Osh events. Osh conflict

2) Uzbeks are preparing graves for victims of interethnic conflicts in the city of Osh. (Igor Kovalenko / EPA)

3) Uzbeks near the body of a victim of ethnic riots between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in Osh on June 13. (Igor Kovalenko / EPA)

4) Uzbek refugees near the armored vehicles of the Kyrgyz military in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh await permission to cross the border into Uzbekistan. June 14, 2010. (Faruk Akkan / AP)

5) Kyrgyz special forces are preparing weapons in a vehicle that will accompany the convoy from the airport to the center of the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh. Monday. (Sergei Grits / AP)

6) Ethnic Uzbeks, residents of southern Kyrgyzstan, at a rally near the White House in Moscow. The protesters asked the Russian government to influence the situation in Kyrgyzstan. June 11, 2010. (AFP/Getty Images/Andrey Smirnov)

7) Uzbeks armed with hunting rifles and sticks. (AP/D. Dalton Bennett)

8) Members of an ethnic Uzbek community, armed with sticks and Molotov cocktails, look at smoke coming from Uzbek villages near the city of Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan. June 12, 2010. (AP/D. Dalton Bennett)

9) An Uzbek man tries to put out a fire with a watering hose in Jalalabad, Kyrgyzstan, June 13. (AP / Zarip Toroyev)

10) Uzbeks try to put out a fire in a private house in Jalalabad on June 13, 2010. Arson and killings began on Sunday as ethnic unrest spread to new territories in southern Kyrgyzstan. The government ordered the military to shoot to kill the rebels, but even this did not stop the riots. (AP / Zarip Toroyev)

11) An ethnic Uzbek minor, who was wounded during inter-ethnic clashes, lies in a hospital in the village of Naramon on June 12. (AP/D. Dalton Bennett)

12) Tens of thousands of Uzbeks are fleeing clashes between conflicting factions in Kyrgyzstan, where government forces are accused of condoning the massacre of ethnic Uzbeks. (AP/D. Dalton Bennett)

13) An armored personnel carrier with Kyrgyz soldiers is surrounded by Uzbek refugees waiting for permission to cross the border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. (D Dalton Bennett/AP)

14) Women and children of Uzbek nationality near the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border in the south of the country on Sunday, June 13. (D Dalton Bennett/AP)

15) On Monday, due to the large flow of people, the Uzbek authorities decided to allow only the wounded and women through the border. (AFP/Getty Images/Oleg Nekrasov)

16) Uzbeks cross the border zone between southern Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in the vicinity of Osh on June 12, 2010. (AFP/Getty Images/Oleg Nekrasov)

17) Uzbeks cross the border of Kyrgyzstan with Uzbekistan on Saturday, June 12. (Oleg Nekrasov / AFP – Getty Images)

18) Soldiers and police help Uzbeks cross the border in the village of Yorkishlok on June 13. (AFP/Getty Images)

19) According to information from Uzbek sources, in the border regions of Uzbekistan, local authorities were already vacating hospitals and other social facilities as early as June 11, presumably to accommodate refugees. (AFP/Getty Images)

20) By Monday evening, Uzbekistan announced a partial closure of the border with restive regions due to the lack of housing and resources for ethnic Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan fleeing massacres.

21) Ethnic Uzbeks rest after crossing the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border on June 13, 2010. According to emergency workers, more than 32 thousand refugees, most of them women and children, have arrived in the border village of Yorkishlok. But the real numbers are much higher: the police claim 80 thousand people, explaining this by the fact that refugee children, of whom there are tens of thousands, are not registered.24) People who fled from Kyrgyzstan in a refugee camp on the border near the Uzbek village of Jalal-Kuduk, June 14 2010. (AP / Anvar Ilyasov)27) An Uzbek woman named Matluba (center) queues to cross the border into Uzbekistan near the village of Jalal-Kuduk on Monday June 14. The woman, whose family was killed in the clashes, fled the city of Osh. (Anvar Ilyasov / AP)

The paradox in the situation in the south of Kyrgyzstan is that interethnic clashes occur in the absence of real interethnic problems. Uzbeks and Kyrgyz belong to different cultures. The more incomprehensible is what is happening now...

There is a war going on - the Great Kyrgyz Patriotic War?

Clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks have continued for the sixth day in the southeast of Kyrgyzstan. Looters are rampant in the cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad.

According to the local Ministry of Health, 170 people became victims of the unrest, and 10 times more were injured. However, according to unofficial data, up to 2 thousand people were slaughtered in the city of Osh alone.

The already overpopulated Uzbekistan, having accepted 75 thousand refugees from Kyrgyzstan, closed the border yesterday, despite the fact that the flow of people wishing to leave the republic does not stop. The UN Security Council has already de facto recognized the situation in Kyrgyzstan as a real humanitarian catastrophe.

The provisional government of the republic is unable to take control of the situation. However, First Deputy Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev said yesterday that interethnic clashes were a planned action organized by supporters of the ousted president in order to disrupt the referendum on the draft new constitution.

“According to the intelligence services, the financing of all these actions is confined to the Bakiyevs, in particular, to the youngest son of the ex-president, Maxim Bakiev,” Atambayev explained.
Maxim Bakiev, who was put on the international wanted list, was detained in the UK the day before. The provisional government hopes that he will be handed over to Kyrgyz justice.

