official with skill and perseverance, has clearly facilitated compromise at the negotiation table Peacebuilding in Tajikistan (Zamira Yusufjonova) “According to the UN Tajikistan Office of Peace building (UNTOP), Tajikistan is the most successful of five UN peacebuilding efforts. On the surface, Tajikistan seems to offer a model of conflict resolution and reconciliation. However, underneath this veneer of stability lurks a host of problems that could seriously threaten the future stability of Tajikistan." One of the main obstacles for complete reconciliation is an almost exclusive concern in the Tajik peace process for institutional reform, and the neglect of social psychological issues. As Randa Slim points out, the 1997 peace agreement touches upon constitutional amendments, governmental reforms, amendments of some laws, such as those on elections; however, it does not address issues of trust and the need to change people's attitudes. Therefore, the Tajik peace process lacks the relational dimension of peace building that centers on reconciliation, forgiveness, and trust building. As John Paul Lederach suggests, peace building must be undertaken simultaneously at numerous levels, not just at the institutional level. Kimberly Maynard's five phases of community healing illustrates the missing parts of the Tajik peace process, particularly in her third phase, which addresses the relational dimension of peace building, rebuilding of trust and the capacity to trust. Conclusion To summarize reasons for conflict in Tajikistan have been regionalism, Islamic exploitation and external interference. In the absence of external interference, the conflict ended. Today, Tajikistan is relatively stable. But because of economic decay, corruption, still powerful regionalism, warlords and inadequate international aid, another Civil War can erupt. To prevent such a conflict, international aid, which should be used for the economic development of the country have to be increased. To solve the problem of regionalism in Tajikistan, the government should expand political participation, encourage freedom of press and speech and establish rule of law. Without these reforms, solving the problem of regionalism seems impossible. This was emphasized by the leader of Tajik IRP, Said Abdullah Nuri, as well. In one of his speeches he warned about another civil war if the government continues to harass old opposition groups' members. Those people who are being followed by the government can join the rebel Mahmud Khudoyberdiyev, who had launched an attack on Sughd region in 1999. Thus, regionalism is still a problem in Tajikistan the solution of which largely depends on the policies of the existing government in the longer run. Externally, Tajikistan is still heavily dependant on Russian Federation. As was mentioned above a majority of Tajikistani budget is still provided by Russia. Uzbekistan’s influence in Tajikistan has decreased after the Civil War. However in economic terms Tajikistan is still dependant on Uzbekistan. Consequently, Uzbekistan is still able to shape Tajikistani internal and external affairs by mostly using the card of economy. Afghanistani Tajiks due to the advance of Taliban had started to establish good contacts with Russia, thus with Dushanbe. Consequently, after the Peace Agreement, they gave up supporting one faction against another in Tajikistan. It means that, in foreseeable future, Afghanistani Tajiks will not play a destabilizing role in Tajikistan. After the Peace Agreement, Iran’s role has increased further in Tajikistan. Due to its active role in negotiation process it won the confidence of Rahmonov regime and secured its close ties with the opposition bloc. In short, there was a unique combination of several domestic and international factors, each of which played an important role in the emergence, development and ending of the Tajik Civil War. Works cited Background Note: Tajikistan ,US .Department of State, September 22, 2010Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs, web 7 April 2011, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5775.htm John Pike, Tajikistan Civil War, Global Security.org,Copyright © 2000-2011 GlobalSecurity.org 27 April 2005. Web. 9 April 2011. Tom Cooper, Tajikistan, 1992-1997, Former USSR-Russia Database, Copyright 2002-3 by ACIG.org, 29 Sep 2003 .Web. 8 April 2011, www.tajikistan\Tajikistan, 1992-1997.htm Timeline: Tajikistan, A chronology of key events ,BBC News, bbc.co.uk, 3 August 2001 updated 1 Dec 2010 .Web. 8 April 2011http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1297913.stm Sayfiddin shapoatov, the tajik civil war: 1992-1997, june 2004, thesis, the graduate school of social sciences middle east technical university Shirin Akiner and Catherine barnes, The Tajik civil war: causes and Dynamics,Published by The `Royal Institute of International Affairs, London spring 2001, © Conciliation Resources web 8 april 2011 http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/tajikistan/causes-dynamics.php Randa M. Slim & Faredun Hodizoda, Tajikistan: From Civil War to Peacebuildingm, Searching for Peace in Europe and Eurasia - 2002,Searching for Peace in Central and South Asia,publication Conflict DynamicsOfficial Conflict Management2002,Web. 9 April 2011. http://www.conflict-prevention.net/page.php?id=40&formid=73&action=show&surveyid=46 Zamira Yusufjonova Peacebuilding in Tajikistan July, 2005. Web . 