D. FAYZULLAYEV
Candidate of Economic Sciences
Relations between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have been rather tense for many years. This conflict is developing both in the political and economic spheres. The reasons for the Uzbek-Kyrgyz confrontation have historical roots and are caused by territorial problems and religious differences between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz.
To understand the territorial claims of the Uzbeks and Kyrgyz to each other, it is necessary to turn to the history of the formation of national republics in the territory of Central Asia that became part of the USSR. For many centuries, Central Asia was divided according to the principle of regional rather than national affiliation. Thus, the Kokand Khanate was formed in the Ferghana Valley, the Khiva Khanate in the Khorezm oasis ,and the Bukhara Emirate in Transoxiana. 1
After 1924, when Central Asia became part of the USSR, the Ferghana Valley was artificially divided by the borders of the newly created Soviet republics of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. At the same time, the ethno-national principle itself, which was supposed to be the basis of the division, was violated. Thus, the cities of Osh, Jalal-Abad and Uzgen became part of Kyrgyzstan, despite the fact that the majority of the population living in these cities is Uzbek .2
During the seven decades of the Central Asian republics ' existence as part of a single state, the problem of the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border did not seem so serious. The central government, acting as an arbitrator, settled disputes that arose from time to time.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the former intra-State territorial issues turned into interstate problems.
In addition to the precise establishment of the state border and making decisions on more than 100 disputed places of its demarcation, 3 another serious problem in relations between the two countries was the fate of the two Uzbek enclaves of Sokh and Shahi-Mardan, separated from Uzbekistan by Kyrgyz territory. ...
Читать далее