Divisions Loom Over Ethnic Minority Languages

Amendments to Kyrgyz language legislation that will guarantee that ethnic minorities can conduct official business in their own language could weaken national unity and increase tension, observers note.



On February 8, member of parliament Kadyrjan Batyrov announced his proposals to amend state language law, which would guarantee that ethnic minorities can do things like contact the police or make a court appearance in their own language, provided they comprise a big enough community in the area they live in.



Kyrgyzstan’s 800,000 Uzbeks, who live mainly in the south, make up the country’s biggest ethnic minority group and are the main source of tension.



In May 2006, Batyrov, an ethnic Uzbek, organised a demonstration in the southern city of Jalalabad, demanding that the Uzbek language be granted official status. The move was widely criticised by other Kyrgyz politicians.



According to Odiljan Obidov, the clause in Kyrgyzstan’s constitution which allowed the free use of minority languages “disappeared” after amendments were made in 2003. Ethnic minorities currently have no right to use their native language in an official capacity and Obidov would like to see that change.



“Uzbeks account for 95 per cent of residents of Nariman rural council, but they [aren’t permitted] to write letters and addresses in Uzbek, ” he said.



But other observers believe that cultural difference can be celebrated in other ways and there is no need to change the law.



Bakyt Beshimov, vice-president of the American University in Central Asia in Bishkek, highlights the fact that Kyrgyzstan’s legislation ensures the cultural and political development of every language.



“There are Uzbek schools and two universities with Uzbek [as the language of instruction]. In Bishkek there are radio stations and newspapers which publish in Uzbek,” said Beshimov.



Tamerlan Ibraimov, director of the Centre for Political and Legal Studies, suggests that such amendments may alienate individuals and entire regions.



“Theoretically, [ethnic minorities] could live without being in contact with other Kyrgyz. People in Kyrgyzstan will not be unified, but isolated,” he said.



Ibraimov believes that this situation could strengthen separatist moods and increase ethnic tensions within Kyrgyzstan.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)