Under decades of communism, little was known about the people of the five central Asian nations created by the breakup of the Soviet Union. Their cultures are rooted in tradition and their lands are rich in resources, but independence has brought an uncertain future. In this four-part series, CNN looks at the political, economic and social challenges facing them.
From Correspondent Siobhan Darrow
October 18, 1995
Web posted at: 4:55 p.m. EDT
MARXISM, Tajikistan (CNN) -- Young and old, they are the victims of central Asia's first civil war. Most who lived in the tiny farming town of Marxism, Tajikistan, fled during the fighting in 1992. But with a fragile cease-fire holding, some are now returning, trying to rebuild shattered lives.
The conflict between the Tajik opposition and the Communist government was one of the most lethal to emerge from the break-up of the Soviet Union. Opposition Islamic fighters backed by neighboring Afghan mujahadeen battled government forces for control of the mountainous country. Then, Russia stepped in.
The Tajik-Afghan border is close to 1,000 miles from Russia but it's Russia's front line against Islamic fundamentalism. When civil war broke out in 1992, (1M QuickTime movie) Russia intervened to prop up Tajikistan's pro-Communist government, fearing an Islamic regime could spread to other central Asian countries and eventually inspire unrest in Russia's own Muslim population.
Some 25,000 Russian troops now keep an uneasy peace,
patrolling the border. Their mission is to stem the flow of
arms, drugs and Muslim insurgents from Afghanistan, but in
the process they've become targets of rebel attacks launched
with the help of militant Afghans. "If we weren't here I
think Tajikistan would become another Afghanistan," Russian
border guard Igor Glukhikh told CNN.
One million people, almost a fifth of Tajikistan's
population, fled their homes during the civil war. Tens of
thousands have died in a conflict that is really more about
old clan rivalries than about Islamic fundamentalism. "Islam
is the religion and culture in Tajikistan but it is not an
ideological basis for the confrontation," according to Darko
Silovic, head of the United Nations mission to Tajikistan.
Besides Islamic fundamentalists, there also is opposition from pro-democracy forces. Together, they are loosely allied against the Communist government but it is primarily fundamentalism that is being used to incite rebellion. And it is fundamentalism that Tajikistan's leaders try to blame for all the trouble.
Tajikstan is the poorest of the former Soviet republics. War and the uncertainty of independence has made life even tougher, putting more pressure on an already unpopular government. "It would be better if there were Islamic laws. Maybe this chaos wouldn't persist if we had those laws," said one man.
Amid the unrest in Tajikistan, neighboring countries look on uneasily, keeping a tight lid on religious expression and forever warning that without a firm hand, they also could slide into civil war.
In Uzbekistan, for example, a combustible ethnic mix keeps the government wary of the seeds of Islamic fundamentalism. Tajiks and Uzbeks live side by side but fear that the Tajik conflict could spread is always present. "We have seen Islamic extremism and violence as part of the civil war in Tajikistan and in the continuing conflict in Afghanistan, so people in Uzbekistan are very anxious" about a similar conflict, said Henry Clarke, U.S. ambassador to Uzbekistan.
Meanwhile, new mosques are spring up, the imams calling the faithful to prayer (675K QuickTime movie) and educating their people in Muslim traditions lost for 70 years under communism. In exchange for religious expression, some Muslim leaders are staying out of politics. Fundamentalism, said Sheik Yosef Hanshakirov, is dangerous to society. (More from Sheik Hanshakirov - 80K AIFF sound or 80K WAV sound)
If there is a danger, it is one felt in all central Asian capitals. But given the region's secular tradition, it's uncertain whether the danger is real or simply an excuse for authoritarian leaders to rule with an iron fist.
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