Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
On 9 September 1991, following the failed
Moscow coup, Tajikistan followed other
SSRs by declaring independence. Less than
two weeks later Dushanbe's central Lenin
statue had been toppled, watched by a large
demonstration of rural Muslim folk bussed
into the capital by Hezb-e Nahzat-e Islami.
Yet in November, elections appeared to fa-
vour Rakhmon Nabiev, a former Tajik Com-
munist Party chief (1982-85) who riled the
opposition by consolidating an old-guard,
Leninabad-oriented power base rather than
accommodating the various clan-factions
that make up the nation. Sit-in demonstra-
tions on Dushanbe's central square escalated
to violent clashes.
In August 1992, antigovernment dem-
onstrators stormed the Presidential Palace
and took hostages. A coalition government
was formed, but sharing power between re-
gional clans, religious leaders and former
communists proved impossible. As a way
out of the internecine conflict, Emomali
Rakhmonov (now known as Rahmon), the
former communist boss of Kulob district,
was chosen to front the government. The
Kulob fought their way to power with a
scorched-earth policy against their Islamic-
leaning rivals from the Garm Valley and
Kurgan-Tyube.
Frustrated by its marginal position and
seeing no future in a collapsing Tajikistan,
GBAO (eastern Tajikistan) nominally de-
clared its independence in 1992. Tajikistan
was descending into a brutal civil war that
would claim over 60,000 lives. Kulyabi forc-
es, led by Sanjak Safarov (who had previous-
ly spent 23 years in prison for murder), em-
barked on a campaign of ethnic cleansing.
Anyone found in Dushanbe with a Bada-
khshan or Khatlon ID card was shot on the
spot. November 1992 elections did nothing
to resolve the conflict (the opposition in ex-
ile refused to take part in the vote) and the
Islamic opposition continued the war from
bases in the Karategin region and Afghani-
stan, echoing the
basmachi
campaigns of
70 years earlier. An economic blockade of
Badakhshan led to severe famine in the
Pamirs, whose people were kept alive by aid
from the Aga Khan Foundation.
In late 1994 a second presidential elec-
tion was held, in which Rakhmonov
romped to victory. This surprised no one,
as he was the only candidate. Opposition
parties had been outlawed.
Precarious Peace
A bad peace is better than a good war.
Khatlon villager
Eventually, pressure from Russia (which then
retained forces at some 50 former Soviet mil-
itary posts along the Afghan border) along
with the faltering loyalty of Rakhmonov's
own commanders, forced the government
to negotiate with the opposition-in-exile. A
December 1996 ceasefire was followed up by
a peace agreement on 27 June 1997 creating
a power-sharing organisation. This guaran-
teed the United Tajik Opposition (UTO) 30%
of the seats in a coalition government in re-
turn for an end to the fighting.
The civil war had proven economically as
well as physically catastrophic. Always the
poorest of the Soviet republics, Tajikistan's
GDP per capita had plunged a further 70%
since independence. But although some
fighting rattled on until 2001, overall peace
prevailed and the reconstruction of the
country has since been impressively rapid.
People
Tajiks constitute only about 65% of the pop-
ulation. Indeed today there are more Tajiks
in Afghanistan than in Tajikistan, while 25%
of Tajikistanis are ethnic Uzbeks. 'Tajik' only
came to denote a distinct nationality during
the 20th century. Although the male skull
caps resemble slightly elevated Uzbek ones
(black with white arabesques), Tajiks distin-
guish themselves with their predominantly
Persian ancestry and language. Pure-blood-
ed Tajiks tend to have thin, southern Eu-
ropean-looking faces, with wide eyes and a
Roman nose. In Badakhshan, Pamiris speak
related but self-consciously different lan-
guages and follow Ismaili Islam (most Tajiks
are Sunni). In the Murgab district east of Ali-
chur, most of the people are Kyrgyz. Average
family sizes remain high, and over 40% of
Tajikistan's population is under the age of 14.
Arts
When Tajikistan was hived off from Uz-
bekistan in 1929, the new nation-state was
forced to leave behind all of its cultural bag-
gage. The new Soviet order set about provid-
ing a replacement pantheon of arts, introduc-
ing modern drama, opera and ballet, and
sending stage-struck Tajik aspirants to study
