AKIPRESS.COM - The government in Dushanbe blames the recent violence in Khorog, the capital of Gorno-Badakhshan region, on local drug dealers while protest leaders say the latest crisis has much deeper roots in the autonomous region that was the scene of deadly clashes in 2012, according to an article entitled “Explainer: What's Going On in Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan?”, posted by Radio Liberty on May 29.

Gorno-Badakhshan makes up nearly 45% of Tajikistan's territory but only 3% of the country's population lives there. Most of region's population of 250,000 is followers of Ismailism, a branch of Shi'ite Islam, while most people in the rest of Tajikistan consider themselves Sunni Muslims. Gorno-Badakhshan is home to a number of languages and dialects that belong to the Pamiri language group. While Tajik is the official language in the region, Pamiri languages – such as Shughni, Rushani, Yazgulyami and Vakhi – remain the local population's common, everyday languages.

Khorog was the scene of a deadly shootout on May 21 that killed four people and sparked antigovernment protests.

Tajik authorities say a police operation against a small group of drug dealers led to the incident that killed a policeman, two alleged drug traffickers and a civilian bystander. Several people, including civilians, were injured and taken to the hospital.

The gunfight led to protests by local residents who condemned the police's handling of the operation in a downtown residential area. Several buildings, including the provincial police headquarters, were set on fire by angry protesters.

Protesters are demanding a thorough and fair probe into the May 21 events. They also want the authorities to dismiss the heads of regional law enforcement agencies, and not to prosecute those involved in setting fire to administrative buildings.

Officials have rejected the demand to release those believed to be responsible for setting the buildings ablaze.

Besides concrete demands connected to the latest events, Gorno-Badakhshan residents have more long-standing grievances that have led to the crisis, says protest leader Alim Sherzamonov.

Sherzamonov accuses the Government of continuously fabricating “pretexts to eliminate those the authorities believe were involved in the 2012 clashes.”

Protesters say they believe the authorities “have blacklisted up to 200 Gorno-Badakhshan residents, mostly young men, in connection with the 2012 events.” Protesters demand that the authorities “fully pardon” them.

Sherzamonov says the local population is suspicious of Dushanbe's policies in Gorno-Badakhshan, especially the appointment of people from other regions to high-level government posts in the province.

They want all governors – regional and district – in Gorno-Badakhshan to be elected by the local population, and to be given to residents of Gorno-Badakhshan.