Tag Archives: Tajikistan

Prices to do the Hajj from Tajikistan soar

DUSHANBE, JUNE 3 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Pious Tajiks complain that doing the Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, has become prohibitively difficult because of a sharp rise in inflation, a reduction in the amount of remittances flowing into the country from Russia and an increase in surveillance by the security forces.

A Bulletin correspondent spoke to several people in Tajikistan who have cancelled plans to make the pilgrimage.

Abbos, a taxi driver, sucked in a deep breath. He squinted and exhaled with a sigh. In his late 40s, Abbos has been planning to do the Hajj this year but has had to cancel his plans.

“It is my dream to do the Hajj, but I do not have enough money this year,” he said as he left a central Dushanbe mosque. “The Hajj price tag has gone up while I have been earning less this year.”

According to Tajikistan’s Committee on Religious Affairs, the price of going to Mecca — including flights, accommodation and living expenses — is now around 28,649 somoni (roughly $3,500). This is nearly 20% more expensive than last year.

Like the rest of the region, Tajikistan has been dealing with an economic fallout linked to a recession in Russia. All important remittance flows have dropped by around 45% while the value of the somoni currency has fallen and inflation has risen. And there is also the surveillance. The Tajik government has grown increasingly wary of pious Tajiks. Last year it banned the opposition Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, imposed various restrictions on people who frequent mosques and set a minimum age requirement of 40 for men who want to go on the Hajj.

So, for some, the route to Mecca lies elsewhere. Isroil, a 35-year-old man has a game plan. “I want to go from Russia as it is cheaper and has no age limits,” he said. “I’m not able to wait five more years because it is becoming more expensive in Tajikistan.”

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(News report from Issue No. 283, published on June 3 2016)

Tajikistan completes construction of power line

MAY 31 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajikistan completed the construction of a power line that will link two Afghan villages to the Tajik grid, bringing electricity to around 3,000 Afghans for the first time. The US Embassy in Dushanbe and the Aga Khan Foundation jointly funded the $1.5m project. The power line will bring electricity from Tajikistan’s Gorno– Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast across the Panj river which marks the boundary with Afghanistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 283, published on June 3 2016)

Tajikistan silences opposition

DUSHANBE, JUNE 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Tajik authorities finally snuffed out the country’s only genuine opposition party, the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), after a court sentenced its top leaders to life in prison for plotting a coup last year.

It’s been a long-winded and very public end for the IRPT which had once laid claim to be an alternative to President Emomali Rakhmon and the Tajik elite.

Eight months after they were arrested, the Tajik Supreme Court imprisoned Saidumar Khusayni and Makhmadali Khait, two deputy leaders of the IRPT, for life for plotting a coup. Another dozen senior IRPT officials received sentences of between 14 and 28 years, including Khikmatullo Sayfullozoda, the editor of the now banned IRPT newspaper.

Zarafo Rakhmoni, the IRPT lawyer, was the only woman sent to prison. She received a two year jail sentence.

A Dushanbe-based analyst, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Conway Bulletin correspondent in Dushanbe that the verdicts were deliberately harsh and designed to send a strong message to other potential dissenters.

“Even those who are ideologically against the IRPT, were not happy with the verdict, because the verdict was fully politically motivated and lacked transparency,” he said.

“The authorities did not care if society or the international community think the verdict is harsh, inhuman, and falsified. It was a very open move to punish the main opposition figures, as well as to show who is the boss in the county.”

The IRPT’s leader, Mukhiddin Kabiri, fled into exile earlier last year. Several pro-government demonstrations were staged this year outside European embassies to try to pressure them to extradite Mr Kabiri.

And Mr Kabiri had a warning for the Tajik authorities. In an interview with Reuters before the verdict was announced he said the charges were trumped up and that banning the party would create more problems.

“What is happening in the country will play into the hands of radicals and more and more youths, having lost all trust in the government, will join the ranks of extremist groups,” he said.

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(News report from Issue No. 283, published on June 3 2016)

Iran plans jet fuel sales to Armenia and Tajikistan

MAY 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — This year, Iran will increase exports of jet fuel to Armenia and Tajikistan, Iranian officials said. Last year, Iran exported jet fuel to Armenia. Although detailed numbers are not public, volumes amounted to a few thousand tonnes. In 2016, Iran added Tajikistan to the list of buyers, a sign of closer commercial relations with Dushanbe. Central Asia has been quick to try to pull Iran into its economic circle since sanctions were eased in February.

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(News report from Issue No. 283, published on June 3 2016)

Rakhmon tightens grip over Tajikistan

DUSHANBE, MAY 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon can now rule over Tajikistan for his entire life after people voted in a referendum to scrap limits on presidential terms.

