KHOROG, Tajikistan – Tensions are rising again in Khorog after gunmen
killed former insurgent field commander Imomnazar Imomnazarov in his
house early August 22. He was a suspect in the July 21 slaying of State
National Security Committee Gen. Abdullo Nazarov outside Khorog, but
authorities had not arrested him.
Another of the four main suspects in the killing, fellow ex-insurgent field commander Tolib Ayombekov, surrendered August 12. A third suspect, Mukhammadbokir Mukhammadbokirov, has been answering investigators’ questions. He presently is accused only of hooliganism and illegal organisation of a demonstration. The fourth suspect, Yodgor Mamadaslamov, remains at large.
Reportedly, unknown men surrounded Imomnazarov’s house, threw grenades at it and opened fire, News.tj reported. Imomnazarov was killed immediately and his brother, Okhirnzar, was wounded, the media outlet said.
Imomnazarov, a prominent insurgent field commander during the 1992-1997 civil war, had been confined to a wheelchair by old war wounds for more than 15 years. He also had been weakened in recent years by diabetes.
Protest after slaying
After news of Imomnazarov’s death broke, a demonstration formed in Khorog. Protesters shouting for the government to keep its promises of security and stability began throwing stones at the oblast administration building, causing troops to fire into the air. Two demonstrators were wounded, News.tj reported.
The crowd dispersed but re-assembled outside the Khorog mayor’s office.
Demonstrators called for President Emomali Rakhmon to intervene. “You were able to achieve peace and harmony in our homes (after the civil war). ... In this difficult time for Gorno-Badakhshan and all of Tajikistan, we ask you to aid a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Khorog,” a group of young residents said in an appeal to Rakhmon that Tajik media carried.
Mourners carried Imomnazarov’s body to Vakhdat Square, News.tj reported, and he was buried later August 22.
Theories about culprits; slaying’s ramifications
Tajik politicians were unanimous in saying that a third force that had no interest in a stable Tajikistan killed Imomnazarov, who had negotiated with authorities and met all their demands.
“This was all organised by external forces (likely, militants from Afghanistan), and it’s they who are very skillfully prolonging the chaos,” Saifullo Safarov, deputy director of the Presidential Centre for Strategic Studies, said of the unrest in Khorog.
The events in Khorog increasingly resemble the run-up to the civil war, political scientist Parviz Mullodzhanov said, and the future depends largely on the government’s response.
“Back then,” he said of the prelude to the war, “almost every day, murders took place, and the outline of this killing resembles the outline of the provocations at the start of the civil war. After all, the Khorog talks were almost finished, and then you have this murder. ... It’s clear that someone doesn’t want the talks to end well.”
The killing was meant to destabilise the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO), agreed Mukhiddin Kabiri, leader of the opposition Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan.
“I don’t think this was the work of the security agencies,” he said. “They needed this man. Many in the GBAO valued his opinion.”
“I think we need to use our maximum efforts to calm the situation with the help of negotiations and other peaceful mechanisms,” Kabiri said. “The use of force has shown its lack of effectiveness. Even a temporary (military) victory doesn’t solve problems – it only makes the situation worse.” Rakhmon had been expected to arrive August 21 or 22 to help celebrate Khorog’s 80th anniversary, but a scheduling change was announced August 22.
He is now scheduled to visit September 9 to celebrate Khorog’s anniversary in conjunction with Tajikistan’s Independence Day.
ARTICLE SOURCE:By Dilafruz Nabiyeva
Another of the four main suspects in the killing, fellow ex-insurgent field commander Tolib Ayombekov, surrendered August 12. A third suspect, Mukhammadbokir Mukhammadbokirov, has been answering investigators’ questions. He presently is accused only of hooliganism and illegal organisation of a demonstration. The fourth suspect, Yodgor Mamadaslamov, remains at large.
Reportedly, unknown men surrounded Imomnazarov’s house, threw grenades at it and opened fire, News.tj reported. Imomnazarov was killed immediately and his brother, Okhirnzar, was wounded, the media outlet said.
Imomnazarov, a prominent insurgent field commander during the 1992-1997 civil war, had been confined to a wheelchair by old war wounds for more than 15 years. He also had been weakened in recent years by diabetes.
Protest after slaying
After news of Imomnazarov’s death broke, a demonstration formed in Khorog. Protesters shouting for the government to keep its promises of security and stability began throwing stones at the oblast administration building, causing troops to fire into the air. Two demonstrators were wounded, News.tj reported.
The crowd dispersed but re-assembled outside the Khorog mayor’s office.
Demonstrators called for President Emomali Rakhmon to intervene. “You were able to achieve peace and harmony in our homes (after the civil war). ... In this difficult time for Gorno-Badakhshan and all of Tajikistan, we ask you to aid a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Khorog,” a group of young residents said in an appeal to Rakhmon that Tajik media carried.
Mourners carried Imomnazarov’s body to Vakhdat Square, News.tj reported, and he was buried later August 22.
Theories about culprits; slaying’s ramifications
Tajik politicians were unanimous in saying that a third force that had no interest in a stable Tajikistan killed Imomnazarov, who had negotiated with authorities and met all their demands.
“This was all organised by external forces (likely, militants from Afghanistan), and it’s they who are very skillfully prolonging the chaos,” Saifullo Safarov, deputy director of the Presidential Centre for Strategic Studies, said of the unrest in Khorog.
The events in Khorog increasingly resemble the run-up to the civil war, political scientist Parviz Mullodzhanov said, and the future depends largely on the government’s response.
“Back then,” he said of the prelude to the war, “almost every day, murders took place, and the outline of this killing resembles the outline of the provocations at the start of the civil war. After all, the Khorog talks were almost finished, and then you have this murder. ... It’s clear that someone doesn’t want the talks to end well.”
The killing was meant to destabilise the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO), agreed Mukhiddin Kabiri, leader of the opposition Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan.
“I don’t think this was the work of the security agencies,” he said. “They needed this man. Many in the GBAO valued his opinion.”
“I think we need to use our maximum efforts to calm the situation with the help of negotiations and other peaceful mechanisms,” Kabiri said. “The use of force has shown its lack of effectiveness. Even a temporary (military) victory doesn’t solve problems – it only makes the situation worse.” Rakhmon had been expected to arrive August 21 or 22 to help celebrate Khorog’s 80th anniversary, but a scheduling change was announced August 22.
He is now scheduled to visit September 9 to celebrate Khorog’s anniversary in conjunction with Tajikistan’s Independence Day.
ARTICLE SOURCE:By Dilafruz Nabiyeva
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