Shortly before the situation escalated, an audio recording was posted on the Internet in which, presumably, Maxim Bakiev and his uncle, ex-head of the State Security Service Janyshbek Bakiev, are discussing the possibility of regaining power in the republic with the help of “500 thugs.”

Until the pogrom breaks out...

Our correspondent in civil war-torn Osh is trying to understand who started the “Kyrgyz-Uzbek war.”

On Tuesday morning, a new column of armored vehicles entered Osh. First, four infantry fighting vehicles and three trucks with soldiers passed along one street, then five more infantry fighting vehicles and a Kamaz with military personnel passed along a parallel street. The group in Osh has strengthened, but for the city this is a mere trifle. Which, by the way, is recognized by the military themselves.

“We are not able to blockade the entire city,” a colonel from the southern group of troops admitted to a KP correspondent under machine gun staccato in the next block. “We don’t have that many troops.” Therefore, we work by suppressing local outbreaks.

There is no doubt that the troops are not only stopping looting, but also suppressing real armed resistance. On Monday, mutual exchanges of fire took place in different parts of the city, mainly in the outskirts, and late in the evening, somewhere behind the Osh airport, tracer fire was fired, apparently from an infantry fighting vehicle. In the morning it became known that this was repelling attempts to cross the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border from Uzbekistan. It is unknown who wanted to penetrate Kyrgyzstan, but it was unlikely that it was civilians.

Some Uzbeks have barricaded themselves in the market and are not allowing civilians or military personnel in. Soldiers patrol part of the market without entering “Uzbek territory.” They know that the Uzbeks will shoot without warning and to kill. Local residents in Osh share their last supplies with the soldiers and prepare food for them. For some reason the state forgot to feed the army.

In Osh hospitals, everyone, both Uzbeks and Kyrgyz, are lying together. Doctors are exhausted. Humanitarian aid comes not only from Bishkek, but also from Russia, through the Red Crescent organization and other international organizations, as well as from individuals.

“We really need medicines, antibiotics, dressings, syringes, gloves, but especially drugs for anesthesia,” said the director of the Osh Interregional Clinical Hospital, doctor Shairbek Sulaimanov.

Features of Eastern mentality

The paradox in the situation in the south of Kyrgyzstan is that interethnic clashes occur in the absence of real interethnic problems. Uzbeks and Kyrgyz belong to different cultures (some are descendants of nomads, others have been settled farmers since ancient times), but do not have any mutual claims. The more incomprehensible is what is happening now.

Back on May 19, when protesters besieged Kadyrzhan Batyrov University, now called Friendship of Peoples by bitter irony, I asked one young Kyrgyz: “What’s going on?”

“The Great Kyrgyz Patriotic War has begun,” he answered me with some pride.

And, sad as it is to admit, a very significant part of young people in the south of the republic really perceive this as a war. The walls of burnt houses in both Osh and Jalal-Abad are full of inscriptions declaring war. This is the peculiarity of the mentality of the local population that having taken one position, they will defend it to the end, and they do not need any consensus. They flare up like gunpowder, and therefore for any big conflict only a relatively small push is enough. At least there is a big fight, then attacks, revenge, pogroms begin. For example, in one of the villages several years ago, Russians and Kyrgyz together smashed Kurds after one Kurd raped a little Russian girl.

There is another regional aspect. In southern cities, as their residents admit, the most difficult times come in the fall, when graduates of rural schools who have entered secondary schools and universities arrive. And then a series of youth fights take place across the cities. People from the mountains are not only incapable of compromise, they don’t know what it is. They are ready to get into a fight with anyone for any reason and even take out a knife. But young townspeople are also always ready to respond with a blow to the nose or jaw. After some time, usually by summer, the situation stabilizes, because the mountaineers learn the norms of community life. And it is no coincidence that everything here begins with youth, and that revolution is preferred here to evolution.

“The Uzbeks have gone crazy,” almost every second young Kyrgyz in southern cities and more or less large settlements will now try to prove to you. But how this is expressed will not be answered. And for such people, such a trifle is no longer important. Although it should be recognized that during Bakiyev’s reign, the balance between peoples created by the first president of the republic, Askar Akaev, was disrupted. In law enforcement agencies, for example, it is very difficult to find an Uzbek.

What was it…

The massacre began with an ordinary political provocation and it was calculated correctly - the ground was ready a long time ago.

Neither the Uzbeks nor the Kyrgyz like the Provisional Government (VP) in the country. Not because it is bad or worse than Bakiyev. It’s just that the VP ministers are people from the same elite that were in power not only under Bakiyev, but also under Akayev. And the population does not see any real concern for the people on their part.

“First they brought the country to the brink, and then they became “saviors,” the Kyrgyz and Uzbeks sneer. And so it turned out that members of the VP actively participated in the overthrow of those with whom they worked together, until they were removed from leadership positions.

In addition, the government's activities have a clear bias towards politics. The government issues some decrees, but for ordinary, and also not the most literate, people, political abstractions are incomprehensible. But they see that almost all the bosses are old, and they began to take much more bribes than under Bakiyev. In times of anarchy this is very convenient.

