PORK BARREL PROJECTS FOR TAJIK PRESIDENT’S NATIVE AREA.

Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov opened festively on September 7 the first section of a broad-gauge railway, intended to link southwestern Tajikistan with the international Karakorum highway that runs to the east of the country. The Tajik railway’s first section runs from Kurgonteppe to Kulob. According to Rakhmonov, in his broadcast inaugural address, the rail-and-highway route will ultimately provide Tajikistan access to both China and the Indian Ocean. (Radio Dushanbe, September 7)

Meanwhile, the rail segment seems more likely intended to benefit Rakhmonov’s native Kulob-Kurgonteppe region, whose representatives control the central government in Dushanbe. In another pork barrel project, the government seeks international funding to build both an international airport and a highway in the backward Kulob area. Such expensive projects of questionable economic utility belie the Kulob clan’s claim, in its capacity as a ruling force in Dushanbe, to be transcending regionalism. The regional factor is key to Tajik politics. All contending groups, including the one currently controlling the central government, capitalize on that factor.–VS

The Monitor is a publication of the Jamestown Foundation. It is researched and written under the direction of senior analysts Jonas Bernstein, Vladimir Socor, Stephen Foye, and analysts Ilya Malyakin, Oleg Varfolomeyev and Ilias Bogatyrev. If you have any questions regarding the content of the Monitor, please contact the foundation. If you would like information on subscribing to the Monitor, or have any comments, suggestions or questions, please contact us by e-mail at pubs@jamestown.org, by fax at 301-562-8021, or by postal mail at The Jamestown Foundation, 4516 43rd Street NW, Washington DC 20016. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution of the Monitor is strictly prohibited by law. Copyright (c) 1983-2002 The Jamestown Foundation Site Maintenance by Johnny Flash Productions