Tightened Security in Ferghana Valley Pinches Residents
October 10, 2001 - In recent years, crossing the frontier between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan near Osh has become increasingly complicated. With the anti-terrorism campaign now in full swing, border guards are now on a heightened state of alert. New security measures mean more hardship for local residents, especially small-scale entrepreneurs in the Ferghana Valley.
Uzbekistan, whose military cooperation with the United States prompted the Taliban to declare a jihad against it, is especially vigilant. Uzbek border guards scrutinize documents and painstakingly inspect vehicles.
"Before crossing between countries was difficult," says Osh native Bumairam Ismailova, "Nowadays, it is almost impossible."
Conditions like those at the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border near Osh are commonplace throughout Central Asia. The Ferghana Valley - which includes Uzbek, Kyrgyz and Tajik territory, and forms a natural economic zone - is particularly vulnerable to stricter controls. Cross-border commerce has come to an almost complete standstill.
Border procedures began getting tighter after February 1999, when a series of bomb blasts rocked the Uzbek capital Tashkent. Uzbek authorities blamed Islamic radicals for the attack, which officials portrayed as an assassination attempt against President Islam Karimov.
Soon thereafter in the Ferghana Valley, formal borders posts were established. Some portions of the Uzbek frontier with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are now mined and are patrolled by heavily armed border troops.
Though designed to combat terrorist activity and drug traffickers, the stricter border procedures have caused more suffering among average Kyrgyz, Tajiks and Uzbeks. Those who previously depended on cross-border trade, particularly farmers, now are scrambling to find new sources of income. Tougher regulations have also made it difficult for people to visit relatives in neighboring countries.
Naturally, a few people are profiting from the current situation. Soldiers, who make a pittance from their official salaries, supplement their income with bribes. Car owners who loiter near the border can pick up an occasional hard-currency fare. And prices on certain goods vary greatly depending on the country, giving rise to a black market economy. For instance, some Kyrgyz entrepreneurs make a profit by buying gas cheaply in Uzbekistan, then reselling it in Kyrgyzstan at prices lower than those found at local gas stations.
Overall, tighter border procedures have hit local economies hard by raising the cost of doing business. Many merchants from neighboring countries can no longer afford the bribes and overhead associated with selling merchandise in Osh. So new goods are not coming in and the supply of goods that are available locally is becoming depleted.
Osh has the largest market in the Ferghana Valley, and is starting to feel the consequences of the drop-off in cross-border trade. Wealthy Osh residents are reportedly buying up essential commodities, including oil, flour and sugar. Meanwhile, the rural poor, pensioners and families with small children do not have enough food stocked for the winter. A continuation of the hoarding trend could spur inflation, making essential goods difficult for many to afford.
Kyrgyzstan is already in the midst of an economic crisis. And Osh, the country's second largest city, can ill afford to experience an additional economic blow. Some local residents express concern that bad economic times could foster renewed inter-ethnic tension between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in and around Osh. In 1990, the region was the scene of inter-ethnic violence, fueled in part by competition over scarce economic resources. According to Ismailova, Kyrgyz and Uzbeks managed to restore a large measure of inter-ethnic trust over the past decade. But the memories of the 1990 rioting remain fresh for many.
With the prospect of a long war looming, many Osh residents are hunkering down at home, afraid that if they cross the border now, they might get stuck on the other side. Residents hope that the stepped-up border patrols will prevent refugees from coming to Osh. "We would never fight Afghan refugees," says Ismailova. "But we are wondering how we will help them and feed our own people."