The year 2021 in Central Asia Close

La pandémie de coronavirus, qui a dominé l’actualité de 2020 en Asie centrale, a été reléguée en 2021 à l’arrière-plan de l’actualité régionale, malgré d’autres vagues. Plus largement, il a plutôt été question d’élections, de crises écologiques, de tensions frontalières et d’autres évolutions sociales. Novastan vous résume l‘année 2021 en Asie centrale.

Kazakhstan : crises écologiques et développements propres

As in 2020, Kazakhstan is still faced with ecological problems that have consequences for the population and the economy.From 2020, the water shortage intensified in the country and the kazakhs feared that the fate of the Aral Sea will repeat itself on other bodies of water, such as Lake Balkhach.In 2021, the evolution of the situation in the Urals aroused increased attention: the high consumption of water by the population and the use of water by industrial installations led to a reduction in water from the river.

In addition, the industrial use of blue gold has served the return of polluted waters in the Urals.The pollution and the decline of the Urals also have negative repercussions on work and the economy.The river has become so low that navigation is almost impossible, which leads to the disappearance of trades such as mechanic and boat driver.

In parallel, the suspension of the drying up of Lake Taldykol, announced in September, seemed to be a glimmer of hope in terms of environmental protection.However, in October, the Ministry of the Environment announced that the emblematic lake of the Nur-Sultan capital would ultimately be dried up to make room for the construction of housing.

In March, the air of Almaty, the economic capital of Kazakhstan, was classified as "unhealthy".At the same time, Nur-Sultan is among the ten cities in the world where air quality is the worst.The government considers that vehicles are responsible for air pollution and emphasizes individual responsibility, although the coal industry is one of the main causes of air pollution in Kazakhstan.In Almaty, environmental researchers are developing measurement instruments that will assess the situation in the cities concerned.

In addition to water shortage and air pollution, some regions of the country also experience critical situations due to heat: in July, the state of emergency was declared in southern Kazakhstan.Many regions of the southern country were affected by the lack of water and drought at the start of the summer.The agricultural sector has particularly suffered, rice cultivation and breeding being made extremely difficult.President Kazakh Kassym-Jomart Tokaïev dismissed in July the Minister of Agriculture Saparhan Omarov, who had not reacted correctly to the state of emergency.

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After explosions in an ammunition deposit in southern Kazakhstan in August, the Minister of Defense Nournlan Yermekbaïev resigned.He was replaced by Mourat Bektanov.The explosion killed 15 people and injured 98 others.August 29 was declared the day of national mourning.

Kazakhstan reacted to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic by innovating itself: at the end of April, the vaccination campaign started with the Qazvac vaccine, produced and developed in Kazakhstan.Previously, the "Ashhyq" application had been developed and tested in January.The application had to regulate access to stores above all and help guarantee that no person with COVVI.

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On the diplomatic level, Kazakhstan tried to assert itself during the Afghan crisis by welcoming certain UN agencies in Almaty.The largest country in Central Asia was also elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council in October.Franco-Kazakhes relations have been led by French companies to invest more in Kazakhstan, the signing of a cooperation agreement between Paris and Nur-Sultan and friendship between Nogent-sur-Marne and Kyzylorda.Kazakhstan also inaugurated a new general consulate in Strasbourg to get closer to France and the European Union.

Kirghizstan : mise en place d’une verticale du pouvoir

After the political upheaval of the fall of 2020, the Kyrgyz political system was reorganized in 2021 in accordance with the wishes of the new President Sadyr Japarov.In addition to its election in January, a majority of voters opted for a presidential regime.A new constitution was adopted in April, with a strong verticality of power.The government - or rather the ministerial office according to the new Constitution - has changed twice, in February and October.

A new parliament was finally elected in November, while the deputies of the sixth Kirghize legislature sat more than a year beyond their mandate.Their successors are fewer, have less power and are mostly faithful to government.The three elections of 2021 were marked by a low participation rate - between 33 and 36 %.According to Deputy Prime Minister Edil Baïssalov, the upheaval of the political system was the main task of the year: "The president fully plays his role now," said the Kirghiz Kloop media.kg in December.

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However, there is a lot to do.The year 2021 ended on new exchanges of fire on the border with Tajikistan, relays the Kirghize 24 press agency.kg, after relations between the two countries were shaken at the end of April by the deadliest clashes in years.Other cycles of negotiations on the border layout followed, as well as border closures.But the structural reasons for tensions persist.