The organizers of the riots clearly proceeded from the fact that no one would fight for Bakiyev today. And in order to return him to the “throne”, the only possible scenario was chosen - inciting an interethnic conflict. Having made sure that everything worked as they wanted, the organizers left the cities in the midst of the conflict. This means that such a scenario can be duplicated in any other point in the south of Kyrgyzstan. Fortunately, there are many places where peoples live together.

The only thing that can somehow save the situation is the immediate identification and detention of the real organizers of the riots and the most public, open and evidence-based trial of them. So that they tell all the people who the customer is. Otherwise, a familiar story may repeat itself in Kyrgyzstan - first decrees and the Provisional Government. And then the Bolsheviks.

Tags: Incidents, World, Kyrgyzstan

Ferghana conflict

The first of them began with riots in the small Fergana town of Kuvasay, where in May 1989 there were fights between, on the one hand, Turkish and, on the other hand, Uzbek and Tajik youth. The fights escalated into large-scale clashes. The riots spread to the cities of Tashlak, Margilan, Fergana, Kokand and the village of Komsomolsky, where mass pogroms, murders and arson of Turkish houses began. Units of the Internal Troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs were able to take control of the situation only a few days after the start of the protests. During June 1989, anti-Turkish rallies and speeches took place in the Tashkent, Namangan, Syrdarya and Samarkand regions. The tense situation in Uzbekistan continued throughout 1990.

Osh conflict

The Osh conflict was based on more clearly defined socio-economic reasons. Unlike the Uzbeks, the Kyrgyz were traditionally engaged in cattle breeding and did not have farming skills and, therefore, no incentive to live in rural areas. Accordingly, the migration of Kyrgyz to the cities occurred more intensively. By the end of the 1980s. In the cities of the Kirghiz SSR, a significant mass of rural migrants accumulated, most of whom did not have their own housing, a specialty in demand in urban conditions, and often no permanent job.

During 1989, several associations of developers emerged in Kyrgyzstan, laying claim to land around Bishkek and other large cities. In Osh, such an association was the Osh-Aimagy society, whose members on May 7, 1990 demanded that the land of the suburban collective farm named after. Lenin, among whose workers Uzbeks predominated. In response, the Uzbeks put forward demands for the creation of autonomy and giving the Uzbek language the status of the state language. On June 4, crowds of Uzbeks and Kyrgyz gathered on the disputed field, and the police opened fire to disperse them. After this, mass pogroms, arson and murder of Uzbeks began in Osh. Unrest swept through the city of Uzgen and rural areas, the majority of the population of which were Kyrgyz. On June 6, 1990, units of the Soviet army were introduced into the unrest-ridden settlements and managed to take control of the situation8.

Tajik-Kyrgyz conflict

In 1989, clashes occurred between the Tajik population of the Isfara region of Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz population of the Batken region of Kyrgyzstan, which was based on a conflict over the distribution of land. Unproductive attempts to resolve the contradictions, during which demands were made for the transfer of land to Tajikistan, continued until 1991, threatening to escalate into an open conflict between the two Soviet republics. Also in 1989, a conflict occurred over the distribution of pastures between the Tajiks and the Barlas Turks of the Ganchi region of Tajikistan, to eliminate which troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs were used.

The culmination of interethnic clashes was the February 1990 events in Dushanbe, caused by rumors about the allocation of apartments to Armenian refugees. Protests began under the influence of these rumors. On February 12, 1990, they escalated into mass riots and pogroms of the Russian-speaking population, provoked by the violation of the promise made earlier by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Tajikistan (CPT) K. Makhkamov to go to the protesters and give explanations about the rumors that were circulating. By the evening of February 13, tanks and army units were brought into Dushanbe and managed to stop the unrest.

Consequences of interethnic conflicts at the turn of the 1980s - 1990s. were multifaceted. Mass unrest led to a change in the leadership of the republics. As already mentioned, the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan G.V. Kolbin was replaced in June 1989 by N.A. Nazarabaev. At the same time, R. Ishanov was relieved of his duties as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan, whose place was taken by I. Karimov. In Kyrgyzstan, the chairman of the Supreme Council A. Masaliev, who by that time had concentrated most of the power in his hands, was replaced by A. Akayev. Only the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Tajikistan, K. Makhkamov, managed to retain power, but he was also removed after his support of the State Emergency Committee in August 1991.

Of the most “conflict” republics - Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan - the emigration of Russians and other non-indigenous populations has increased significantly. In Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, where there were no major interethnic conflicts at that time, there was no increase in emigration of non-indigenous ethnic groups. With the emigration of Russians, which increased significantly with the collapse of the USSR, interethnic contradictions increasingly shifted to the area of ​​confrontation between indigenous ethnic groups, which made them much more dangerous due to the lack of clear ethnic boundaries in the region, the cross-border nature of the settlement of many peoples and the ease with which such conflicts may develop into interstate ones.

conclusions

1. Currently, interethnic relations in the states of Central Asia, which are fundamental to the problem of stability and security, are characterized by uncertainty and lack of stability. There are serious contradictions between almost all the main ethnic groups inhabiting this region, which can, to some extent, put them in a position of confrontation.

2. A feature of interethnic contradictions in the Central Asian region is their close relationship with interstate ones. This implies the likelihood of a potential escalation of interethnic conflicts into interstate conflicts.

