Tajikistan: 10 years of peace and accord
Cross-regional and Blogosphere, Top StoryOne Comment
Tajikistan is celebrating the 10th anniversary of signing the “General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Reconciliation” which ended a five year fratricidal war. This war was a tremendous disaster for the whole Tajik nation which caused thousands of deaths and economic losses for billions of dollars.
While Rahmon receives congratulation-letters from around the world and in his speeches points up to the successes of Tajikistan reached after signing the agreement some other eminent people seem not to be happy about these results and think that it is far not enough to secure the established peace.
Saifullo Safarov, deputy director of the Tajik president’s Centre for Strategic Studies, says that the peace in Tajikistan is “as stable as possible” thanks to a rise in the level of national awareness. But he warns that stability could still be undermined by poverty, incompetent economic management, drug trafficking, terrorism, the illicit arms trade and human trafficking.
Dodojon Atavullo – one of the main opponents of President Rahmon says that the Peace Accord has been constantly violated. This agreement, in his opinion, ‘was successful in stopping the fighting but did nothing else.’
Mudiddin Kabiri, the leader of Islamic Revival Party is also not satisfied with the policy of the current government and says that ‘if everyone thinks peace is a fact and the country won’t go back to this [civil conflict] and so … they are mistaken.’
“From our point of view the violations of the agreement and continuing violations generally concern political matters. If future elections will again be like the 2005 parliamentary elections we will look at that as a violation of the peace accord. I think the spirit of the peace agreement should always be on everyone’s mind in Tajikistan.”
Before the anniversary President Rahmon signed a Law on amnesty to release former militants who fought against the government during the civil war. Rahmon all the time mentions this act in his recent speeches. This amnesty was dedicated to the 10th anniversary of signing the Peace accord.
However some of the former leaders of Tajik opposition, like Mahmadruzi Iskandarov, seem not to be included in the list. Previously the Democratic Party of Tajikistan was hoping their leader to fall under the declared amnesty. In addition to the former militants there will be released many other people who did not participate in warfare – old and ill people, women.
Ian at Beyond the River makes an excellent roundup related to the 10th anniversary of signing the Peace Accord. He calls it a Truce Anniversary.
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