The conflict around the Koumtor gold mine is not resolved after its de facto nationalization.In addition, news concerning poverty, energy shortage, violence against women, pollution and other long -term problems marked the news of 2021.

Koumtor's mine is at the heart of Kyrgyz political life (illustration).[Alt] Michael Karavanov / Wikimedia Commons

In terms of international relations, Kyrgyzstan pursues a multilateral foreign policy and seems to bet more on cooperation with Turkey, which still provided military drones for border surveillance in December, as Kloop relayed.kg.In May and June, the kidnapping of Orhan Inanda, director of a network of Kyrgyz schools, made the headlines.On July 5, Orhan Inanda was reappeared in Turkey and presented as an enemy of the state by the Turkish government.Some commentators consider that the Kyrgyz security services participated in the kidnapping of the director to Turkey while Orhan Inanda, which is linked to the Gülen network, has dual nationality.

The European Union continues to strengthen its relations with Kyrgyzstan, as evidenced by the economic forum held in Bichkek, the capital, in November.Franco-Kirgyz relations were also reinforced in 2021, with the opening of a Kyrgyz embassy in Paris in June and a Kirghize contemporary painting exhibition in the French capital, in December.A Kyrgyz delegation was also received in Paris in mid-December.

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There are glimmer of hope in the fields of sport and culture.After the Kyrgyz Football Federation celebrated its centenary in March, the country has obtained its best Olympic result to date with three medals in the fight at Tokyo Summer Games.The starlet Aïsoulou Tynybekova has also kept her title of world champion in the discipline in October, as the American media Eurasianet relayed.

In November, the historic Bichkek museum also reopened after six years of renovation.Finally, Kyrgyzstan had a lot to offer in the field of pop music in 2021, after Spotify became accessible.Thus, "IT" by The OM and "Serial" by Wtoroj Kas offer, among other things, wealthy glue life in the capital Kirghize.

Tadjikistan : dépendant de la Chine et de la migration de travail

The year 2021 started for Tajikistan by what seemed to be good news.President Emomali Rahmon announced at the end of January that Tajikistan had defeated the coronavirus and that there would be no other cases.But from the end of June, the Tadjik government was faced with a new epidemic of Coronavirus and sought to bring responsibility for the population.To date, official statistics on the epidemic remain very troubled, with just over 600 new cases and no deaths identified between June and December 2021.

The year 2021 was also marked by the resumption of flights with Russia in April.An important fact for a country whose gross domestic product is largely supported by the funding of migrant workers in Russia.With a brutal stop in 2020 due to the coronavirus, these funds were able to resume in 2021 at high speed.In September, the Russian authorities have identified more than 2 million Tajiks in the country, or 30 % of the active population, a record.In parallel, Douchanbé and Moscow signed an agreement for a common air defense in April.

In 2021, Tajikistan also looked at the consequences of climate change.Although it is not a large CO2 transmitter compared to other countries in the region, Tajikistan is the country most affected by the consequences of climate change.This translates concretely into the conflicts between it to its neighbors, in particular Kyrgyzstan.It is on the territory of the latter that a conflict around a water reservoir used by the two countries caused 55 dead and forced the evacuation of some 44,000 people.

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In July, the Taliban offensive began to reach the border area between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.The Afghan soldiers who fled the Taliban were brought back to the country and were thus delivered to their revenge.After taking power of the Islamist movement in mid-August, Tajikistan has positioned itself quite head-on against the new regime.Civilians have also started to leave Afghanistan by the Tadjike border, which aroused the interest of European states on the role of northern residents in this conflict.They thus suggested giving money to neighboring countries to welcome refugees.In November, 1 billion euros was unlocked to help Afghanistan and nearby countries, notes the New York Times, without the distribution of this sum is perfectly clear at this stage.

President Tadjik Emomali Rahmon (left) went to France from October 12 to 14, 2021.[Alt] Presidency Tadjike

Geopolitically, Douchanbé has become an important center for discussions around Afghanistan, by hosting in September a summit of the Organization of the Collective Security Treaty (OTSC) and a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (OCS).With these meetings, the anti-taliban posture of Tajikistan has been asserted.A posture recalled last October during the official visit of President Tadjik in Paris, organized on the occasion of the opening of a rare exhibition on Tajikistan by the Guimet Museum.

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Tadjikistan has long maintained a close dependence relationship with its eastern neighbor, China, especially economic.In fact, the number of infrastructure projects funded by China is very important.But tadjikistan would also have shown itself cooperative in the persecution of Uighurs by China and would have granted its neighbor a second military base on its own territory.

