Riots in southern Kyrgyzstan in 2010

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A burned down house in Osh a year after the riots.

The unrest in southern Kyrgyzstan in 2010 concerned the violent clashes between Kyrgyzstan and the Uzbek ethnic minority in southern Kyrgyzstan , mainly in the cities of Osh and Jalalabat .

The unrest escalated on the night of June 11, 2010. The fighting ended between June 15 and 18.

Depending on the counting method, between 174 and 2,500 people died in the unrest. The majority of them were Uzbeks. The number of refugees (the majority also Uzbek) was between 400,000 and 1 million.

prehistory

Even before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, there were violent clashes between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz people. At least 300 people were killed in the so-called riots in Osh . The unrest sparked by disputes over land moved the Soviet government to intervene that ultimately ended the conflict.

The crisis was triggered by dissatisfaction with corruption, rising prices and a lack of government strategies to deal with the aftermath of the economic crisis. A third of the 5.3 million inhabitants of Kyrgyzstan live below the poverty line. The economic crisis exacerbated the problems caused by the reduced remittances of Kyrgyz workers from Russia.

There were also smugglers' routes through the region for the lucrative trade in Afghan drugs. The city of Osh was an important drug trafficking hub .

Both the US and Russia each had a military base in Kyrgyzstan . Both bases are in the north near the capital Bishkek . Since 1996, the Pentagon has been continuously expanding its military presence in Kyrgyzstan as part of the FMF ( Foreign Military Funding ) program .

Seizure of power by the transitional government

Dozens of people were killed in demonstrations against the government in April. The leader of the Kyrgyz Social Democratic Party , Almasbek Atambayev , and other members of the opposition were arrested. At the same time, then President Bakiyev imposed a state of emergency and a night curfew in Bishkek and in the north of the country.

On April 7, the opposition announced the overthrow of the government and the establishment of a transitional government under ex-foreign minister Rosa Otunbajewa . President Bakiyev initially refused to resign and fled to the city of Jalalabat , his hometown in the south of the country.

In May, Bakiyev supporters fought with local Uzbeks in Jalalabat.

The ex-president

Kurmanbek Bakiyev (2009)

A week after the uprising in Kyrgyzstan, the former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced his resignation and left with his family in neighboring Kazakhstan . After his return was refused by parliament, he eventually went to Belarus . He and members of his family are wanted for the murder of 87 demonstrators with an international arrest warrant.

course

escalation

The situation escalated on the night of June 11th. The city of Osh became the scene of violent clashes between the Kyrgyz and the Uzbek minority, in which several hundred people were killed and thousands were injured. Arsonists set fire to numerous Uzbek-inhabited buildings and looted them. UN Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay reported that the first five attacks occurred almost simultaneously and were apparently coordinated, targeted and well planned. According to a report in the daily newspaper taz , the trigger is said to have been that a group of Uzbek youths shot around after visiting a disco and then attacked the girls' dormitory at the Oscher State University. The rector of the university in Osh, Mukhtar Orosbekow, as well as the caretaker of the facility and two students who returned to the facility after the unrest to fetch their belongings, however, disagree. They claim that although Uzbek youths rioted in front of the dormitory, they did not break into the building and there were no rapes.

Kyrgyz Deputy Security Chief Kubat Baibalow blamed armed and trained men from neighboring Tajikistan for the escalation on June 15 . These Tajik, Afghan and Kyrgyz nationals would have opened fire on members of the Kyrgyz and Uzbek ethnic groups from a car in order to spark the unrest. He accused the former President Bakiyev of having commissioned the men.

Heavy fighting

Members of the Uzbek minority holed up in their residential areas or fled to Uzbekistan . The government declared a state of emergency and authorized the military to fire on looters. The government asked Russia for military aid. Russia refused, arguing that it was an internal matter. Subsequently it only announced that it would send a battalion of paratroopers to protect its air force base in Kant .

Mutual hostages were taken during the fighting in order to guarantee their own safety. There was also mass rapes. Most of the security forces did not do their job. Most of the time they did not intervene, but provided some logistical support to Kyrgyz attackers and also actively participated in the attacks on Uzbeks. According to reports from the NGO Human Rights Watch, armored military vehicles usually broke through the barricades, after which the houses were shot at with Molotov cocktails and incendiary ammunition and finally fired at the fleeing residents. At least one armored personnel carrier was taken over by the mob.

