(Tashkent) Uzbekistan on Saturday declared a month-long state of emergency in the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan, rocked by a rare anti-government demonstration that prompted President Shavkat Mirzoev to abandon a draft constitutional amendment.
Posted at 2:46 p.m.
Updated at 3:45 p.m.
In a statement, the press service of the presidency explained that the state of emergency aims to “ensure the safety of citizens” and “the return of the rule of law” in this poor territory in the north-west of the country. ‘Uzbekistan.
It came into effect at midnight local time on Sunday and is to last until August 2, the source said.
A few hours earlier, Uzbek President Chavkat Mirzoïev had gone there and announced the abandonment of a draft constitutional amendment which would have reduced the autonomy of Karakalpakstan.
Thousands of people had demonstrated Friday against this project, in the streets of the city of Nukus, the capital of this desert region.
The protest represented the biggest challenge so far to President Mirzoev’s power, in office since 2016.
The reform provided in particular that this republic of 2 million people, one of the poorest regions of the country, officially loses its “sovereign” status and the right to organize a referendum on its self-determination.
Spontaneous demonstrations are both very rare and illegal in Uzbekistan, an authoritarian country and the most populous of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia, with around 35 million inhabitants.
On Saturday, the Uzbek authorities announced that they had made a series of arrests the day after this anti-government demonstration.
“A group including riot organizers and people who actively opposed law enforcement agencies have been arrested,” the parliament, government and police of the Republic of Karakalpakstan said in a statement.
According to this source, the suspects tried to seize public buildings during the demonstration in the city of Nukus, the regional capital.
On Saturday, Mr. Mirzoev’s press service announced that the president had met with MPs from Karakalpakstan and that the articles of the Constitution concerning the republic would remain unchanged “based on … the opinions expressed by the people of Karakalpakstan”. .
Came to power in 2016 on the death of his predecessor, the ruthless Islam Karimov, Shavkat Mirzioev carried out major economic and social reforms. Reelected last year, he is now accused of taking a new authoritarian turn in the country.
With the revision of the proposed Constitution, the presidential term would increase from five to seven years, in favor of the current head of state.
The country’s economic opening has been hampered by a succession of crises, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a key partner of Uzbekistan.
Karakalpakstan is associated with the drying up of the Aral Sea, one of the world’s worst man-made environmental disasters.