TAJIK PRESIDENT DECRIES ANARCHY IN OWN RANKS.

In a letter addressed to the ministers of defense, state security, and internal affairs, as well as to the heads of district administrations, Tajik president Imomali Rahmonov has painted a dramatic picture of the anarchy prevailing in regions that are nominally under government control. According to Rahmonov, organized and violent crime "continues spreading to all spheres of economic and political life" and "has become the most acute state problem… Citizens increasingly fear for their own and their families’ physical security and lives."

Rahmonov particularly noted the tendency of military and police commanders and regional officials to create extralegal armed units for their "personal protection" and to distribute arms to favored civilian groups. That tendency has "grown to dangerous proportions," the president wrote. He gave the ministers and the district chiefs until July 7 to report on "decisive measures" aimed at stopping the lawlessness. (Russian agencies, June 10)

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