ALMATY, Kazakhstan — Police in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, have blocked five Kazakh men and women from approaching the Chinese Consulate, where they planned to demand the release of their relatives imprisoned in so-called reeducation camps in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang.

The protesters, who planned to picket the Chinese Consulate on December 4, told RFE/RL that it was the 1,000th day of their rallies “against China’s genocidal politics against ethnic Kazakhs, Uyghurs, and Kyrgyz,” as well as other indigenous peoples of the region.

According to the protesters, their relatives in Xinjiang were incarcerated either for being practicing Muslims or for posts on the Internet.

China has been accused of human rights violations against Kazakhs, Uyghurs and other mostly Turkic-speaking indigenous ethnic groups over the existence of mass detention camps in Xinjiang.

Beijing denies that the facilities are internment camps, saying its actions are aimed at combating terrorism. People who have fled the province, however, say people from the ethnic groups are undergoing “political indoctrination” at a network of facilities officially referred to as reeducation camps.

Amid ongoing rallies and pickets in front of China’s diplomatic missions in Kazakhstan, the Chinese Embassy said in March 2021 that all ethnic Kazakhs incarcerated in Xinjiang are Chinee citizens and are being held there for breaking Chinse laws.

Several relatives of the protesters were released and allowed to travel to Kazakhstan in recent years.

Kazakh authorities refrain from openly criticizing the policies of China, one of their main creditors.

The U.S. State Department has said that as many as 2 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and members of Xinjiang’s other indigenous, mostly Muslim ethnic groups have been taken to detention centers.

Kazakhs are the second-largest Turkic-speaking indigenous community in Xinjiang after Uyghurs. The region is also home to ethnic Kyrgyz, Tajiks, and Hui, also known as Dungans. Han, China’s largest ethnicity, is the second-largest community in Xinjiang.

Source: Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

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In Dushanbe, they discussed the creation of temporary shelters for drivers and passengers who were blocked in some areas due to the disaster, reports the Committee for Emergency Situations and Civil Defense under the Government of Tajikistan.

The discussion took place within the framework of a meeting between the Chairman of the CoES, Rustam Nazarzoda, and the head of the European Union Delegation to Tajikistan, Raimundas Karoblis.

Issues of further cooperation in the field of preventing and eliminating the consequences of emergency situations, as well as joint work of the Committee and the European Union in this area were discussed at the meeting.

In this context, the idea of supporting a project related to the creation of temporary shelters for drivers and passengers trapped on the Maykhura and Ushtur passes was considered.

As the head of the press center of the CoES, Umeda Yusufi, explained to Asia-Plus, this need arose against the background of the fact that there are dangerous sections on the Dushanbe-Varzob highway.

“Avalanches and rockfalls often occur here. Employees work at these locations around the clock from December to March. Therefore, such temporary structures at these passes are necessary,” Yusufi said.

Meanwhile, the parties also paid special attention to the issue of further EU support for the second stage of construction of the National Center for Training of Rescuers in Karatag.

Karoblis assured of the European Union’s readiness to continue strengthening cooperation between the EU and Tajikistan.

Let us recall that in Tajikistan, on January 19, 2021, as part of the joint project of the CoES “Stabilization of the southern border of Tajikistan with Afghanistan”, implemented through the OSCE Program Office in Dushanbe with funding from the European Union, the first stage of reconstruction and construction work of the National Training Center for the Training of Rescuers of Tajikistan began , Central Asian countries and Afghanistan.

The training ground is located in the Karatag gorge in the Shakhrinav district on an area of 28 hectares and will consist of educational, administrative and residential buildings, a canteen, a gym, a stadium, as well as training and modeling and modular complexes.

At the training ground, rescuers will test new types of equipment and equipment, practice the latest technologies for conducting rescue operations in various accidents, and improve tactical actions during rescue operations.

As the head of the CoES previously reported at a press conference following the results of the first half of the year, the second stage of work on the training ground is currently underway.

At this stage, the reconstruction is mainly taking place, the medical center, administrative building, classrooms, assembly hall and, of course, the gym are being completed, right above which the rescue operations control center will be located.

In addition, the purchase of the most practical simulators that are suitable for local emergency conditions is still ongoing.

Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

Source: Asia PLus TJ

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