On January 30, 2023, the next meeting of the Joint Tajik-Uzbek Demarcation Commission – the last one for the current period – ended[1]. This round of negotiations was essentially a continuation of last year’s meeting in Fergana, following which a new border protocol was concluded[2]. The place chosen for the signing of the final document by the demarcation commission in July 2022 is a landmark in the issue of border conflicts. The fact is that Fergana is the capital of the border region of Uzbekistan, which got its name from the valley in which it is located.
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- Ферганская долина. “Жемчужина Востока”
The Fergana Valley is sometimes also called the “Pearl of the East” – primarily because of the views that open up in this space between the Tien Shan and Hissar-Alai mountain ranges. But this is not the only property of these places – they can safely include the history, cuisine, household utensils of the region (the famous Namangan cauldrons and dishes are made from here[3]). The Fergana Valley is also rich in fertile soils, pastures, fresh water sources and minerals. It is obvious why interstate conflicts of interest arise here – everyone really wants to own such a “pearl”. There are only three such applicants: Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan.
The history of defining the borderline between these states in reality, and not “on paper”, has been going on for quite a long time. The starting point should be sought not even in 2020, when Tajikistan and Uzbekistan declared their readiness to finally resolve the issue of border demarcation, but much earlier – in the last century. Then the first attempts to define the borders of the newly independent states were made in 1997 by the Kyrgyz-Tajik commission for the comprehensive consideration of bilateral issues. But the first meeting on the legal definition of borders took place already in the new millennium. The fact is that the countries could not agree on the legal grounds for delimitation – Tajikistan wanted to restore the borders within the framework of 1925-1927, while the Kyrgyz Republic believed that it was necessary to be guided by the documents of 1958-1959. As a result, despite the fact that agreements were reached, they did not put an end to this issue. The last conflict on the Kygryz-Tajik border, according to experts, the bloodiest in the history of delimitation, happened in September last year[4] – on the eve of the Samarkand Forum.
The procedure for determining the borders between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan turned out to be no less complicated and lengthy. The Farkhad HPP, which is located on the territory of the Sughd region (Tajikistan), did not allow drawing the line, but its capacities were used by a neighboring state. It was only at the end of the last decade, during the visit of President Mirziyoyev to Tajikistan (approx. – however, the signing of the agreements was preceded by the creation of an intergovernmental commission in 2017). The authorities of both countries have come to the decision that the safety of the facility will be assigned to Tajikistan, and the costs of operation – to Uzbekistan. The agreement was concluded for a period of 49[5] years without the right of termination.
However, it should be understood that the “Pearl of the East” finds itself in the center of confrontations not only because of disputes between states on border issues. The fact is that the Fergana Valley is the most densely populated region of Central Asia. The Fergana, Namangan and Andijan regions of Uzbekistan, the Sughd region of Tajikistan, as well as three regions of Kyrgyzstan: Jalal-Abad, Osh and Batken are located here. A large and ethnically diverse population plays a significant role in the emergence of conflicts, including very bloody ones.
The first of these was the Kokand tragedy of the early twentieth century – then the Dashnaktsutyun organization, originally created to fight for Armenia’s independence from the Ottoman government, participated in the massacre of the inhabitants of Turkestan, who refused to accept Soviet power. The Dashnaks, who were the majority of the participants in those events, according to various versions, killed from 35 to 150 thousand local people in only one valley[6].
The event that shocked the entire late USSR was the Fergana massacre of 1989, when the contradictions that arose between the Uzbeks and the Meskhetian Turks (approx. -who lived in the eponymous region of the Uzbek SSR after Stalin’s deportation of peoples), resulted in attacks and pogroms.
The last tragic story related to ethnic pogroms occurred in Osh and Jalal-Abad regions in 2010. Then the pogroms were directed at the Uzbek population living in the border towns of Kyrgyzstan. As in the case of Fergana, it is not possible to understand what caused the conflict – rumors are only spreading among the eyewitnesses of those events, ranging from those related to the initial dissatisfaction with the behavior of representatives of another people and ending with theories about attempts by radical political parties to get rid of other ethnic groups in the country.The last tragic story related to ethnic pogroms occurred in Osh and Jalal-Abad regions in 2010. Then the pogroms were directed at the Uzbek population living in the border towns of Kyrgyzstan. As in the case of Fergana, it is not possible to understand what caused the conflict – rumors are only spreading among the eyewitnesses of those events, ranging from those related to the initial dissatisfaction with the behavior of representatives of another people and ending with theories about attempts by radical political parties to get rid of other ethnic groups in the country.
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- Ферганский плов
In 2022, the head of the State Committee for Land Management of Tajikistan, Arif Khojazoda, said that the section on the border with Uzbekistan, which has not yet passed through the “determination” procedure, is equal to seven kilometers[7]. Now, the timing of the new negotiation process on demarcation issues is also unknown. In addition, it is still difficult to give forecasts about new events that may happen in the Fergana Valley. Everything is complicated by the fact that in Central Asia the borders were drawn historically often “manually”, without taking into account the residence of nationalities. And the absence of an actual border between states for many years has led to a mixture of life and lifestyle of border settlements. Now a series of commissions and agreements indicates that countries are trying to settle the subject of the dispute. But for now, the question of peace in the Ferghana Valley remains open.
* Border delimitation is a legally formalized border between states; it can be called a border “on paper”. Demarcation is the process of establishing border infrastructure directly on the ground.
The author of the article is Sofia Chernopyatova.
[1] https://embassylife.ru/post/17919
[2] https://tj.sputniknews.ru/20220717/tajikistan-uzbekistan-demarkacia-1050046683.html
[3] Фото: https://pikabu.ru/story/ferganskaya_dolina_oazis_sredney_azii_9319974
[4] https://economist.kg/novosti/2022/09/19/tadzhikistan-poteryal-ubitymi-bolee-200-voennosluzhashhih-sovbez-kr/
[5] https://cabar.asia/ru/kak-proishodyat-peregovory-po-granitse-mezhdu-tadzhikistanom-i-uzbekistanom
[6] https://1news.az/news/20201225103221377-Kokandskaya-tragediya-dashnaki-delili-musulmanok-kak-trofei
[7] https://tj.sputniknews.ru/20220717/tajikistan-uzbekistan-demarkacia-1050046683.html
