Jurist Uzbekistan: protests take place in autonomous republic over proposed constitutional reform

[Dadparvar]

Protests broke out Friday in Nukus, capital of the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan, over a proposed constitutional reform. According to a statement from the region’s government:

Despite the policy of openness and free expression of will pursued by the Republic of Uzbekistan, on July 1, 2022 in Nukus, a criminal group of persons organized illegal actions expressed in an attempt to seize the state administration bodies of the Republic of Karakalpakstan.

The demonstrators were protesting the planned removal of the section of the current constitution allowing Karakalpakstan the right to secede from Uzbekistan via referendum. This has caused outrage among ethnic Karakalpaks, who constitute the majority of Karakalpakstan’s population.

Karakalpaks in neighboring Kazakhstan held a round-table discussion on the proposed change. One speaker, Rustem Matekov, stated that the day of the referendum on the new version of the constitution will be “the day of the funeral of the people of the Republic of Karakalpakstan.” However, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has disputed this view, saying:

We, two peoples, have become one, we are blood relatives. Previously, the regions did not know the streets of Karakalpakstan or Nukus, but now we work as one people, the youth of Karakalpakstan achieve great results. […] I respect the Karakalpak people with all my heart and I can proudly say that I am the son of not only the Uzbek, but also the Karakalpak people.

The removal is not the only proposal on the table. Other proposals include reinforcing civil rights and extending the presidential term from five to seven years, which would allow Mirziyoyev to run again despite already having served two consecutive terms.

The post Uzbekistan: protests take place in autonomous republic over proposed constitutional reform appeared first on JURIST - News.

Continue reading...

Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.