4. The most acute and long-standing are the Uzbek-Tajik contradictions.

5. The most complex element of interethnic contradictions in Central Asia is the territorial issue.

6. Recently, the problem of ensuring border security by states in the region has come to the fore, greatly complicating the relationships between different ethnic groups.

7. Resolving interethnic contradictions requires the close attention of the leadership of all Central Asian states, their goodwill, consideration of each other’s interests, and readiness for mutual compromises and concessions.

Sides:

Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Russia

Roots of the conflict:

Central Asia is divided into two parts: 1) Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, belonging to the so-called Eurasian community; 2) Central Asia proper, which belongs to the Muslim East.
Kyrgyzstan is a country located at the junction of the borders of the Eurasian and Islamic worlds and China.

Unrest in the south of Kyrgyzstan in 2010 - interethnic clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks that broke out on June 10-13, 2010 in the city of Osh.

Long-standing contradictions between the Uzbeks and the Kyrgyz have worsened as a result of the formation of a political vacuum caused by the coup d'etat.

The roots of the conflicts lie in pre-Islamic times - in the 1st millennium BC, when the Saka tribes living in the territory of present-day Kyrgyzstan opposed the settled Iranian population of Central Asia; then came the confrontation between the World of Islam and the Eurasian nomadic Turks.

The Uzbek-Kyrgyz conflict began with the Osh events in June 1990 after the decision of local authorities to allocate plots of land for individual development to the Kyrgyz who moved from villages to cities with a predominantly Uzbek population (Osh, Jalal-Abad, Uzgen). The Fergana Valley is overpopulated even by Central Asian standards. But it would be wrong to explain everything only by economic and demographic factors.

Chronology of events:

In 1990, Osh was already the scene of interethnic violence.

Batken events:

The Batken events are armed conflicts between the Islamic militants of Uzbekistan (IMU) and the armed forces of the Kyrgyz Republic in 1999. They were caused by attempts by IMU militants to enter the territory of Uzbekistan from Tajikistan through the territory of Kyrgyzstan.

The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is an Islamist organization created in 1996 by former members of a number of political parties and movements banned in Uzbekistan, including Adolat Uyushmasi (Justice Society), Islamic Renaissance Party, Islamic Party of Turkestan, Islam Lashkorlari "("Warriors of Islam"), etc. The IMU is considered a terrorist organization by many countries of the world, including Russia and the USA.

In August 1999, IMU troops (numbering almost 1,000 people) invaded the southern regions of Kyrgyzstan from the territory of Northern Tajikistan. In October of the same year, movement units left the territory of this republic.

In 2001, the American Manas airbase was located in Kyrgyzstan. The formation of the Akayev clan against the background of progressive poverty of the population brought the country to the brink of crisis. Then the Tulip Revolution occurred on March 24, 2005, ending the 15-year reign of Askar Akayev (1990-2005). The new president was the representative of the “poor south” Kurmanbek Bakiyev (2005-2010), who failed to stabilize the situation in the country.

Bakiyev was overthrown during another revolution on April 7, 2010. Power passed to a provisional government headed by the leader of the last revolution, Roza Otunbayeva. Clashes between supporters of the new and old authorities provoked an interethnic conflict between the Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in the south of the country, during which over 200 people died and hundreds of thousands of Uzbeks fled the country.

On June 27, 2010, a referendum was held in Kyrgyzstan, which confirmed the powers of Roza Otunbayeva as head of state for the transition period until 2011, and a new constitution was adopted, approving a parliamentary form of government in the country.

Interethnic conflict between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks (2010):

On April 4, 2010, a brawl broke out in Jalal-Abad between Kyrgyz supporters of Bakiyev and supporters of the leader of the Uzbek community, Kadyrzhan Batyrov. On the night of April 30 to May 1, 2010, a mass brawl occurred between Kyrgyz and Uzbek groups.

On May 13, Bakiyev’s supporters, according to a number of sources, seized the regional administration buildings in Osh, Jalal-Abad and Batken, appointed their own governors and declared their intention to overthrow the interim government, sending 25 thousand people to Bishkek.. The interim government accused Black Aibek of organizing resistance to the new government . On May 14, there were serious clashes in southern Kyrgyzstan, especially in Jalal-Abad, where Uzbeks Kadyrzhan Batyrov returned the administration building to the control of the provisional government. AKIpress estimates the number of victims of clashes in Jalalabad at 30 people.

On May 19, a rally was held in Jalal-Abad against the leader of the Uzbek diaspora, Kadyrzhan Batyrov, who was demanded to be held accountable for inciting ethnic hatred. The protesters accused his militants of burning houses belonging to the Bakiyev family, as well as using weapons on May 14. The former head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the republic, Kamchibek Tashiev, even set an ultimatum until June 7, after which he threatened to begin forming popular squads of no confidence in the Provisional Government. Batyrov disappeared, and on June 7 his rival Black Aibek was killed.
On May 26, in the Uzbek enclave of Sokh, a group of Uzbeks beat up Kyrgyz people. Tensions have arisen over a disputed pasture.

June 10 In the evening, in the gaming hall “24 hours” there is a quarrel between guys of Kyrgyz and Uzbek nationality. The fight breaks up.

