Kazakhstani-Uzbek border flap threatens to stoke regional tension

Yaroslav Razumov 2/26/02

A dispute has flared between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan over a small chunk of territory along the two countries' border. The area in question has little economic value, but has the potential to develop into a source of considerable regional political tension.

The dispute centers on about 299,000 acres of land around two villages – Bagys and Turkestanets, which have a combined population of roughly 2,000. The disputed territory is controlled by Uzbekistan, while the overwhelming majority of residents are ethnic Kazakhs.

For years following the 1991 Soviet collapse, Kazakh and Uzbek officials took no action to enforce competing claims to the territory. The situation changed in 2000, when Uzbek security forces took unilateral action to demarcate the frontier. Kazakh print media reported at the time that Uzbek authorities violated the rights of local Kazakh residents.

Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov resolved most bilateral border-related issues at a November summit in Astana. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. A major exception to the border agreement concerned the two villages of Bagys and Turkestanets.

On December 29, 2001, tension suddenly re-ignited when residents took an unprecedented step by proclaiming an independent "Bagys Kazakh Republic." They elected their own leaders and announced that the currencies of five states – Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and the United States – would be recognized as legal tender.

The following day Uzbek security forces moved in and detained several participants of these events. Tashkent imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew and took steps to establish a permanent military garrison.

Local political observers say the declaration of the Bagys republic did not aim to actually establish independence. Instead, they say, the declaration was designed to attract the attention of Nazarbayev's government to the plight of ethnic Kazakhs in Uzbekistan.

In the months leading up to the declaration, ethnic Kazakhs complained about cultural discrimination, including pressure from officials to adopt Uzbek citizenship and traditions. Specifically, an Uzbek attempt to introduce instruction in local schools based on Latin script aroused the ire of local Kazakhs. Kazakhstan still uses Cyrillic script, and residents of the Bagys and Turkestanets settlements wanted Cyrillic to remain in local schools.

In addition, ethnic Kazakhs said they were denied certain rights, including the right to privatize their homes, based on their national identity.

Kazakh authorities, realizing that they have few levers with which to influence Uzbekistan on the issue, have sought to avoid outright confrontation with Tashkent. But the Nazarbayev administration's inaction has taken a domestic political toll. Kazakh nationalist political groups have criticized the government, and are pressuring Astana to take action. For example, supporters of the Azat political movement are planning a protest march in support of ethnic Kazakh rights in Uzbekistan.

On January 4, a statement issued on behalf of the Bagys republic included a blistering attack of Nazarbayev's policies. "The Organizing Committee of the United Democratic Party [of Kazakhstan] unequivocally condemns the position that the Kazakh authorities have adopted in the course of the Bagys events. The authorities can neither resolve the border problems, nor protect the constitutional rights of common Kazakh people."

Border issues – not only involving Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, but all Central Asian states – are connected with the region's Soviet legacy. Communist authorities established boundaries between the various Central Asian republics with the intention of dividing ethnic groups. Such divisions, Soviet leaders felt, would enhance Moscow's ability to govern the region.

Borders were periodically adjusted during the Soviet era, connected in large part with the political maneuvering within the Communist hierarchy. In the case of Bagys and Turkestanets, the area around the villages has changed hands several times. And during the last years of the Soviet Union, the territory fell under the administration of the Central Asian Military District of the Soviet Army, leaving it effectively beyond both Kazakhstan's and Uzbekistan's control.

Editor's Note: Yaroslav Razumov is as freelance journalist based in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Posted February 26, 2002 © Eurasianet