State of emergency in Uzbekistan's Karakalpakstan Republic

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/2/uzbekistan-scraps-plans-to-curb-karakalpak-autonomy

Uzbekistan has announced a month-long state of emergency in an autonomous republic where rare protests forced President Shavkat Mirziyoyev into a reversal on certain constitutional reforms.

President Mirziyoyev’s press secretary Sherzod Asadov wrote on Telegram on Saturday that the state of emergency in the Republic of Karakalpakstan would run from just after midnight on Sunday (19:00 GMT Saturday) to August 2.


The measure was being taken to “ensure the safety of citizens, protect their rights and freedoms (and) restore law and order” in the territory, the statement added.

Uzbekistan’s president had arrived in Karakalpakstan on Saturday and promised that proposed constitutional amendments that would have weakened the territory’s status would be scrapped.

A rally on Friday was called to protest constitutional reform plans that would have changed the status of Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic that is home to the Karakalpak people – an ethnic minority group with its own language, Uzbek authorities said.

Police dispersed the protesters after some tried to storm local government buildings in the region’s capital, Nukus, following a march and a rally at the city’s central market, local and government officials said.


Under the current Uzbek constitution, Karakalpakstan is described as a sovereign republic within Uzbekistan and has the right to secede by holding a referendum.

The new version of the constitution – on which Uzbekistan plans to hold a public vote in the coming months – would no longer mention Karakalpakstan’s sovereignty or right for secession.

[CumbrianLefty]

Karakalpakstan is a basket case going back to the Soviet years.

(when its corruption was legendary even by Central Asian standards)

[dead0man]

Karakalpakstan?  ka-rack-al-pack-stan?  Crackle Pakistan?

[dead0man]

reading the wik on the place is interesting.  It's suffering from what the Soviets/Russians did to the Aral Sea.  Summer temps are up 10C/18F and winter temps are down by the same amount.  The rate of anemia, respiratory diseases and other health problems has risen dramatically.  But the population has doubled since 1975 and continues to climb steadily.  What's up with that?

[Lord Halifax]

But the population has doubled since 1975 and continues to climb steadily.  What's up with that?

Looks like it's just natural growth in a poor "developing" country where the median age is a mere 27.7.

According to Wiki the annual natural growth rate is 1.72% which doubles the population in 40.7 years.

[PSOL]

Uzbekistan has been arming itself to defend the current order against their own people, whether class conflict masked as "clan warfare" by international observers or the numerous ethnic problems Uzbekistan has. They have the best military among the Turkic nations in Central Asia for this very reason.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Uzbekistan has been arming itself to defend the current order against their own people, whether class conflict masked as "clan warfare" by international observers or the numerous ethnic problems Uzbekistan has. They have the best military among the Turkic nations in Central Asia for this very reason.

Relevant.

[GMantis]

Karakalpakstan?  ka-rack-al-pack-stan?  Crackle Pakistan?

Black Hat Country in English.

reading the wik on the place is interesting.  It's suffering from what the Soviets/Russians did to the Aral Sea.  Summer temps are up 10C/18F and winter temps are down by the same amount.  The rate of anemia, respiratory diseases and other health problems has risen dramatically.  But the population has doubled since 1975 and continues to climb steadily.  What's up with that?

High birth rates. Compare with the rest of Uzbekistan, which has increased its population by nearly three times over the same period, so Karakalpakstan is actually lagging behind the rest of the country, likely due to emigration.

Karakalpakstan is a basket case going back to the Soviet years.

(when its corruption was legendary even by Central Asian standards)

Is there some truth in the claim that they Karakalpak people were invented as a separate ethnic group rather than a subsection of the Kazakhi people to justify giving their region to Uzbekistan (so that republic would have its own outlet on the Aral Sea)? Their language is very close to Kazakh, after all.

[PSOL]

The ethnic group called “Kazakh” was made during the Soviet era, before that it was like a designator for everyone with a similar language, like referring to all Germanic speakers as German.

[GMantis]

The ethnic group called “Kazakh” was made during the Soviet era, before that it was like a designator for everyone with a similar language, like referring to all Germanic speakers as German.

Not quite, since there was actually a Kazakh Khanate. Also, if the criteria for creating the Kazakh nation was language, the Karakalpaks should probably have been included.

[PSOL]

The ruling that ended regional autonomy was overturned by the current president.

[Joe Republic]

Karakalpakstan?  ka-rack-al-pack-stan?  Crackle Pakistan?

[CumbrianLefty]

The ruling that ended regional autonomy was overturned by the current president.

So ultimately a win for the protesters, good to see in even a repressive country like Uzbekistan.

[PSOL]

The ruling that ended regional autonomy was overturned by the current president.

So ultimately a win for the protesters, good to see in even a repressive country like Uzbekistan.

Getting on the street is 1/5 of the battle