Ouzbékistan : une année sous le signe de l’élection présidentielle

The major political event in Uzbekistan was the presidential election of October 24, at the end of which outgoing president Chavkat Mirzioïev came out widely winner with 80.1 % of the votes.Opposition representatives were not allowed to present themselves, although the opposition party Erk declared in April that he wanted to participate in the election.The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) also reported "serious procedural errors".

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Chavkat Mirzioïev being considered a reformer, the state of freedoms in the country has also been the subject of particular attention in 2021.Admittedly, Uzbekistan liberalized its law on religion in early July and notably raised the ban on wearing religious clothes, but several waves of arrests of alleged Islamists have taken place before.

At the same time, Kun online media.Uz and Azon.Uz have been sentenced to heavy fines for articles with religious content.Blogger Miraziz Bazarov experienced a worse spell: on March 28, he was attacked with baseball bats by three unknown attackers who seriously injured him.Miraziz Bazarov is known for his commitment to LGBT rights.

Lire aussi sur Novastan : L’homosexualité encore pénalisée en OuzbékistanAvec la prise de pouvoir des talibans dans l’Afghanistan voisin, l’Ouzbékistan a attiré l’attention.On August 29, the German Foreign Minister of the time, Heiko Maas, went to Tachkent to coordinate cooperation with regard to Afghanistan.Tashkent did not, however, declared itself ready to welcome Afghan refugees.In the meantime, Uzbekistan has normal relations with its southern neighbor.

During a meeting at the top between Angela Merkel and Chavkat Mirzioïev, which was held online on March 12, discussions carried not only on the pandemic of Covid-19, but also and above all on economic issues.The two heads of government notably mentioned the Uzbekistan membership project for the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Chavkat Mirzioïev was re -elected president on October 24, 2021 (illustration).[Alt] President.uza

Between France and Uzbekistan, relations are in good shape: Veolia has won a call for tenders in Tashkent, French international banks are interested in the liberalization of the country, Renault cars will be sold in the country and agroup of French senators went to Uzbekistan in September.Lyon and Samarcande also joined a network of silk cities.In parallel, France has appointed a new ambassador, Aurélia Bouchez, and a Franco-Ouzbek cultural center should open in 2022 in the capital.

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In detail, tourism remains one of the main sectors of the Uzbeke economy.In February, the Chavkat Mirzioïev thus adopted by decree an action plan aimed at relaunching the tourism sector, hard hit by the pandemic of COVVI-19.At the same time, Uzbekistan debt continues to increase.In the first half of 2021, the country's total external debt increased by six percentage points to 57 % of the gross domestic product (GDP).As shown in the ESG report published for the first time by Uzbekistan, the country, however, makes considerable progress in sustainability.

In the field of the environment, most of the problems, however, persist.Like neighboring Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan overexploits its water resources.The risk of persistent droughts increases.Air pollution, especially in industrial agglomerations, is a real headache for the inhabitants.

Turkménistan : corruption, sécheresse et pénurie alimentaire

In February, several ministers of the Turkmen government were dismissed within the framework of a ministerial reshuffle.At the same time, Serdar Berdimouhamedov, son of the Turkmene president in office, took on the role of Deputy Prime Minister responsible for digitization and innovative technologies.This newly created position is accompanied by the presidency of the supreme control chamber and participation in the State Security Council.Observers see clear signs of the will of President Gourbangouly Berdimouhamedov to consolidate the position of his family within the government.

In May, a group of investigative journalists from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) published a report indicating that the president's family was enriched thanks to initiate crimes and corruption linked to imports offoodstuffs, while the Turkmene population undergoes the consequences of a new drought.

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In 2021, a massive lack of water as well as persistent high temperatures in a large part of Turkmenistan resulted in considerable losses in rice and wheat harvests.Since the start of the year, food prices have increased in the country, which has caused famines.With drought, the situation of those who lived until then their own breeding has also deteriorated, because there was no longer enough grass to feed animals.From the month of May, the water level of the main dams in the country had fallen below the critical level, so that the water remaining in these dams could no longer be used for irrigation, because it wasunder the flow of the dam.In a report published in late August, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said that Turkmenistan water consumption exceeded 44 % reserves.

