UZBEKISTAN REINFORCES ITS BORDER WITH KYRGYZSTAN
On May 17, inhabitants of the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border areas reported increasing protection of the border from the Uzbek side. In turn, the head of Kyrgyzstan’s border service reported that Uzbekistan strengthened the protection of its border in response to recent events in the south of Kyrgyzstan, patrolling certain areas in military vehicles. It should be recalled that Uzbekistan closed its checkpoints with Kyrgyzstan in the beginning of April in the immediate aftermath of the revolutionary events in the country and the following riots. On May 13-14, an armed conflict between supporters of the current interim government and proponents of former president Kurmanbek Bakiev occurred in the immediate vicinity of the Uzbek border, in the cities of Jalal-Abad and Osh. While closing and strengthening the protection of the border is a matter of national security for Uzbekistan, prolonged border closure poses a serious threat of economic crisis to Kyrgyzstan.
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan closed their borders with Kyrgyzstan in early April as a response to the revolution and massive unrest in the country. It should be noted that this was done in response to the events that were taking place in the north of Kyrgyzstan, in the cities of Naryn and Bishkek. Once the conflict moved to the south, to the areas close to the border with Uzbekistan, the latter immediately started to reinforce its border. The strengthening of the border protection was mainly done through the delivery of additional military equipment as reported by inhabitants of the Kyrgyz border villages of Aravanskiy and Karasu.
Some local observers note that the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border is often closed or restricted. For instance, in February Uzbek authorities without any notice introduced a regulation restricting the number of visits Kyrgyz citizens can make to Uzbekistan. Specifically, the regulation stipulated that Kyrgyz citizens can cross the border to Uzbekistan no more than once every three months, i.e. four times a year. The regulation was explained by “a change of the internal legislation” of Uzbekistan. Further, in the beginning of March Uzbekistan unilaterally closed the second biggest checkpoint with Kyrgyzstan, ”Kara-Suu-Avtodorozhniy”. This time, the Kyrgyz guard service was notified about the closing of the checkpoint, which was supposedly closed for renovation. All these developments were accompanied by frequent clashes between border guards of the two states.
It should be recalled that in 2007, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan signed an intergovernmental agreement on a visa-free regime, so that citizens of each state can stay on the territory of another without visa up for sixty calendar days. According to the Kyrgyz border guard service, the flights from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan are still operating. Therefore, only those who travel by car, bus or train are affected by the current situation.
Beyond doubt, Kyrgyzstan suffers significant economic losses from the continued border closure with the neighbors. For instance, some Bishkek-based analysts state that the current situation on the border has devastating repercussions for trade. Temir Sariyev, one of the leading figures in the interim government, said “Kyrgyzstan cannot live in economic isolation. The negative economic situation will also have an adverse effect on the situation in society”.
Perhaps in response to concerns of the Kyrgyz authorities over their continued isolation and aggravated economic situation, the authorities of Kazakhstan reopened the border with Kyrgyzstan on May 20. In the note of the Internal Affairs Ministry of Kazakhstan, the decision was explained by “consideration of the complicated socio-economic situation in Kyrgyzstan and numerous appeals by the citizens of this friendly country”. Thus, at the moment Uzbekistan is the only country that keeps closed borders with Kyrgyzstan.
In light of the above-mentioned developments in bilateral relations between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the current situation on the border between the two states is quite expectant. In addition, several local observers say that some of the countries neighboring Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan among them, are not eager to accept Kyrgyzstan’s interim government if it succeeds in orienting the country in a more democratic direction. In any case, it seems that even if Uzbekistan will decide to open the border with Kyrgyzstan in the nearest future, there is still a number of issues that will need to be addressed.