Additional military forces of infantry fighting vehicles are being introduced into the city, and six military helicopters are patrolling the air. The hottest spots in the city are the village of Furkat and the Cheryomushki district (makhalla). Meanwhile, the first cases of looting were recorded in the city. The looters were all unemployed Kyrgyz who were brought to Osh from all possible places, promising to pay for participating in ethnic cleansing against the Uzbek population.

On June 11, riots began in the southern regional center of Osh. The next day they spread to the neighboring Jalal-Abad region. A state of emergency was declared in the conflict zone and a curfew was introduced. In the city of Osh, about 70% of city buildings were burned, and in Jalal-Abad, 20% of infrastructure facilities were damaged. According to the latest data, about 260 people became victims of the confrontation. The leadership of Kyrgyzstan previously stated that the bloodshed occurred due to the planned actions of certain political forces.

On June 12, ethnic cleansing against the Uzbek population spread to the Jalal-Abad region, in the city of Jalal-Abad the Kyrgyz-Uzbek University named after. K. Batyrova. The chairman of the interim government, Roza Otunbayeva, requested Russian assistance. The border with Uzbekistan is open for refugees. Partial mobilization began in Kyrgyzstan, and a state of emergency and curfew were introduced throughout the Jalal-Abad region. According to witnesses and doctors, cases of rape of young Uzbek girls and pregnant women were noted in the south of Kyrgyzstan.

June 13 The situation in Osh remains difficult, but officials say the wave of violence has subsided. The head of the Pakistani Foreign Ministry announced the death of one Pakistani student in Osh and the taking of 15 more hostages. More than 450 thousand people fled from Kyrgyzstan to neighboring Uzbekistan.

On June 14, reports appeared about the arrest of provocateurs, snipers and cars (Volkswagen Golf III and Daewoo) with weapons. Kyrgyz bandits and looters in uniform begin sweeping barricaded mahallas in search of the remaining Uzbeks.

Victims of the conflict:

According to official data, a total of 442 people were killed and more than 1,500 were injured during the conflict. According to unofficial data, about 800 people died in the first days of the unrest. On the evening of June 14, independent media reported a figure of more than 2,000 dead. The discrepancy in official and unofficial figures is explained by the fact that the authorities carefully hide the truth and the real scale of the killings as part of the ethnic cleansing of Uzbeks.

Russia's position in this conflict:

On June 11, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, speaking to reporters at a meeting of SCO heads of state in Tashkent, said that the criterion for the deployment of CSTO forces is the violation by one state of the borders of another state that is part of this organization. In connection with the unrest in Kyrgyzstan, he said: “We are not talking about this yet, because all the problems of Kyrgyzstan are rooted internally. They are rooted in the weakness of the previous government, in their reluctance to deal with the needs of the people. I hope that all the problems that exist today will be resolved by the authorities of Kyrgyzstan. The Russian Federation will help."

The head of the Provisional Government of Kyrgyzstan, Roza Otunbaeva, said on June 12: “We need the introduction of military forces from other countries. We turned to Russia for help. I have already signed such a letter addressed to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.”

On June 13, a reinforced battalion of the 31st Airborne Assault Brigade was delivered to the Russian Kant airbase in Kyrgyzstan to ensure the safety of Russian military personnel and members of their families.
On June 14, in Moscow, on behalf of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, emergency consultations were held between the secretaries of the CSTO Collective Security Council on the situation in Kyrgyzstan, at which the possibility of sending peacekeeping forces to Kyrgyzstan was discussed. Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Committee of Secretaries of the Security Councils of the CSTO countries Nikolai Patrushev said that the participants “did not rule out the use of any means that the CSTO has in its potential and the use of which is possible depending on the development of the situation in Kyrgyzstan.” Russian planes with humanitarian aid were sent to Osh.

In June 2010, in connection with the situation in Kyrgyzstan associated with the confrontation between the Kyrgyz and Uzbek diasporas, which actually led Kyrgyzstan to a state of civil war, the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils was urgently convened. The KSSF was convened to resolve the issue of military assistance to Kyrgyzstan, which consisted in the introduction of CRRF units into the country. The president of the transition period of Kyrgyzstan, Roza Otunbaeva, also addressed the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev with this request. It should be noted that the President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiev previously made a similar call.

Then, after the CSTO refused to assist in resolving the situation in a CSTO member state, the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko sharply criticized this organization. Meanwhile, the CSTO helped Kyrgyzstan: organized the search for the organizers of the riots and coordinated cooperation to suppress the activities of terrorist groups that actually influenced the situation from Afghanistan, the fight against the drug mafia operating in the south of Kyrgyzstan, control of all information sources working in the south of the country. Some experts believe that the CSTO did the right thing in not sending CRRF forces to Kyrgyzstan, as this would have further aggravated the interethnic situation in the country.

Blog workshop of the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Faculty of Philosophy, TNU named after. V. I. Vernadsky

ON THE ASHES

With an empty gaze, Alisher examines the piles of what was his home. Climbing over a jungle of broken walls and shattered dishes, he heads towards the smoldering skeleton of a burnt house, where, as he recalls, a “good family” lived.