On June 12, the government declared martial law and partial mobilization. Artillery fire and volleys from automatic weapons could be heard around the city of Osh; There was a lack of bandages and blood in the hospitals. The city's gas supply was turned off to prevent explosions.

Over the weekend, the fighting spread to Jalalabat. The Uzbek disaster ministry spoke of over 75,000 border crossings by adults (children were not counted) in the Andijon region . In the Fergana Valley workers erected a tent camp for refugees.

On June 13, the government announced that it was no longer in control of the situation. Sometimes even Uzbeks were rounded up on the streets by Kyrgyz extremists and burned alive with petrol in front of numerous spectators. She suspects ex-President Bakiyev and his family of wanting to prevent the referendum on a new constitution planned for June 27 . This rejected the allegations categorically. On the same day, British authorities arrested his son Maxim Bakiyev , who had become one of the richest entrepreneurs in the country before the fall, in London while trying to enter the country on a private plane. There was a telephone recording of him from May in which he stated how he intended to destabilize the situation in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan demanded his extradition after the arrest was officially announced on June 16.

On June 14, the media reported that Russian peacekeeping forces would intervene in Osh as part of the collective security treaty organization ( CSTO ). The Uzbek government announced that it would close the borders with Kyrgyzstan.

Reassurance

On the night of June 15, the situation calmed down and international organizations began delivering relief supplies to the crisis area, with complaints from Uzbek residents about distributive justice. The government said rumors were the greatest threat in the current situation. Germany, which is the only EU country with an embassy in Kyrgyzstan, has meanwhile brought 89 foreigners, including 40 Europeans and 31 US-Americans, out of the country. The Chinese government also fled 195 of its nationals. Another 600 also wanted to be brought to safety.

Belarus reportedly rejected an extradition request from the Kyrgyz government for Kurmanbek Bakiyev on June 15.

On June 16, the situation was largely calm, even though there were gun battles during the night. Rescue and security forces cordoned off parts of the cities of Osh and Jalalabad. The government stressed that it was now under control. Aid got off to a slow start and food prices had increased fivefold in the meantime. Sometimes Uzbek men had returned to their hometowns. The interim President Otunbayeva denied that the fighting had an ethnic background and stressed that the entire population was affected. She admitted that the army was insufficiently trained, riddled with traitors and also mono-ethnic and announced that she would also want to include members of the Uzbeks in the army in future.

On June 18, Interim President Rosa Otunbajewa announced that Russian soldiers would be monitoring selected strategic facilities.

On June 21st, the situation was still tense. The authorities extended the night curfew in Osh until June 25th. Many Uzbeks saw the security forces as allies of the mob and continued to barricade themselves in their homes and neighborhoods. When the security forces cleared the barricades, there were exchanges of fire again at night and early in the morning.

On June 24th, the Kyrgyz border guard announced that almost all refugees from Uzbekistan had returned. In the days before, 70,000 people crossed the border towards home.

The planned constitutional referendum took place on June 27 and was approved by a large majority, according to the official electoral commission.

Work-up

On June 18, the interim government announced that it would have a commission investigate the street battles, murders and pogroms. Numerous fighters with the aim of destabilizing the country, including snipers, were imprisoned.

Kyrgyz intelligence chief Keneshbek Dushebayev claimed on June 24th that the unrest was provoked by a coalition of representatives of the clan around ex-President Bakiyev together with members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IBU) and the Islamic Jihad Union, but did not provide any evidence. According to his authority, the Bakiyevs paid $ 30 million for the entry of fifteen Uzbek terrorists into Kyrgyzstan and their activities as snipers and provocateurs. Leading members of the Uzbek national cultural centers in Osh and Jalalabad were also involved, according to the report. The civil rights activist Edil Bajsalow denied the statements, which in his opinion were only intended to cover up the failure of the secret service.

The head of the Directorate General for the Reconstruction of Osh and Jalalabad, Zhantaro Satylabdiew, announced that the destroyed houses will be rebuilt.

In July, authorities arrested Akhmat Bakiyev in southern Kyrgyzstan. He is a brother of the ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiev. He had weapons with him, but did not resist the arrest. He is accused of having set up a local militia and was considered the shadow governor of the Jalalabad region.

In an interview with the Russian newspaper Kommersant, the mayor of Osh Melis Mirsakmatov assumed responsibility for the ethnic destruction, but emphasized that the Uzbeks had started the conflict.

In June 2011, a year after the unrest, Amnesty International criticized the lack of prosecution of the perpetrators.