9 April 2011, http://crinfo.beyondintractability.org/case_studies/tajikistan.jsp?nid=5304 Appendices General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan Source: United Nations Secretary-General Date: 27 Jun 1997 A/52/219 S/1997/510 GENERAL ASSEMBLY SECURITY COUNCIL Fifty-second session Fifty-second year Item 20 (b) of the preliminary list STRENGTHENING OF THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AND DISASTER RELIEF ASSISTANCE OF THE UNITED NATIONS, INCLUDING SPECIAL ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE: SPECIAL ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES OR REGIONS Letter dated 1 July 1997 from the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General I have the honour to transmit herewith the texts of the General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan (annex I), the Moscow Declaration by the President of Tajikistan, E. S. Rakhmonov, the leader of the United Tajik Opposition, S. A. Nuri, and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, G. D. Merrem, (annex II) and the Protocol of Mutual Understanding between the President of Tajikistan, E.S.Rakhmonov, and the leader of the United Tajik Opposition, S. A. Nuri (annexIII), all signed in Moscow on 27 June 1997. I should be grateful if you would have this letter and its attachments circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under item 20 (b) of the preliminary list, and of the Security Council. (Signed) S. LAVROV Annex I General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan, signed in Moscow on 27 June 1997 For the purposes of achieving peace and national accord in Tajikistan and overcoming the consequences of the civil war, inter-Tajik talks on national reconciliation have been conducted from April1994 up until the present time under the auspices of the United Nations. In the course of eight rounds of talks between delegations of the Government of Tajikistan and the United Tajik Opposition, hereinafter referred to as the Parties, six meetings between the President of Tajikistan and the leader of the United Tajik Opposition, and also three rounds of consultations between the delegations of the Parties, which took place in Almaty, Ashgabat, Bishkek, Islamabad, Kabul, Meshkhed (Islamic Republic of Iran), Moscow, Tehran and Khusdekh (Afghanistan), protocols were agreed and signed which, together with the present document, constitute the General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan (the General Agreement). It includes the following documents: - the Protocol on the fundamental principles for establishing peace and national accord in Tajikistan of 17August1995 (annexI);1 - the Protocol on political questions of 18May1997 (annex II)2 and the related Agreement between the President of Tajikistan, EmomaliSharipovichRakhmonov, and the leader of the United Tajik Opposition, SaidAbdulloNuri, on the results of the meeting held in Moscow on 23December1996 (annexIII);3 the Protocol on the main functions and powers of the Commission on National Reconciliation of 23December1996 (annexIV);4 the Statute of the Commission on National Reconciliation, of 21February1997 (annexV);5 the Additional Protocol to the Protocol on the main functions and powers of the Commission on National Reconciliation, of 21February1997 (annexVI);6 - the Protocol on military issues (annexVII);7 - the Protocol on refugees of 13January1997 (annexVIII);8 - the Protocol on the guarantees of implementation of the General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan, of 28May1997 (annexIX).9 The President of Tajikistan and the leader of the United Tajik Opposition have agreed that the signing of the present General Agreement marks the beginning of the phase of full and interconnected implementation of the agreements reached, which will put an end once and for all to the fratricidal conflict in Tajikistan, ensure mutual forgiveness and amnesty, return the refugees to their homes, and create the conditions for the democratic development of society, the holding of free elections and the restoration of the country's economy destroyed by the many years of conflict. The highest national priorities of the country are peace and the national unity of all nationals of Tajikistan, regardless of their ethnic origin, political orientation, religion or regional affiliation. The President of Tajikistan and the leader of the United Tajik Opposition have agreed to request the Secretary-General of the United Nations to provide assistance and cooperation in the comprehensive implementation of the General Agreement. They have also agreed to request the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Governments of the guarantor States to provide cooperation in the implementation of the relevant provisions of the General Agreement. The President of Tajikistan and the leader of the United Tajik Opposition have agreed to register the General Agreement with the United Nations Secretariat in accordance with Article102 of the Charter of the United Nations. (Signed) E. RAKHMONOV President of Tajikistan (Signed) A. NURI Leader of the United Tajik Opposition (Signed) G. MERREM Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Notes 1 S/1995/720, annex. 