Then Alisher points to a dark red spot on the road and says that a man was wounded there: he was bleeding and a mixture of fear and despair appeared in his absent gaze. Alisher chose not to give his last name, worried about the safety of his family. He is Uzbek by nationality. He is about 25 years old. He has short black hair and sad brown eyes.

He had nothing left but the clothes packed on his back: a pair of blue sweatpants, a cream sports shirt, all smeared with dirt and ash. He says his home in Osh and everything he owned was consumed by fire during deadly clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks from June 10 to 14.

“Many people died for nothing,” says Alisher. - Women, children and elderly people. Those who escaped did so only by running from one building to another." Hundreds - and perhaps thousands - were killed and hundreds of thousands escaped.

Many people died for nothing. Women, children and elderly people. Those who escaped were able to do so only by running from one building to another.

During clashes in Southern Kyrgyzstan.

OLD GRIEVANCES

There have long been hidden ethnic tensions between the Kyrgyz and the Uzbek minority in Kyrgyzstan. Uzbeks make up 15 percent of the country's population, but in the southern regions the density of Uzbek settlements reaches one third.

Mixed marriages are very rare. It is not common to have a joint partnership in business. Uzbeks, who live primarily in cities in the south, are not adequately represented in government. Uzbeks complain of being treated as second-class citizens. Kyrgyz mostly live in rural areas and complain that Uzbeks dominate the commercial sector.

In 1990, when Kyrgyzstan was still part of the USSR, disputes over land rights in Osh led to ethnic clashes. This forced the central government in Moscow to send thousands of military personnel to quell the unrest.
Southern Kyrgyzstan is known as a haven for drug traffickers and has long been a difficult region for authorities in Bishkek to control.

IT STARTED WITH A FIGHT IN A CASINO

It all started with a fight in a casino and spilled out onto the streets of Osh, the country's second largest city. Collisions are very fast

They developed into an armed conflict that spread to the neighboring regional center of Jalalabad and other southern regions. This led to a mass exodus of ethnic Uzbeks, with the Kyrgyz government unable or unwilling to regain control.

Long-standing tensions between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks simmered for months in southern Kyrgyzstan before erupting into violence. However, conversations with a number of witnesses in Osh and with officials in Bishkek suggest there was more to the clashes than ethnic infighting.

After the overthrow of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in the April popular uprising, various groups began an ongoing struggle, escalating the situation in the country. These groups were found to be keeping things hot by exploiting ethnic tensions and trying to gain political advantage from them.

The interim government led by Roza Otunbayeva accused forces loyal to Kurmanbek Bakiyev of inciting violence to discredit the new leadership. But many analysts, human rights activists and other observers present a more complex picture.

While not denying the possible role of Kurmanbek Bakiyev and others in fomenting the violence, these observers say police and military were involved in attacks on Uzbeks. Ethnic affinity outweighed loyalty to the state, and authorities in Bishkek lost control of at least part of their armed forces.

Moreover, the Provisional Government's reluctance to acknowledge its loss of control over the situation in the south and to take responsibility for the actions of rogue elements in the armed forces damaged the government's credibility and hampered its ability to deal with the ongoing crisis.

What has happened now is massive. And although the situation looks orchestrated, it is absolutely chaotic, anarchic, with quite a huge number of armed people committing atrocities.

John McLeod, an analyst at the Institute of War and Peace Studies in London, explains the situation this way:

“I think partly because of the scale of the clashes, it became difficult to confine what was happening to a relatively small number of people. After the April revolution, or conspiracy, there were sporadic protests, but they were minor in scale. And indeed, some of the events that took place - protests and so on - were obviously orchestrated by the Bakiyev family. But they were relatively limited in nature. What has happened now is massive. And although the situation looks orchestrated, it is absolutely chaotic, anarchic, with quite a huge number of armed people committing atrocities.”

THE FLAME OF CONFLICT BURNED UP QUICKLY

The wave of clashes in Osh began in the pre-dawn hours of June 10, when two groups of young people - one Kyrgyz and the other Uzbek - were gambling in a local casino. They began accusing each other of fraud, and a fight broke out. The clash moved outside as reinforcements from both sides, called by mobile phones, joined the fray.

Rumors immediately spread throughout the area (they were later debunked by a report by the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch) that a mob of Uzbeks had raped at least twelve Kyrgyz girls and killed three in a nearby hostel.
The false reports angered Kyrgyz people, who took to the streets in droves calling for revenge.

The Uzbeks hid in their homes. However, early on the morning of June 11, heavily armed men wearing black ski masks burst into Uzbek areas. They were followed by rampaging crowds of ethnic Kyrgyz who massacred the residents, setting fire to their homes.
Alisher and his neighbors say residents of his Mazharintal neighborhood, mostly Uzbeks, blocked the road with a KamAZ truck in an unsuccessful attempt to hold back the attacking crowds.

“Early in the morning, around 5:20 a.m.,” they say, “people came out and began to gather together. Then an armored car appeared, and people began to fear for their lives. At high speed, the car broke through a barricade erected at the edge of the area. The people in the armored vehicle were carrying automatic weapons, and a huge crowd was following them. They were covered by snipers.”

Similar scenes played out in other Uzbek settlements. Armored vehicles filled with what residents described as Kyrgyz soldiers broke through makeshift barricades, allowing crowds, supported by sniper fire, to break into homes and commit violent looting.