Human Rights Watch investigation

On August 16, Human Rights Watch published the first major investigation into the pogroms. The report notes that the violence broke out on the night of June 10-11 through an argument between young people. According to the report, most of the attacks on the first night came from Uzbeks, who then holed up behind barricades. The report also states that government troops on a large scale cleared these barricades and thereby consciously or unconsciously made the pogroms possible by not protecting the residential areas behind them. The houses were then set on fire and the residents killed. Around 2000 houses, mostly in Uzbek neighborhoods, were burned down. The report also criticizes the judiciary's bias, which has been accused of unilateral investigations. Of the 243 arrested, only 29 are Kyrgyz people. The organization estimates about 2000 fatalities.

Legal proceedings

Although, according to official figures, 99 percent of the destroyed houses belonged to Uzbeks and 2/3 of the dead were of Uzbek origin, until February 2011 mainly proceedings against Uzbeks took place. Representatives of the EU and the UN pointed to torture during the trial. Cases are also known where spectators intervened in proceedings independently.

International Commission of Inquiry (KIC)

An International Commission of Inquiry (KIC) is investigating what has happened, but has no legal power of disposal. This is the task of the Kyrgyz law enforcement authorities. It is headed by former Finnish MP Kimmo Kiljunen.

On May 3, 2011, the KIC published a report on the riots in which the number of deaths is given as 470. 74 percent of them are Uzbeks. In it, the events were described as “ crimes against humanity ” but not as “ war crimes ” or “ genocide ”. The commission called on the Kyrgyz government to set up a peace and reconciliation commission and to end the torture and unilateral prosecution of Uzbeks. According to the KIC, the conflict arose from the power vacuum after Bakiyev's resignation and the support of the Uzbeks for the transitional government. The transitional government intervened too late and failed to fulfill its obligation to protect its citizens. The KIC also found that Uzbek women had been mass raped and that no third party was involved in the conflict. Uzbek leaders did not prepare the conflict and did not seek secession from Kyrgyzstan.

The commission calls on the government to investigate the theft of weapons and armored vehicles by the security authorities.

The Kyrgyz government was of the opinion that the commission had not " adequately presented " the events and spoke of preparations by the Uzbeks before the unrest.

Victim

On June 16, the Kyrgyz Ministry of Health spoke of 176 dead in Osh. However, the Kyrgyz government admitted that the number is probably many times higher. On June 18, government officials spoke of 2,000–2,500 dead. Counting is difficult because the burials traditionally have to take place until the next sunrise.

According to the administration of the city of Osh, around 70 percent of the buildings were damaged in the fighting, in which residential areas were also set on fire. These were almost exclusively buildings in Uzbek residential areas. Houses and automobiles marked with graffiti as Kyrgyz were usually spared.

The International Commission of Inquiry (KIC) names 470 dead, 74 percent of whom are Uzbeks.

refugees

The conflict triggered a large wave of refugees. UNHCR spoke of up to 275,000 refugees on June 16, with 90 percent of those affected being women and children, according to UNICEF . The following day, OCHA revised the number of refugees significantly upwards and assumed at least 400,000. Uzbekistan officials said they had 75,000 refugees on their territory. The organization Doctors Without Borders spoke of a million affected people who lacked drinking water and food.

International reactions

Human Rights Watch called for UN intervention and deployment of OSCE police units.

EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton described the situation on June 14 as "very dangerous" and called for concentration on restoring order. On June 16, the EU pledged five million euros in aid. The money was to be spent on medical care, shelter, water and food for the refugees and distributed by non-governmental organizations and the United Nations.

The German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called on the parties in Kyrgyzstan to "end the violence immediately"; the German government provided 500,000 euros in emergency aid for refugees. On July 15, he and the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner visited Uzbekistan and Osh and Jalalabad, where they called for an independent international investigation into the events.

According to Uzbek President Islom Karimov , the massacres were organized neither by Uzbeks nor by Kyrgyz people, but by a third party.

U.N.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon expressed himself “ alarmed ” about the violence and the number of victims and refugees and, in cooperation with the OSCE, had the need for humanitarian aid determined. The latter condemned the violence as " attempted ethnic cleansing " and confirmed that members of the Uzbek minority were affected by targeted and systematic killings and looting by Kyrgyz groups.

The United Nations Security Council condemned the open violence, called for order and called on the international community to send food and aids to the crisis area.

