As Minority Rights Group warned several days ago, violence in Kyrgyzstan has finally affected the country’s non-Kyrgyz communities. After several weeks of revolt resulting in the fall of Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s authoritarian régime, instability has entered a new phase as non-dominant ethnic groups are being attacked in several parts of the country.

In mid-April a mob of hundreds of Kyrgyz people –the largest ethnic group– assaulted the town of Mayevka, located at the outskirt of Bishkek, where a considerable number of Turks of Meshketian origin (Georgia) and Russians live. At least 5 people died and several houses were looted and destroyed.

Observers believe the roots of tension lie in Kyrgyzstan’s economic deprivation, as a result of which urban Kyrgyz people seek to return to the countryside and cultivate the land. However, they have now seen how ethnic minorities have acquired land property in recent years, a situation they challenge. BBC quotes one Kyrgyz as saying “we are the sons of Kyrgyzstan. Turks have seized our land, but land is ours”.

Early this week tension mounted in the south, where there is a large proportion of Uzbeks (14%), the country’s largest ethnic group after Kyrgyz people. In the city of Osh there have been several clashes between both ethnic groups. At the moment further severe troubles are just rumours, but there is fear that the bloody events of 1990 may take place again.

Further information:

• Eurasianet: Southern Kyrgyzstan Unsettled by Inter-Ethnic Tension
• Crisis Group: Kyrgystan: When patience runs out
• Kyrgyzstan census