Government believes it has done enough to prevent further trouble.
This is the first in a series of radio reports to mark the fifth anniversary of ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan. Clashes in and around the cities of Osh and Jalalabad left more than 400 dead in the space of a few days in June 2010.www.iwpr.net
The psychological wounds have not completely healed, but officials are confident that enough has been done to ensure the violence will not be repeated.
“I can confidently say that there are no… major conflicts,” Bakhtiyar Saliev, deputy head of the government agency for local government and ethnic relations, told IWPR.
Two years ago, the government came up with a new strategy for a Kyrgyzstan national identity designed to include all ethnic groups. New legislation will make local governors directly responsible for trouble in their area of responsibility. Some experts say the key to avoiding ethnic tensions is to improve economic conditions so that people have more to lose and noting to gain from getting involved in unrest.
Aytunuk Nurdinova is an IWPR contributor in Kyrgyzstan.
This audio programme went out in Russian and Kyrgyz on national radio stations in Kyrgyzstan. It was produced under two IWPR projects, Investigative Journalism to Promote Democratic Reform, funded by the European Union; and Strengthening Capacities, Bridging Divides in Central Asia, funded by the Foreign Ministry of Norway. The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of IWPR and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the EU or the Norwegian government.