People took to the streets of Nukus, Uzbekistan opposition to proposed constitutional reforms that would deny the province the right to secede.
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- Calls for independent investigation grow as Uzbek officials report 18 killed and 243 wounded in the agitation
- Â Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in opposition to proposed constitutional reforms that refuse the province, which borders Kazakhstan and the Aral Sea, the right to secede.
People killed in Uzbekistan protests.
At least 18 people were killed in the Uzbek region of Karakalpakstan when protests erupted last week over plans to limit its autonomy, officials say.
State prosecutors said more than 200 people were injured, while officials say that close to a thousand people are being treated in hospitals.
The unrest had broken out with security forces after crowds began protesting over plans to curtail the state’s right to secede. Under the current constitution, the sprawling Karakalpakstan, home to a diverse population of two million people, including ethnic Karakalpaks, is described as a sovereign republic within Uzbekistan and has the right to secede by conducting a referendum.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has now stated that the decisions will not be implemented, and a month-long state of emergency has been declared in Karakalpakstan, which accounts for 40% of Uzbek territory and is mostly desert near the Aral Sea. Uzbekistan is a 32-million-person country with a long history of authoritarian rule.
Pincher reportedly has a history of misconduct.
516 people were reportedly detained following protests on Friday and Saturday in the regional capital of Nukus, but many have now been released. It’s also stated that the local airport has come under armed attack.
The rare outbreak was prompted by plans to remove the region’s constitutional right to secede. It led President Mirziyoyev to visit the region of Karakalpakstan twice over the weekend.
At a meeting with local deputies on Sunday, he accused “malicious forces” of attempting to destabilize and undermine the conditions in the Central Asian state. He specifically accused protest organizers of trying to seize local government bodies to obtain weapons.
He stated that protest organizers took advantage of their numbers, attacking law enforcement officers, beating them, and inflicting severe injuries.Â
Uzbekistan has had a reputation for being one of the most repressive republics in the former Soviet Union, clamping down on any form of dissent. The police and army are currently patrolling the streets of Nukus after an emergency was declared.
An exiled opposition politician, Pulat Ahunov, said that people were unable to move around and obtain information because of the state. According to the National Guard, 516 people were detained following unrest on Friday and Saturday in the regional capital of Nukus, but many have now been released. Prosecutors also said the local airport had come under armed attack.
The rare outbreak of violence was prompted by plans to remove the region’s constitutional right to secede. It led to President Mirziyoyev visiting Karakalpakstan twice over the weekend.
Mr. Ahunov, chairman of the opposition Berlik party, said he feared the situation could escalate into an ethnic conflict between Uzbeks and Karakalpaks. Like Uzbeks, the Karakalpak are Turkic, but they are linguistically and culturally closer to Kazakhs.
Still, rallies are going on in many locations,” he stated from Sweden, saying that he believes that the situation is starting to stabilize, but there is always the danger of ethnic clashes between the Karakalpaks and the Uzbeks.
He stated that the situation could spin out of control. Not in regards to the status of Karakalpakstan, but about a conflict between the Karakalpaks and the Uzbeks.
Reported videos from the protest sites show people dead and injured, raising concerns that the security crackdown might have taken a high death toll.
