Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - In Karakalpakstan, an autonomous province of Uzbekistan , last week's turmoil over proposals to reduc...
 |
| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - In Karakalpakstan, an autonomous province of Uzbekistan, last week's turmoil over proposals to reduce its autonomy resulted in 18 fatalities and 243 injuries, according to Uzbek authorities.
According to a news briefing from the national guard press office, security personnel detained 516 people last Friday while dispersing the demonstrators but have since released a large number of them.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the president, abandoned his efforts to change the constitution's provisions relating to Karakalpakstan's autonomy and right to secede on Saturday. Additionally, he proclaimed an emergency in the northwest province for one month.
According to official sources, demonstrators attempted to take control of local government facilities in the province capital of Nukus last Friday, resulting in the biggest outbreak of violence in the 34 million-person Central Asian country in nearly 20 years.
The Karakalpaks are an ethnic minority group whose language is more closely related to Kazakh than Uzbek. They are found in Karakalpakstan, which is located on the beaches of the Aral Sea, a region that has been plagued by environmental disaster for many years.
On Monday, Mirziyoyev addressed Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the leader of Kazakhstan, the country with the largest Karakalpak diaspora abroad. According to Tokayev's office, he approved of Tashkent's efforts to maintain stability in Karakalpakstan.
