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| Human rights activist Tursunbek Akun: a migrant must know the laws and culture of Russia |
| 2024-05-05 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Kirill Velesov [REGNUM] After the terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow, the discussion about labor migration from the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, control over migrants and interethnic relations intensified in Russia. Human rights activist from Kyrgyzstan, coordinator of the Congress on Human Rights of Central Asian Countries Tursunbek Akun, in an interview with Regnum news agency, said that he regularly comes to Russia, studies these problems and takes part in resolving them. Tursunbek Akun was born in the village of Erki-Naryn, Tien-Shan district, Naryn region (now the village of Kulundu, Leilek district, Batken region). He worked as a veterinarian at the Naryn Stud Farm and was a junior researcher at the Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of the Academy of Sciences of the Kirghiz SSR. In 1991 he became the executive secretary of the Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan, and in 2005 - chairman of the Human Rights Commission under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic. In February 2008, he was elected Ombudsman of Kyrgyzstan. — Tursunbek Akunovich, what exactly is your activity now? — First of all, the protection of the rights and freedoms of our migrants from Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan. Migration issues. After the tragedy at Crocus City Hall, pressure on them increased, and cases of deportation became more frequent. As a human rights activist, I receive complaints about the infringement of the rights of our migrants. On the other hand, Russia, of course, has the right to use force and deport foreigners. We have ourselves to blame! Our migrants make many mistakes: they do not know the language, do not comply with the legislation of the Russian Federation, and do not comply with the legal requirements of the authorities and security forces. Sometimes they arrive unprepared and do not know the customs and traditions of the Russian people. We are all very hurt and ashamed by the terrorist attack that occurred on March 22, although it was committed by ethnic Tajiks. More prepared people come from Kyrgyzstan: at least 90% know Russian. But from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - unfortunately, no. I met with the head of the apparatus of the Russian Ombudsman, Tatyana Moskalkova, Vladimir Lozbinev in the Sverdlovsk region, in Yekaterinburg, and he told me: Uzbeks, Tajiks come - and their children, who are in elementary school, do not know Russian at all. Even worse, they unite in hooligan groups and attack Russian students. Therefore, I say to my compatriots: prepare your children! At least basicly, learn Russian with them. You have no idea what a big problem this is. But I repeat: there are almost no such complaints against the Kyrgyz. I recently held a meeting on this topic at the Embassy of Uzbekistan and talked with senior staff members. — On Tuesday, April 30, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a telephone conversation with his Tajik counterpart Sirojiddin Mukhriddin. Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan sent Russia a note of protest against the infringement of the rights of Tajik citizens in the Russian Federation, and also recommended that Tajiks refrain from traveling to Russia in the near future. Can you comment on this? What is the manifestation of the infringement of rights that the Tajik Foreign Ministry claims? — Law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation sometimes go too far and make mistakes. But, on the other hand, before making a remark to another state, Russia, which provides us with the opportunity to work, earn money, feed our children, we need to think about our mistakes. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan would do well to be critical of the mistakes of its citizens. Didn't they see the migrants I saw? Not even children, but 17-18 year old boys and girls who don’t know a word of Russian, don’t know anything about Russia, and sometimes are nationalistically opposed to everything Russian. They are not even ready for life in such a large metropolis as Moscow. You can not do it this way! I heard this in Moscow at a meeting with Russian ombudsmen for migration, and now I’m going to tell it in detail in Dushanbe and Bishkek. So before handing over notes of protest, you need to understand what is happening. I don't support this at all. — You spoke about the nationalist views of some young people from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Do you know about cases of chauvinism against migrants? - Yes, there were such cases. After Crocus, after March 22, this escalated. In addition, now some security forces and law enforcement officers, due to their chauvinism, are abusing their official powers. For example, they park a bus at the entrance to the metro, grab every Asian who gets out and take him to Sakharovo. But, of course, we are not talking about mass chauvinism. And again: I know about a large number of violations of laws by migrants. Many are without registration, without permanent residence, without registration, and work without an employment contract. The purpose of my trip is precisely this: to convey to everyone how important it is to know the laws, the Constitution, the language, traditions and customs of the country where you come to earn money. A separate problem is drugs. In Russia there is very strict legislation in this area, and you definitely need to know about this and not fall for offers with promises of big money. Know exactly what you are carrying if you work as a courier. — You are talking about traditions and customs, I can’t help but ask: how big a role does religion play in this issue? - Very big. In the Russian Federation, about 25 million people are Muslims, they live well. There are no conflicts between different faiths, between Muslims and Christians. But those who come from Central Asia, most often from Tajikistan, some profess fundamental Islam, promote it, and there it is not far from terrorism. Islam itself is a peaceful religion. The canon of Islam is peace, mutual assistance, goodness, as the founder of the religion, Prophet Muhammad, spoke about. What are they doing? They pervert Islam. I am telling you this as a Muslim. — Do you agree that terrorism has no nationality or religion? This idea is still not obvious to society. - I completely agree. Neither terrorism, nor murder or blackmail have a nationality or religion. The terrorists who attacked Crocus City Hall are, of course, Tajiks, but we know that they received the order from Ukraine, and America was behind it. The collective West promotes Russophobia, wants to separate and isolate from the whole world - with sanctions and weapons. But Russia is on its feet, the economy is growing, and all because Russia is on the right path. And I believe that Vladimir Putin correctly announced a special military operation. I am not a citizen of Russia and probably do not have the right to praise the Russian president, but I think so. — Do you think the root of all the problems we are talking about is the collapse of the Soviet Union? In the weakened and sometimes lost cultural and humanitarian ties between residents of the former republics of the USSR, in particular - Russia and Tajikistan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan, and so on? This raises the question of language, disrespect or ignorance of traditions, which you talked about. Are there any attempts being made in this area to bring closer together and restore cultural interaction? - Yes, I think so too. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, our ties in culture, art, and literature were severed. Festivals, concerts, conferences - everything that plays a huge role, this has become critically scarce. How did we live in the Soviet Union? Together, with the ideas of solidarity and good neighborliness. Recently, the leadership of Russia and the countries of Central Asia has been engaged in rapprochement in the political sphere: we have the CIS, CSTO, EAEU, SCO. But this is not enough. We need as many projects and contacts as possible. For example, our artists from the Opera and Ballet Theater and the Philharmonic in Bishkek went on tour to Moscow last year, and Russian artists came to us. Therefore, we have fewer problems than our neighbors; Kyrgyz youth are drawn to the Russian language and culture. But this is not enough. The whole world is now set up for disunity, for wars, for conflicts. Therefore, my goal as a human rights activist and goodwill ambassador is for there to be peace throughout the world, for friendship, dialogue and consolidation. |
| Posted by:badanov |