The World Food Program began with an emergency mission with food and logistical help and asks all forces involved not to obstruct the deliveries. Welthungerhilfe announced that it would provide 100,000 euros for the victims of the unrest.

OSCE

In July the OSCE was ready to send police units to Osh and Jalalabad. First, according to Herbert Salber (Director of the OSCE Center for Crisis Prevention), 52 police officers should be deployed for four months, followed by 50 more later. This mission was originally wanted by the Kyrgyz government, but could not be carried out due to the missing signature of the President (which should have been completed by August 28th). The main reason given was that the security of OSCE personnel could not be guaranteed.

Russia

The Russian Ministry of Civil Protection sent three Il-76s with 130 tons of relief supplies to Bishkek on June 16 . Another two on June 18th and one on the 19th (with a total of about 120 tons of aid deliveries) to Uzbekistan followed. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev voiced fears on June 24th that Kyrgyzstan could break up and that this could be linked to the rise of radical elements. He criticized the inability of the transitional government to keep the situation under control.

United States

The United States dispatched Robert O. Blake, Jr. to the area as a special envoy on June 16 . He was supposed to travel first to Tashkent in Uzbekistan and from there to the Kyrgyz border. The Fergana Valley was also on his travel list. On June 16, $ 6.5 million in aid was also made available to help provide food for the refugees.

Azimjon Askarov (March 2013)

On July 14, 2015, the United States Department of State honored civil rights activist and journalist Azimjon Askarov with the Human Rights Defender Award for his documentation of human rights violations against the Uzbek minority during the unrest. The ethnic Uzbek Askarov had previously been sentenced to life imprisonment in a dubious trial. The Kyrgyz government reacted to the award by, among other things, terminating an agreement on humanitarian aid between the two states that had been in force since 1993 .