SNIPERS ON THE ROOF

In a June 25 statement, the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch wrote: “Many Uzbeks told us that they were confident that Kyrgyz security forces were either involved in the attacks or were deliberately ignoring such attacks.” Kyrgyz officials deny military involvement in the robbery and say criminal groups stole military uniforms, vehicles and ammunition before staging the attacks.

The authorities, however, did not defend their statements with any evidence. At the same time, it looks like there was no

An Uzbek soldier carries in his arms a child of refugees from Osh on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border. June 14, 2010.

Efforts have been made to investigate illegal activities of violators in the armed forces and security services.

Osh Police Department spokesman Azamir Sydykov said his service was not prepared to deal with the violence that occurred. Police had no warning that something like this would happen, he said, adding that the department does not have enough officers to deal with a conflict of this magnitude.

Witnesses said that the snipers fired with deadly accuracy, hitting the victim in the head or heart. And it looked like the people in the attacking crowd understood how far their zone of protection extended and to what extent they were covered by sniper fire in order to attack freely and with impunity.

For example, snipers in Mazharintal were stationed on the roof of a five-story building with a dominant view of the Uzbek surroundings. However, attacks in the area only extended to those places where snipers had direct access for fire support. The areas visible from the five-story building remained virtually untouched, and this was evidence that the angry attacking crowds knew exactly to what point they were covered by snipers.

Alisher said that those who were in areas under sniper fire had no chance. “If you go a little further along this road,” says Alisher, “there is a place where people were picked off by snipers. They lay down at a furniture factory near Suleiman Hill. The Kyrgyz could count on fire support if the Uzbeks put up a strong resistance. But the Uzbeks were unable to do this, since they were simply destroyed. Snipers killed them. We didn't even have a chance to resist."

A Kyrgyz security official reported the arrest of twenty snipers, seven of whom said they were foreigners. Authorities, however, did not provide any additional information about the alleged identity of the snipers.

In another Uzbek quarter, in Cheryomushki, clashes also began early in the morning of June 11. But unlike Mazharintala, located on a hill with its labyrinth of narrow streets, Cheryomushki is located on a plain with wide roads.

This played into the hands of the Kyrgyz attackers as they moved from house to house and killed residents. By nightfall, every Uzbek house in the entire area was burned to the ground. Only one house remained undamaged, in which a Ukrainian woman lives with her Tajik husband.

A resident of the central district of Osh, Uzbek Gulbahor Zhuraeva, reported that the violence began on the night of June 10. "This is all

A group of young people walked along the road, chanting. There were from two to three hundred of them. This happened on the night of June 10. They started setting fire to the cars, and everything was consumed by flames. They set fire to a store near our house. The store is open twenty-four hours and they started destroying it, killing the Uzbek guys who were inside. There is a restaurant nearby, but they haven't touched it.

It started in Osh at midnight,” she says. - I was with my father. A group of young people walked along the road, chanting. There were from two to three hundred of them. This happened on the night of June 10. They started setting fire to the cars, and everything was consumed by flames. They set fire to a store near our house. The store is open twenty-four hours and they started destroying it, killing the Uzbek guys who were inside. There is a restaurant nearby, but they haven’t touched it.”

MISCELLANEOUS WEAPONS

In Nariman, near Osh airport, Uzbek residents launched a counterattack on a nearby Kyrgyz settlement. Kyrgyz witnesses and soldiers at a nearby checkpoint reported that snipers in Nariman were firing along the main street leading into the city. They also shot in the direction of the Kyrgyz village of Mangyt.

There were unconfirmed reports of one Kyrgyz kidnapping. Residents of neighboring Kyrgyz villages spoke of bodies (and in one case, the head of a murdered Kyrgyz man) being washed into an irrigation canal from Nariman. Such cases, however, are much fewer than those that occurred in Uzbek settlements and neighborhoods.

As a result of the violence, ethnic Kyrgyz found themselves in huge numbers on the streets of Osh, while ethnic Uzbeks crowded into their homes and behind barricades.

One soldier in the center of Osh pointed to a burned-out cafe. “Do you see this place? Kyrgyz people worked there. Kyrgyz girls washed dishes

And they served at the tables,” he said, trying to prove that the Kyrgyz were victims of the clashes. When asked who owned the establishment, he replied: “One Uzbek.”

According to observers, while the Kyrgyz had automatic weapons and armored vehicles at their disposal, the Uzbeks fought back mainly with hunting rifles.

MARAUDING

At a hospital in Osh, chief doctor Turek Kashgarov said he had treated approximately the same number of Kyrgyz and Uzbeks since the clashes began.

When Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporters visited the hospital, twenty of the twenty-two patients being treated were Kyrgyz. But, according to Turek Kashgarov, most of them were wounded by shotguns or grapeshot.

After the wave of violence subsided, looting continued in Osh for a week, mainly targeting shops and cafes owned by Uzbeks. Police and security forces took little action to stop the violators. Until June 19, people could be seen scouring the rubble in search of something worthwhile.

In Osh, houses and businesses with “Kyrgyz” spray painted on them were left untouched throughout the city. Meanwhile, other houses were burned to the ground.

ROLE OF KURMANBEK BAKIEV

The interim government, led by Roza Otunbayeva, blames forces loyal to Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who was ousted in April and remains in exile in Belarus.

