Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Authorities in Uzbekistan 's Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic reported on Saturday that a rare pub...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - Authorities in Uzbekistan's Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic reported on Saturday that a rare public protest over a proposed constitutional amendment that would alter its status had taken place.
The Karakalpaks are a distinct ethnic minority group with their own language who live in Karakalpakstan in northwest Uzbekistan. According to the current Uzbek constitution, Karakalpakstan is a sovereign republic inside Uzbekistan with the right to secede by organising a referendum.
In the upcoming months, Uzbekistan aims to hold a vote on the new constitution, which will remove all references to Karakalpakstan's sovereignty or right to secede.
According to Uzbekistan's Interior Ministry, citizens of Karakalpakstan marched through the capital city of Nukus on Friday and organised a rally in the city's main market "as a result of misunderstanding the constitutional revisions."
In a separate statement, the government of Karakalpakstan said that when protestors attempted to seize government facilities, police intervened and detained the leaders of the demonstrations as well as those who actively resisted.
The two million-person province in Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic with strong ties to Russia, has now reported a return to order, according to the authorities there.
The President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's wide constitutional reform proposal, which also includes bolstering civil liberties and increasing the presidential term from five to seven years, contains changes pertaining to Karakalpakstan as just one component.
If the reform is approved by the referendum, Mirziyoyev's term count will be reset and he will be eligible to run for two more terms.
