Because of the awaited incursions of Islamic militants, the evacuation of local people from high mountain areas of the Batken province of Kyrgyzstan have begun. Servicemen of the Ministry of Extreme Situations have already moved the first group of settlers, which includes 4 families of shepherds and 300 sheep, from the most remote pastures of the province to a more secure place.  The Ministry of Extreme Situations does not exclude the possibility of resettling several thousand locals from the six most dangerous ‘breakthrough areas’ of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border. Last year, in the heat of the battle against Islamic militants, about 80 families of shepherds were evacuated from high mountain pastures.

Meanwhile the militants of the Islamic extremist organization ‘Hizb-ut-Tahrir’ have increased their oral propaganda in southern Kyrgyzstan. In an interview to the correspondent of RFE/RL, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Kalmurat Sadiev said that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kyrgyzstan recently detained a person in Jalalabad who was disseminating more than 2000 leaflets among the local citizens and calling for the overthrow of the constitutional system. Earlier, activists of ‘Hizb-ut-Tahrir’ had been disseminating leaflets and appeals only in Kyrgyz and Uzbek but now they are distributing them also in Russian. According to the regional police department of the Jalalabad province, they have recently detained two more activists of ‘Hizb-ut-Tahrir’ with leaflets in Russian.  

The emissaries of this extremist organization are active not only in the southern part of the country but they are now appearing in the north as well, according to the Chairman of the National Security Service Bolot Januzakov, speaking at a meeting with journalists. He said that in early May his officials detained some people in Tokmok, who were engaged in the same activities as their accomplices in the south. Up until now, the competent services of the country have detected and arrested over 50 members of ‘Hizb-ut-Tahrir’.  

Sadiev said that the number of people spreading the ideas of extremist organizations among the locals is increasing and the Ministry of Internal Affairs is taking all possible measures to prevent such actions from taking place.  However, the measures taken are not bringing about the desired results.  According to the Deputy Minister, the reason for their ineffectiveness is that Kyrgyz law regarding such cases is too soft, and prevents criminals from receiving the punishment they deserve. Sadiev added that the Ministry of Internal Affairs recently addressed the Jogorku Kenesh (Kyrgyz Parliament) with a proposal to make changes to Kyrgyz legislation. ‘However, the Jogorku Kenesh has not considered the proposal yet’, he added.

Apart from ‘Hizb-ut-Tahrir’, the representatives of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan are also carrying out active propaganda in Kyrgyzstan. In the last two years, Kyrgyzstan was invaded by Islamic militants and had to repel their attacks. Year by year the attacks are becoming more and more embittered and have caused a lot of trouble to the Kyrgyz military forces as well as to the local population. Military trainings and operations have had negative effects on the development of the country’s economy. Only last year, the Kyrgyz army spent about $30 million to the repulse the militant attack. Military actions have directly affected the lives of the locals as well. Farmers in the southern regions of the country stopped cultivating land and grazing their livestock in border areas.  Hence the local people are losing their main source of income and in this situation they are becoming the most vulnerable part of the population. 

By Gulzina Karym Kyzy