2 S/1997/385, annex I. 3 S/1996/1070, annex I. 4 Ibid., annex II. 5 S/1997/169, annex I. 6 Ibid, annex II. 7 S/1997/209, annex II. 8 S/1997/56, annex III. 9 S/1997/410, annex.Annex II The Moscow Declaration, signed in Moscow on 27 June 1997 We, the President of Tajikistan, E.S.Rakhmonov, the leader of the United Tajik Opposition, S.A.Nuri, and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, G.D.Merrem, have signed today in Moscow the General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan. Thus, after five years of civil confrontation which became one of the most tragic pages in the centuries-long history of our country, the inter-Tajik talks on national reconciliation have been successfully concluded and the long-awaited day of the triumph of reason and hope for a peaceful future has dawned. The President of Tajikistan and the leader of the United Tajik Opposition express their sincere gratitude to the United Nations, under the auspices and with the mediation of which the negotiating process has been proceeding for the past three years. They express their conviction that the United Nations will provide Tajikistan with assistance and cooperation in the implementation of the agreements reached. We are grateful to the observer countries at the inter-Tajik talks- Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan- for their cooperation in moving the talks forward and their all-round assistance during the years of our people's ordeal. Agreement at the international level to guarantee the implementation of the Agreement strengthens our conviction that all the obligations it contains will be implemented in full within the agreed periods. We greatly value the role of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Organization of the Islamic Conference in the inter-Tajik negotiating process, and express the hope that they too will provide cooperation in the implementation of the agreements reached. We thank the Government of the Russian Federation and President B.N.Yeltsin personally for their great contribution to the Tajik settlement and their cooperation in the successful conduct of the present meeting in Moscow. As we enter on the new responsible phase of giving effect to the provisions of the General Agreement, we proclaim once again our desire for the speediest possible attainment of peace and national harmony in Tajikistan. (Signed) E. RAKHMONOV President of Tajikistan (Signed) A. NURI Leader of the United Tajik Opposition (Signed) G. MERREM Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Annex III Protocol of Mutual Understanding between the President of Tajikistan, E. S. Rakhmonov and the leader of the United Tajik Opposition, S. A. Nuri, signed in Moscow on 27 June 1997 The President of Tajikistan, E.S.Rakhmonov, and the leader of the United Tajik Opposition, S.A.Nuri, held a separate meeting in Moscow on 27June1997, to discuss issues associated with the strengthening of confidence-building measures between the Parties in the interests of advancing the process of national reconciliation in Tajikistan. As a result of the meeting, the following agreements were reached: (1) To convene in Moscow by 7July1997 the first meeting of the Commission on National Reconciliation to discuss and transmit for consideration by the Parliament of Tajikistan the draft of the General Amnesty Act; (2) In implementation of the provisions of the Bishkek Memorandum of 18May1997 (S/1997/385, annex II) regarding solution of the problems of exchanging prisoners of war and imprisoned persons as an act of goodwill, to exchange by 15July1997 50prisoners of war and 50imprisoned persons, including all those detained since February1997; (3) Firmly condemning terrorism and confirming that their positions regarding joint action to combat it remain unchanged, the Parties have agreed that they will not use the existing known facts and suspicions to discredit one another politically. (Signed) E. RAKHMONOV President of Tajikistan (Signed) A. NURI Leader of the United Tajik Opposition In the presence of: (Signed) G.D.MERREM The Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Tajikistan (Signed) E.M.PRIMAKOV The Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (Signed) A.A.VELAYATI The Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran Read More