Pubdate: Sat, 14 Jul 2001
Source: Times of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan)
Section: World
Copyright: 2001 The Times of Central Asia
Contact:  http://www.times.kg/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1202
Author: Bruce Pannier

TAJIKISTAN: BORDER DISTRICT VICTIMIZED BY AFGHAN DRUG TRADE

PRAGUE. In Tajikistan's southern Shuroabad district, the narcotics trade 
from neighboring Afghanistan is jeopardizing the lives of local residents. 
Addiction is not the problem. Instead, many Tajiks say they have become the 
victims of Afghan drug dealers who rob them, kidnap family members, and 
sometimes even resort to murder -- all in an attempt to persuade the 
residents to aid in the narcotics business.

The problem has existed for nearly a decade, but Shuroabad Tajiks say the 
violence has worsened in recent months. Since May, four people have been 
killed, more than 20 reported kidnapped, and scores of livestock stolen. 
The situation has grown so bad that many residents are leaving the area. 
Others are asking how -- with the area's heavily publicized border control 
- -- Afghans are continuing to enter their villages at will.

The United Nations has estimated that some three-quarters of the world's 
heroin supply originate in the poppy fields of Afghanistan. As the drugs 
begin their trip to markets in Western Europe, Asia, and North America, 
their first stopover is usually Tajikistan's mountainous Shuroabad district.

Shuroabad's key location has made its residents an easy target of Afghan 
dealers looking for Tajiks to carry the drugs on to the next point of 
transit -- the capital Dushanbe, or even a location outside the country. 
The involuntary couriers are given a strict selling price for the drugs 
they are conveying. If the money they bring home is insufficient, the 
Afghan dealers may seize property or even a family member until the balance 
is paid. Some dealers have reportedly kidnapped relatives to ensure that 
the family will take their instructions seriously.

One local resident said he was leaving the district because he does not 
feel safe:

"Our village was attacked by these Afghans last autumn. We are always 
afraid. Our borders are not secure. In Soviet days, not even a fly would 
dare cross the border [with Afghanistan]. Now groups of Afghans cross back 
and forth and no one says anything."

In poverty-stricken Tajikistan, the problem has left residents destitute. 
Since the start of May, some villagers estimate, Afghan dealers have taken 
about $50,000 worth of property -- primarily cows and sheep, which 
represent virtually the only source of income for Shuroabad residents. A 
number of village homes have been taken over by Afghans.

Local Tajik security officials say they are aware of the problem. Safar 
Majikdov, the head of the Shuroabad district's security committee, can give 
a precise count of the number of livestock stolen in early May:

"On the first of May this year, a group of armed Afghan drug dealers stole 
67 head of livestock from the village of Pariharyon. On 3 May, in the 
Chasma Saeb region, 64 head of livestock [were taken] from the village of 
Syrdara."

Many villagers in Shuroabad wonder how the situation has been allowed to 
spin out of control. Thousands of Russian border guards are stationed along 
the mountainous Afghan-Tajik border, in a highly publicized attempt to 
fight drugs and weapons smuggling from Afghanistan. Reinforcing them are 
soldiers from Russia's 201st division, Tajik border guards, and Tajik 
Security Ministry troops.

But Majikdov says that crossing the border is still relatively easy:

"The checkpoints along the border are seven to 10 kilometers apart. That 
allows [the Afghans] entering and conducting their illegal activities."

Jumakhan Olimi, a political analyst at Tajikistan's International 
University in Kulob, told RFE/RL that porous borders are not the only 
reason for the steady flow of Afghan drug dealers into the country: "It's a 
society where the authorities are corrupt. According to our information, 
anyone who pays $50 can cross the border. So how can you talk about security?"

Some estimates indicate that Shuroabad villagers already owe Afghan drug 
dealers hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug-sale deficits -- an 
insurmountable debt in a country where the average monthly wage is just 
$10. Without improvements to the border-security system, the drug business 
is likely to continue growing, and with it the chronic cycle of violence 
and poverty in Shuroabad.
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MAP posted-by: Beth