See also

Web links

photos

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Nicole Scherschun: Unrest in Kyrgyzstan is spreading , Deutsche Welle , June 13, 2010
  2. ↑ https://www.novastan.org/de/kirgistan/kirgistan-abhangig-vom-geld-seiner-migranten/
  3. ↑ Michael Ludwig: Fertile soil for death and violence , FAZ , June 15, 2010
  4. ↑ a b c d Reinhard Veser: The Uzbeks have barricaded themselves , FAZ, June 20, 2010
  5. ^ Kyrgyz Defense Ministry: The training center in Batken is not oriented against third countries ( Memento of June 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), Ferghana.ru, March 17, 2010
    “The press-release notes the erection of the training camp in the Batken Oblast is one of many joint projects of Kyrgyzstan and USA in military area while the cooperation on military-technical aid has been implemented under FMF (Foreign Military Financing) program since 1996. "
  6. ^ Dead in protests against President Bakiyev ( Memento from April 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ↑ Many dead in bloody unrest in Kyrgyzstan Welt Online, April 7, 2010
  8. ^ Opposition stubbornly protests Focus Online, April 7, 2010
  9. ↑ Bakiyev sticks to power Focus Online, April 9, 2010
  10. ^ A b c Frankfurter Rundschau, June 14, 2010: The violence is escalating in Kyrgyzstan
  11. ↑ a b c ORF: Medvedev is considering sending troops ( Memento from December 8, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  12. ^ Kyrgyzstan's President Bakiyev officially resigns , Die Welt , April 16, 2010
  13. ↑ a b Red Cross - "several hundred dead" in Kyrgyzstan , Die Welt , June 16, 2010
  14. ↑ a b c d kgp / beb / apn / AFP / dpa: German Embassy evacuates foreigners from southern Kyrgyzstan , Spiegel Online , June 15, 2010
  15. ↑ Marcus Bensmann: Plunderungen und Massacre , taz, June 14, 2010
  16. ↑ a b c d Hunting Uzbeks , TAZ, July 15, 2010
  17. ^ Karl Grobe : Cynical Great Powers , Frankfurter Rundschau , June 15, 2010, commentary
  18. ↑ a b Ammunition on board , ORF, June 14, 2010
  19. ↑ Marcus Bensmann:. Uzbeks have pleaded for help , taz, June 15, 2010
  20. ↑ https://www.fr.de/politik/leben-misstrauen-11672745.html
  21. ↑ Partial mobilization and martial law in Kyrgyzstan , dpa / FAZ, June 12, 2010
  22. ↑ a b lgr / AFP / apn / dpa / Reuters: Russia sends troops to Kyrgyzstan , Spiegel Online, June 13, 2010
  23. ↑ http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=10a_1277139336
  24. ↑ mmq / Reuters / AP / AFP: Many dead in unrest in Kyrgyzstan , Spiegel Online, June 11, 2010
  25. ↑ 700 dead in bloody unrest in Kyrgyzstan ( memento from July 28, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ), ORF, June 16, 2010
  26. ↑ a b Marcus Bensmann: The President feels safe , taz, June 16, 2010
  27. ↑ a b c d che, dpa, afp, rtr: https://www.abendblatt.de/politik/ausland/article107695902/Zehntausende-Usbeken-fliehen-vor-Unruhen.html
  28. ^ Kyrgyz government: "masterminds" of the unrest arrested ( memento from July 18, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ), ORF, June 2010
  29. ↑ a b c d Uzbekistan closes border for refugees , Spiegel Online, June 15, 2010, with video, 1:17 min.
  30. ^ Explosive situation in Kyrgyzstan , dpa / Frankfurter Rundschau, June 16, 2010
  31. ↑ rtr: Russia is getting involved , Frankfurter Rundschau, June 18, 2010
  32. ↑ a b Without water and food , Frankfurter Rundschau, June 20, 2010
  33. ↑ Michael Ludwig: The deep traces of hatred , FAZ, June 23, 2010
  34. ↑ Almost all refugees returned , ORF, June 24, 2010
  35. ↑ Over 90 percent for constitutional amendments ( memento from July 20, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ), ORF, June 28, 2010
  36. ↑ a b otr / dpa / apn: Hundreds of thousands flee from bloody unrest , Spiegel Online , June 17, 2010
  37. ^ Secret service sees "Coalition of wire-pullers" , FAZ, June 28, 2010
  38. ↑ a b Germany calls for investigation , Frankfurter Rundschau, July 16, 2010
  39. ↑ A suspected instigator arrested , Spiegel, July 22, 2010
  40. ↑ Markus Bensmann: "Better to harvest beets in Russia". In: the daily newspaper . August 2, 2010, accessed March 1, 2012 .
  41. ↑ Amnesty warns of new excesses of violence in Kyrgyzstan. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . June 8, 2011, Retrieved June 8, 2011 .
  42. ↑ Troops helped murder gangs
  43. ↑ NZZ: Kyrgyzstan is not calm
  44. ↑ Markus Bensmann: Fear and violence in the courtroom. In: the daily newspaper. February 8, 2011, accessed February 8, 2011 .
  45. ↑ a b c d e Marcus Bensmann: No genocide against Uzbeks in Osh. In: the daily newspaper . May 4, 2011, accessed June 8, 2011 .
  46. ↑ ff / dpa / AFP: Transitional government expects 2000 deaths , Spiegel Online, June 18, 2010
  47. ↑ Marcus Bensmann, Andrea Böhm, Johannes Voswinkel: Menschenjagd , Die Zeit , June 16, 2010
  48. ↑ According to the UN, over 400,000 refugees ( memento from July 11, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ), ORF, June 16, 2010
  49. ↑ Aid commitment: EU gives five million euros for Kyrgyzstan ( memento of July 13, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ), ORF, June 16, 2010
  50. ^ Pogroms in Kyrgyzstan should involve Uzbekistan in the conflict - President Karimov , RIA Novosti , June 18, 2010
  51. ^ Benjamin Bidder: Kyrgyzstan is sliding into civil war , Spiegel online , June 15, 2010
  52. ↑ Peace Mission decided , TAZ, July 18, 2010
  53. ↑ Sanctions hit the wrong people
  54. ↑ FINAL REPORT ON UNHCR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS IN THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN , unhcr.org
  55. ↑ EMERCOM of Russia is sending humanitarian aid to Uzbekistan for the Kirgizia refugees ( Memento from August 5, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ), МЧС / EMERCOM, June 18, 2010
  56. ↑ Medvedev fears that Kyrgyzstan will "break apart" ( memento from July 12, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) ORF, June 25, 2010
  57. ↑ hen / Reuters / AFP: USA sends diplomats to Kyrgyzstan , Spiegel Online, June 16, 2010
  58. ↑ Auxiliary wave for Kyrgyzstan starts ( memento from October 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), dpa / Frankfurter Rundschau, June 17, 2010
  59. ↑ 2014 Human Rights Defender Award Ceremony for Azimjon Askarov and Foro Penal
  60. ^ Kyrgyzstan's difficult tightrope walk