Turkmenistan has been designated as the fifth largest methane transmitter in the world (illustration).[alt] ghgsat

The situation concerning the coronavirus pandemic remains opaque in 2021.Certainly, the authorities continue to deny the existence of the virus on the national territory.Nevertheless, during the year, the government took several measures which seemed to combat the spread of viral diseases, in particular the obligation to wear a mask and measures of social distance.On July 7, Turkmenistan was also one of the first countries in the world to introduce a vaccination obligation for all citizens over the age of 18.In early November, Catherine Smallwood, emergency manager at the World Health Organization, questioned government statements.She estimated that it was "scientifically unlikely that the virus did not circulate in Turkmenistan" and also raised the long history of data deletion in the country.

On the international level, Turkmenistan has recorded growing interest in its own gas reserves.The country of Central Asia has thus become for the month of January 2021 the main gas supplier in China.Beijing also considered in June that gas was "the cornerstone" of its relations with Achgabat.

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In early 2021, the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan signed a declaration of intention for a transcaspian gas pipeline.This project could provide relaxation in tense relations between the two countries and would open access to the European energy market in Turkmenistan.The construction project might not be very profitable.In fact, the chances of exporting via Ukraine are better because the existing infrastructure could be used.

In parallel, the Tapi pipeline project between Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India was relaunched with the coming to power of the Taliban.In February, the Turkmen government received the Taliban in Achgabat, and is now waiting for the situation to stabilize for the gas pipeline launched in 1995.

This gas dependence is however also synonymous with pollution.In fact, important methane shows are regularly detected in Turkmenistan, which makes the country the fifth emitter of this gas in the world.

Région ouïghoure : les droits de l’Homme en ligne de mire

As in previous years, the Xinjiang Autonomous Autonomous Region has drawn the attention of global public opinion to human rights violations committed by China against Muslim minorities that live there.It is in particular for this reason that Beijing tried to show the world that everything was fine in the region.While Muslims around the world celebrate the end of the Eid Festival, China has set up a propaganda campaign to show the world the religious freedom of the Uighurs.

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Previously, the oppression of the Uighurs had been the subject of a discussion at the United Nations at an online conference on the situation in the Xinjiang, on May 12, to the chagrin of China.In France, the survivor book of the Chinese gulag had already been published in January, in which Uighuri Gulbahar Haitiwaji recounts his detention in one of the Chinese "rehabilitation camps".

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On March 1, the mayor of Nuremberg Marcus König said that the city's human rights prize would be awarded this year to Sayragul Sauytbay, a Chinese citizen from Ethnia Kazakhe.Saragul Sauytbay became known, just like Gulbahar Haitiwaji, by his testimony on the camps before asking for asylum in Sweden.

In Kazakhstan, it was above all the fate of ethnic kazakhs living in Xinjiang that caught attention.For more than 300 days, demonstrations have taken place in front of the Chinese consulate in Almaty to claim the release of the imprisoned Kazakhs.In the meantime, the Kazakh authorities have rejected the naturalization requests of several kazakhs having fled the Xinjiang, on the grounds that they had entered illegally into the country.

2021 chez Novastan

At Novastan, the year 2021 was mainly marked by the installation of our subscription.Launched in September 2020, it represents an important part of our economic model in gestation.Today, almost 70 % of our content is thus reserved for our subscribers, which mainly represents the articles written by our editorial staff.Translations of local press articles as well as certain chosen articles remain accessible to all.

In parallel, we organized online events on popular music in Central Asia, the consequences of COVVI-19 for Centralian migrants and an interview with Swedish documentary maker Magnus Gerten about human rights in Uzbekistan.We were about to organize a festive evening in Paris, our famous dance with the Stans, but we had to postpone it because of the coronavirus.

We finished the year with our tenth anniversary, on which we have offered a new website that should be put online in early 2022.We were also able to organize our annual meeting between our two French and German associations, this time in Berlin.At the end of November, we discussed the collaboration between our French -speaking and German -speaking editors.

Part of the Novastan France and Novastan e teams.V.met in Berlin, November 27 and 28, 2021.[Alt] Novastan

Thanks to the new website and your faithful support, we will continue in 2022 to highlight the main themes of Central Asia and to organize a series of exciting events - online and offline.To support us, you can buy one of our photos of the day, make a tax exempt or subscribe.Each support counts!

In the meantime, we wish you a very nice new year, thank you for being with us!

For the writing of Novastanjulius Bauer, Florian Coppenrath, Lisa Möckel, Robin Roth and Hera Shokohi

Translated from German and edited by Etienne Combier

Reread by Anne Marvau

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