KYRGYZSTAN: UZBEKS DIG TRENCHES ALONG STRETCHES OF BORDER

Eurasianet

June 10, 2009

The Kyrgyz Border Service confirms that Uzbek guards are digging
trenches along stretches of their mutual border across from the
Kyrgyz districts of Jalalabad and Batken. However, in a statement
to EurasiaNet, the Service denied media reports that 7-meter tall
concrete walls are also being built to separate the two countries.

The trenches, which are reportedly 3 meters wide, are the latest in a
series of measures instituted since attacks in Khanabad and Andijan on
May 26. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Locals say
the trenches are due to be filled with water to create makeshift moats.

"On the border of our village territory we don’t see any digging. But
before that there were iron gratings. Relations between the residents
of the two neighboring regions have recently ended," Kalukberdi
Shermatov, the head of Kyrgyz-Kyshtak, a village in Batken, told the
AKIpress news agency on June 10.

"Before, residents of Uzbekistan used to visit Batken, where their
relatives live, or come in for trade. Also, they used to bring their
fruits and vegetables to Kadamjai [district center] to sell. The
cessation of the relations could bring damage to both sides," he added.