[ad_1]
Authorities in Uzbekistan said on Saturday they had arrested “organizers of a massive riot” who wanted to occupy an administrative building in an autonomous republic that has witnessed a rare protest over a proposed constitutional reform.
Demonstrations in the republic of Karakalpakstan on Friday brought thousands to the streets of the region’s capital, before the unveiling of a draft amendment to Uzbekistan’s constitution that would weaken the republic and should hold a referendum in the coming months.
In the authoritarian former Soviet republic, where spontaneous demonstrations are illegal, police said on Friday that “order has been restored” in the areas the demonstrations have taken over.
The tightly controlled government made no mention of casualties.
The proposed constitutional changes would strip the Republic of Karakalpakstan of its nominally “sovereign” status and remove its constitutional right to secede from Uzbekistan through a referendum.
Constitutional Council member and lawmaker Odiljon Tozhiev said Saturday that the council is monitoring the situation in the republic and will take into account the opinions expressed by the republic online.
However, “the provocateurs trying to cause unrest do not represent the general view of the people of Karakalpak,” Tozhiyev said.
The authorities in Karakalpakstan, subject to the central government despite their legal autonomy, have taken a tougher stance.
The police, parliament and cabinet of the Republic of Uzbekistan issued a joint statement saying that “provocateurs” were trying to “seize state institutions … to divide society and disrupt the socio-political situation in Uzbekistan”.
“A group of organizers of the massive unrest and those actively resisting law enforcement agencies have been detained. Investigations are being conducted against them,” Saturday’s statement said, blaming a “criminal group” for the unrest.
Internet has been patchy in Karakalpakstan, a western region of 2 million people hit hard by the drying up of the Aral Sea. Once the fourth largest lake in the world, it has shrunk dramatically due to Soviet agricultural policies.
With a total population of 35 million, Uzbekistan is the most populous country in Muslim-majority Central Asia.
In addition to changing the status of the region, Uzbekistan’s new constitution is expected to reintroduce a seven-year presidential term in favor of strongman Shavkat Mirziyoyev and a return to his authoritarian predecessor and mentor Isla The era of Sam Karimov.
Mirziyoyev campaigned and won re-election last year under the campaign slogan “New Uzbekistan”, but critics have accused Tashkent of backsliding on power after pursuing economic and social reforms.
[ad_2]
Source link