You are here
Home > News > Police disperse pro-autonomy rally in Uzbek province, casualties confirmed

Police disperse pro-autonomy rally in Uzbek province, casualties confirmed

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Saturday dropped plans to curtail the autonomy of the country’s Karakalpakstan province following a rare public protest in the northwestern region, brutally dispersed by the police. He confirmed that there were casualties among civilians and law enforcement officers.

Friday’s rally was called to protest constitutional reform plans that would have changed the status of Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic home to the Karakalpak people – an ethnic minority group with its own language.

Police dispersed the protesters after some of them tried to storm local government buildings in the region’s capital, Nukus, following a march and a rally at the city’s central market, local and government officials said.

Authorities have imposed a total information blackout on developments in Karakalpakstan. Mobile connections in the region were cut off on June 27 which hampers getting information about the current situation. It was around that day when the first mentions about suspension of autonomy started to pop up, followed by the increased activity of local pro-autonomy movements on the internet. Meanwhile, shops, restaurants and malls had shuttered in “a measure of precaution,” eurasianet.org portal wrote.

Mirziyoyev later issued a decree proclaiming a state of emergency in Karakalpakstan for a month “in order to ensure the security of citizens, defend their rights and freedoms and restore the rule of law and order” in the region. The police, in turn, had detained the leaders of Friday’s protest, and several other protesters who had put up resistance.

Under the current Uzbek constitution, Karakalpakstan is described as a sovereign republic within Uzbekistan that has the right to secede by holding a referendum. The new version of the constitution – on which Uzbekistan plans to hold a referendum in the coming months – would no longer mention Karakalpakstan’s sovereignty or right for secession.

The changes concerning Karakalpakstan were part of a broader constitutional reform proposed by President Mirziyoyev, which also includes strengthening civil rights and extending the presidential term to seven years from five.

If the reform is endorsed in the planned referendum, it would reset the incumbent’s term count and allow him to run for two more terms.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Top