Uzbekistan: Kyrgyz officials deny islamic militant raids originated in Kyrgyzstan

Deirdre Tynan: 5/27/09

Kyrgyz officials are adamantly disputing the Uzbek government's contention that May 26 violence in the Uzbek portion of the Ferghana Valley can trace its origins to Kyrgyzstan.

Uzbek authorities insist the attacks – including a suicide bombing in Andijan, and armed raids on at least two objectives in and near the border town of Khanabad – were carried out by Islamic militants. A group called the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) – an offshoot of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan – has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Even if IJU militants carried out the raids, they did not come from Kyrgyzstan, government officials in Bishkek insist. "It is bewildering that an untrue [statement] was officially announced [in Tashkent]," Cholponbek Turusbekov, the deputy head of the Kyrgyz Border Service, said at a May 27 news conference. He was referring to a statement issued by the Uzbek Prosecutor General's office the previous day that alleged the militants infiltrated into Uzbekistan from Kyrgyzstan. "It is misinformation," Turusbekov added.

A widespread view among politicians and political observers in southern Kyrgyzstan was that Uzbek officials were trying to shift attention away from their own shortcomings in addressing Uzbekistan's political, economic and social problems. "It is their internal problem, not ours," said Kadyrbek Jakypov, an opposition politician belonging to the Ata-Meken Party in the southern Kyrgyz city of Jalalabad.

A political analyst in Osh with detailed knowledge of events in the Uzbek portion of the Ferghana Valley, speaking on condition of anonymity, said social tension on the Uzbek side of the border had reached a volatile level. The May 26 clash in Khanabad was not an isolated incident, he claimed. "Skirmishes ... [are] not unusual in Uzbekistan, but because it [the Khanabad incident] happened on the border, it got publicity," he said.

The expert added that he wasn't surprised by the Uzbek assertion that the attackers crossed over from Kyrgyzstan. At the same time, he dismissed the notion of a Kyrgyz connection. "The Kyrgyz initially got blamed for what happened in Andijan in 2005, but then there was investigation and it was discovered the Uzbek accusations had no basis in reality. Uzbekistan is trying to do the same again," he added.

Andrei Grozin, the director of the Central Asia Department at the CIS Institute in Moscow, said Uzbek claims of Kyrgyz involvement were untenable and cautioned that Tashkent needed to grapple with the reality that its own repressive tactics were fueling Islamic militancy in the country. "I am very skeptical of the version that the terrorists came from Kyrgyzstan," Grozin said. "I doubt that terrorists would use main roads to get in and out of the country."

According to Uzbek government data, one police officer died in the Andijan suicide bombing, and several bystanders were wounded. In Khanabad, one police officer was wounded. However, an Uzbek opposition website, UzNews.net, reported the attacks left at least 16 dead.

A source in Uzbekistan told EurasiaNet that authorities were maintaining a strong public security presence in many areas in the Ferghana Valley, including Andijan. However, Uzbek authorities on May 27 did reopen border crossings with Kyrgyzstan.

Rumors were circulating in Andijan that a new militant splinter group, known locally as The Black Beards, carried out the May 26 attacks. "People are afraid to go outside," the source said, referring to Andijan residents. "Everyone ... is afraid of a repetition of 2005."

The suicide bombing in Andijan would seem to confirm that Islamic militants with foreign connections were behind the May 26 attacks. But what the perpetrators' agenda is remains a matter of speculation, Grozin said.

"I have the impression that they [the May 26 events] comprise some sort of PR campaign to show that they [Islamic militants] are challenging authority," said Grozin. "They want to show that they have been gathering strength and are staging a comeback."

"There are many 'Black Beards' and other underground Islamic terrorist groups in Uzbekistan," Grozin continued. "They are not necessarily linked to each other; some may be linked to al Qaeda and others may be on their own."

Editor's Note: Deirdre Tynan is based in Bishkek.

Link to original story on EurasiaNet website