Speaking at a press conference on June 11, Roza Otunbaeva mysteriously referred to a “third force” that seeks to undermine the constitutional referendum on the establishment of parliamentary democracy held on June 27.

“Those who want to disrupt the referendum,” she said, “who are against the course of the government, against everything that began on April 7, - these people are doing everything possible to maintain tension so that the relationship between the old government and the new forces develops into ethnic conflict".

Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who played up Kyrgyz nationalism, had his main base of political support in the south, although he was heavily reviled by ethnic Uzbeks.

In turn, the Uzbeks hoped that the new Provisional Government would put an end to discriminatory practices against them. The government's story was bolstered to some extent by an intercepted phone call in May posted online in which the ousted president's son, Maxim Bakiyev, said he planned to overthrow the government, sparking unrest in the south. According to press reports, he is now seeking political asylum in the UK.

Officials in the Provisional Government say Bakiyev hired mercenaries from Tajikistan and Afghanistan to carry out the plan. Kurmanbek Bakiyev, for his part, denies any role in the violence. Roza Otunbaeva argues that drug traffickers in Osh have also contributed to the surge in violence. In addition, the government stated that militants from the Islamic

Movements from Uzbekistan infiltrated into Uzbek settlements in Kyrgyzstan and provoked violence.

Major Muslim leaders come forward with their plan to call for restraint. A week after the clashes had subsided, a message from the imam was broadcast over loudspeakers during Friday prayers on June 18 at the Imam al-Bukhari mosque in Osh. “Kyrgyz and Uzbeks are Muslims, and Muslims are brothers,” the imam said in Uzbek. - Do not give in to provocations. If you follow them, you will be doing Satan’s work.”

By blaming Kurmanbek Bakiyev, his supporters, Islamic militants and drug traffickers, the Provisional Government refused to acknowledge that it may have inadvertently contributed to the tension.

ROLE OF KADYRZHON BATYROV

Some observers trace the latest clashes to the events of May 13, when supporters of Kurmanbek Bakiyev seized control of local government in Jalalabad.

The director of the Kylym Shamy human rights group in Bishkek, Aziza Abdurasulova, reports that the Kyrgyz authorities called on the Uzbek businessman and university rector Kadyrzhon Batyrov with armed volunteers to occupy the administrative building.

“The provisional government,” says the human rights activist, “involved some Uzbeks in its political struggle, and this was not a good idea. They brought in the Uzbeks when they seized control of the administrative building in Jalalabad. This was accomplished

The provisional government involved some Uzbeks in its political struggle, and this was not a good idea. They brought in the Uzbeks when they seized control of the administrative building in Jalalabad. This was carried out by a group led by Kadyrzhon Batyrov.

A group led by Kadyrzhon Batyrov. On May 14, his men were given weapons and they regained control of the administration building.”

After seizing the administrative building, Kadyrjon Batyrov’s group burned the Bakiyev family house. The next day, thousands of Kyrgyz demanded Batyrov's arrest. However, he remained at large.

The estrangement between the Kyrgyz and Kadyrzhon Batyrov deepened after he publicly spoke out for autonomy for Uzbeks in southern Kyrgyzstan and called for the new draft constitution to include specific provisions for Uzbeks, such as official status for their language. The government later issued an arrest warrant for Batyrov, but he fled the country.

AFTER COLLISIONS

During the crisis in the southern region, the representative of the center was the mayor of Osh, Melis Mirzakmatov, a rather controversial personality, whom the Uzbeks regarded with suspicion. A close supporter of Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Melis Mirzakmatov managed to stay in power after the overthrow of his boss, using unusual methods.

A day after Bakiyev’s fall, 250 athletic guys gathered in the square in front of the city hall and demanded that Melis Mirzakmatov remain as mayor. To avoid further riots, the Provisional Government in Bishkek gave in to the protesters.

Speaking at a press conference on May 19, Melis Mirzakmatov tried to present himself as a friend of the Uzbek community. However, at the same press conference, when Kyrgyz families showed photographs of their relatives who disappeared during the clashes, Mirzakmatov announced security operations to search for the missing, whom the Kyrgyz say were hostages taken by the Uzbeks.

In addition, according to Melis Mirzakmatov, authorities suspect that Islamic terrorists were hiding in Uzbek settlements. He added that all the barricades protecting these neighborhoods must be cleared by the next day, otherwise the security forces “will resort to force.” The provisional government was unable or unwilling to control Mirzakmatov.

At least two Uzbeks were killed when security forces moved into Uzbek neighborhoods in Nariman.
Operations were also carried out in Otkhon, an area that avoided clashes and in which those who tried to escape the wave of violence that swept through neighboring Cheryomushki found refuge.

Security forces reported that heroin was found in humanitarian supplies in Otkhon. An Uzbek businessman who helped refugees was also detained there. Residents said security forces also confiscated food, money and jewelry.

However, there were no reports of the arrest of suspected terrorists or the release of hostages.
The new Constitution in Kyrgyzstan came into force on July 2. It allegedly strengthens the legitimacy and power of the Provisional Government.

But in the absence of an independent investigation into the recent clashes and a report from those responsible, observers say the new government's position will remain shaky and the situation in the south fragile.