Uzbek guards prevent illegal trafficking on Uzbek-Kyrgyz border
By Aynur Jafarova
Uzbek border guards have prevented the illegal trafficking of a large lot of inventory items on the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border, the State Border Protection Committee of National Security Service of Uzbekistan said.
“On November 10, Uzbek border guards detained about 20 citizens of Kyrgyzstan with two Hyundai Porter cars on the Yapagi-Vuadil road in the Fergana region. They were illegally trafficking a large amount of inventory items,” the committee noted.
When the Uzbek border gurads stopped the violators, one of them - 28-year-old Kyrgyz citizen- drove away ignoring guards’ stop warning but he was finally arrested after receiving a gunshot wound.
The Uzbek border guards found out over 4 tons of meat products in their vehicles. The law enforcement bodies of the country have already opened a criminal case on this issue.
The State Border Protection Committee of National Security Service of Uzbekistan said despite the agreements reached with the Kyrgyz side to ban vehicles and citizens of Kyrgyzstan to enter some specified sections of the border road, the citizens of this country systematically violate the agreements to smuggle various inventory items. This eventually leads to negative consequences on the friendly relations between the border agencies of the two countries.
The Fergana Valley, a region where Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan meet, has a large number of enclaves. These enclaves appeared as a result of disintegration within the USSR and coincided with territorial disputes and disorders.
They were carved out based on the main language spoken by the majority of the population living there.
There are eight enclaves in Central Asia, and the existence of four Uzbek enclaves in Kyrgyzstan's territory, and one Kyrgyz enclave in Uzbekistan is a major problem in the negotiations.
The existing state borders between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan don't match with ethnic structures, causing many interethnic complications. There were clashes between Kyrgyzes and Uzbeks in southern Kyrgyzstan, primarily in the cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad, in 2010.
Uzbekistan launched a limited troop incursion at first, but opened its borders to the Uzbek refugees. The clashes killed up to 2,000 people, mostly Uzbeks, while another 100,000 displaced.