How did the political climate among the Tajiks in Europe entertain the political climate in Tajikistan?

For now, I don’t discuss the content of the online and live discussion between Muhiddin Kabiri, chairman of the IRPT and NAT, and Sobir Valiev, a Tajik activist who recently returned to Tajikistan from Europe, hosted by RFE / RL today. Here I make some notes on the importance of such online and live discussions between Tajik political rivals and intellectuals in the political climate in Tajikistan.

It seems to me that today’s live discussion in the political climate of the country was unprecedented. Therefore, I would like to thank the leadership of RFE / RL’s Tajik Service for hosting it, and in particular, journalist Shahloi Gulkhoja, and the host, who has a special skill in managing live discussion.

After the arrival of Emomali Rahmon to power in 1992, the country’s political climate suddenly froze, and even after the Tajik peace in 1997, the country’s political climate did not warm up much, as one side (the opposition) became weaker and more isolated. The Tajik nation has witnessed heated debates in Ukraine, Georgia, and even neighboring Kyrgyzstan and other countries, and has wished to see such heated, live, and challenging debates in their own country and among Tajik politicians and intellectuals.

The migration of a large number of Tajik dissidents and intellectuals to Europe, one of the world’s most advanced regions in the world, following the 2015 crackdown has positively changed the country’s political climate in recent years. The political climate inside the country is still very cold and inactive, while the political climate between the Tajik dissidents and intellectuals living in Europe, despite some unhealthy processes, is very hot and fast-paced. This political climate in Europe has made the cold and dry political climate inside the country a little bit active and hot.

Tajiks, who have long remained in Russia largely as labor migrants, have made little political progress. While 5 years of emigration in Europe in comparison to 25 years of Tajiks living in Russia is politically more effective. One of the advantages of the Tunisian people is that the Tunisian intellectuals and dissidents took refuge in France and learned a lot from the free and democratic atmosphere in France. This is one reason that Tunisia, unlike other Arab countries, was able to maintain its democracy following the Arab Spring.

This discussion was also somewhat European. RFE / RL, which arranged the discussion, is based in Prague, Czech Republic. Muhiddin Kabiri, the leader of the IRPT and the National Alliance of Tajikistan, has also been living in a European country since 2016. Sobir Valiev, another participant in the discussion, was a political refugee in Moldova, who recently returned to Tajikistan.

This live discussion has entertained the country’s political climate, and holding such online and live debates between the Tajik political rivals and intellectuals is a positive move for the country’s political climate and for Tajiks in general.

We hope that such live discussions will continue in the future by RFE / RL and other news outlets and think tanks centers, which may positively change the country’s frozen political climate.

Mahmudjon Faizrahmonov

22.05.2020