The referendum also lowered the age that a person can run for president to 30 from 35, potentially allowing Mr Rakhmon’s son to run for office in 2020 if he was needed, and also banned political parties linked to a religion. The main opposition party in Tajikistan had been the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan until it was outlawed last year and its leaders chased into exile or arrested.

At its core, the referendum gives Mr Rakhmon almost total control over Tajikistan.

Officially, the Central Elections Committee said that turnout was 92% and that 96.6% of people had voted for the changes.

But while, at least openly, few people in Tajikistan are prepared to express any dissatisfaction with Mr Rakhmon, some were critical of the referendum.

Malika, a 52-year-old teacher, said people had voted for the changes because they think that Mr Rakhmon is a guarantor of peace and stability.

“It’s simple and depressing. People do not want war and accept whatever the government does. We all saw how our people died,” she said referring to a civil war in the mid-1990s. “We just want stability and do not care who runs the country and for how long.”

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(News report from Issue No. 282, published on May 27 2016)

Tajikistan bans flag import

MAY 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajikstandard, a government agency, proposed a ban on imports of Tajik flags made in Turkey or China. Abdukakhor Mavlonzoda, the head of Tajikstandard, told US-funded RFE/RL that foreign-made flags carry an important mistake in the way the crown at the centre of the flag is displayed. The ban could come in handy for the government’s nation building agenda.

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(News report from Issue No. 282, published on May 27 2016)

Tajik university staff face salary problems

MAY 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Staff at the Kulob State University, in southern Tajikistan, said they are preparing a lawsuit against Tojiksodirotbonk (TSB), the country’s second largest lender, for failing to pay wages in Jan.-Feb. 2016. Tajikistan’s Central Bank placed TSB under a caretaker administration last week. Days after the teacher’s protest, TSB said it had resumed paying out salaries owed to its clients. The wages arrears is more evidence of the liquidity problem in Tajik banks.

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(News report from Issue No. 282, published on May 27 2016)

Tajikistan’s Airline receives safety certificate

MAY 25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajikistan’s airline company Somon Air received a safety certificate (Operational Safety Audit, IOSA) from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the first Tajik carrier to comply with industry standards. Contacted by The Bulletin, IATA said that Somon Air has not yet applied for membership. Kazakhstan’s Air Astana and Uzbekistan Airways are the only two Central Asian IATA members.

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(News report from Issue No. 282, published on May 27 2016)

Thousands of Tajik students march through Khujand in support of Rakhmon

DUSHANBE, MAY 13 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tens of thousands of students marched through Khujand, north Tajikistan, in support of constitutional changes that will extend the powers of President Emomali Rakhmon.

The authorities organised the demonstration, highlighting how they are increasingly using students to manipulate politics. Student rallies have previously been used to demonstrate outside embassies of countries where Tajik opposition activists have fled to.

Blocking roads, students marched through Khujand chanting: “We are with you, the Leader of Nation. Youth are for the country’s stable development.”

A Dushanbe-based analyst, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the authorities were using students to try to show how popular Mr Rakhmon is.

“Students are forced to rally. If they don’t obey, they will be kicked out of their universities and if they protest against the agitations, they are called traitors and imprisoned,” he said.

A referendum, planned for May 22, will scrap limits on presidential terms, lower the age a person can run for president to 30 from 35 and ban parties with religious affiliations.

Mr Rakhmon is hedging his bets. After the constitutional changes are approved through the referendum, and nobody doubts that this will be passed, he will be allowed to run Tajikistan for as long as he likes. And, by lowering the age a person can become president, he is also potentially allowing his son, who will be 33-years-old at the next presidential election in 2020, to take over

As for banning political parties with religious associations, the now banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan had been the main opposition group until its leaders were arrested or forced into exile last year.

Jamshed, a 22-year-old Tajik student, told the Conway Bulletin’s correspondent in Dushanbe that the authorities had forced the students to demonstrate in a faux show of support for President Rakhmon.

“I was told to prepare a speech in Russian language about the importance of referendum and speak during a state TV roundtable program,” he said. “Government officials checked my speech and then let me present it.”

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(News report from Issue No. 281, published on May 20 2016)

World Bank mulls Tajik hydropower help

MAY 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The World Bank said it would consider funding the modernisation of the Nurek hydropower plant in central Tajikistan. Located 70km east of Dushanbe, the 3,000 MW plant at Nurek produces around 70% of Tajikistan’s total electricity output. Earlier in May, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon said it needs an investment of more than 4.7bn somoni (around $600m).

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(News report from Issue No. 281, published on May 20 2016)