The Pressure Cooker
NEED TO KNOW
The Pressure Cooker
TAJIKISTAN
A statue of Ismoil Somoni is a big attraction in Dushanbe, the capital of the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan. In the 10th century, he ruled over an empire that included parts of what are now Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. “Somonis” is the name for Tajikistan’s currency.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon – who has been in office since 1992 when he and his fellow former Soviet elites fought a four-year civil war against liberal democrats, nationalists and Islamists that resulted in as many as 150,000 deaths – has promoted Somoni as well as other Persian figures in recent years.
As Le Monde diplomatique reported, this mythologizing of Tajikistan’s Aryan past has been Rahmon’s way of building a sense of Tajik national identity.
It’s also likely one reason why Rahmon recently decided to ban women from donning attire including the hijab, the black veil that many Muslim women wear, even though 97 percent of Tajiks are Muslim, wrote Euronews. Instead, the government is encouraging women to wear traditional Tajik clothing, or Western garb.
The idea is to suppress religious extremism, say Rahmon’s allies, according to Radio Free Europe, even as some would argue that Islam doesn’t necessarily compel women to wear hijabs. Men with long beards – a common custom in Muslim countries – have also received frowns from officials. Police trimmed the beards of 13,000 men in Khatlon Province in 2015, for example.
Human rights activists say the policy violates civil liberties and freedom of expression, wrote the EU Reporter.
Rahmon has been pursuing these kinds of measures for years. In 2011, lawmakers passed a law banning minors from entering places of worship without permission and punishing parents who send their kids to foreign religious schools. In 2017, the government shut down almost 2,000 mosques, converting many into tea shops and health clinics.
Critics don’t believe the hijab ban will work. Tajikistan is one of the poorest countries in Central Asia, and Tajiks have few economic opportunities at home. Instead, many leave for menial jobs in Russia. Others opt for Islamic militant groups because they believe radicalism provides them with more dignity and options for the future, argued Emerging Europe. Rules about clothing won’t change those conditions, it added.
Tajikistan certainly has a problem with terrorists. Russian authorities say the terrorists who attacked Moscow’s Crocus City Hall in March, killing 140 people and injuring 360, carried Tajik passports, for example, reported TRT World.
Nazila Ghanea, the United Nations human rights agency’s special rapporteur, believes the restrictions are counterproductive, the news organization added, stressing that it plays a strong role in promoting radicalism within society.
That’s exacerbated by “Tajikistan’s geographic isolation, weak economy and repressive government, (which) will leave it particularly vulnerable to destabilization and becoming a hotbed for radicalization for the foreseeable future,” wrote analytical group Stratfor, adding that a looming succession crisis due to the ailing and aging leader (who’s 71 years old) could inspire even more radicalization among the population.
Meanwhile, there’s another crackdown on belief in the country – the government announced in late August it would suppress witches, warlocks and their clients, wrote the Times of Central Asia. It appears the government has concerns that “deeply rooted beliefs revolving around the supernatural are a threat to stability.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
Public Enemy No. 1
VENEZUELA
As Venezuelan authorities continue to intensify their crackdown on the political opposition following the disputed July 28 presidential elections, a court in the South American country ordered the arrest of former presidential candidate Edmundo González, the Washington Post reported.
González, 75, is wanted on a slew of charges, including usurpation, forgery of public documents and sabotage, authorities said Monday.
The charges are linked to González’s alleged involvement in posting alternative vote results online, which showed him defeating incumbent President Nicolás Maduro.
The opposition candidate has gone into hiding to avoid arrest following the July vote. At the time, Venezuela’s electoral council – which is seen as being under Maduro’s influence – declared the incumbent as the winner of that poll, prompting accusations of fraud and irregularities.
Last month, the opposition published the receipts from more than 23,000 voting machines that showed González received more than twice the number of votes as Maduro.
However, the electoral council has not released detailed voting results and the Maduro administration has begun persecuting the opposition and its supporters, forcing many of them to go into hiding, according to CNN.
The arrest warrant for González is expected to draw criticism from the United States and Latin American leaders.
Washington and other international bodies have expressed strong opposition to Maduro’s actions and called for respect for democratic processes. The Biden administration, along with leaders from Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico, has been pushing for negotiations with Maduro, though these efforts have seen limited success.
Monday’s arrest warrant came shortly after the US seized a luxury aircraft allegedly purchased illegally and smuggled for Maduro’s use. Later that day, Bloomberg reported that the US Treasury Department would soon announce sanctions against 15 officials linked to Maduro.
Can’t Be Touched
MONGOLIA
Russian President Vladimir Putin received a red-carpet welcome in Mongolia on Tuesday during a state visit that sparked an international row due to Mongolian authorities failing to arrest the Russian leader, despite an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the South China Morning Post reported.
Mongolian President Khürelsükh Ukhnaa greeted his Russian counterpart in front of a row of ceremonial guardsmen on horseback.
Putin’s visit to the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar came more than a year after the ICC issued a warrant for the Russian leader, accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine, specifically the unlawful deportation of hundreds of Ukrainian children to Russia.
Mongolia has been a member of the ICC since 2002. Under the court’s Rome Statute, members must arrest individuals with outstanding ICC warrants against them if the suspects enter their territory.
The country’s failure to act on its obligation drew the ire of international organizations, Ukraine, and the European Union. Ukrainian officials criticized the move as “a heavy blow to the International Criminal Court and the system of criminal law.”
ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah emphasized Mongolia’s obligation to comply with the arrest warrant, but acknowledged that the Netherlands-based institution cannot enforce its rules directly. The court could inform the Assembly of States Parties of Mongolia’s non-compliance, potentially leading to unspecified consequences, however, CNBC noted.
Analysts explained that it was highly unlikely that Mongolian authorities would detain Putin, describing his arrest as “suicidal.”
Mongolia, located between Russia and China, is economically dependent on these neighboring superpowers. During his visit, Putin and Khurelsukh discussed enhancing bilateral relations, focusing on trade, economic cooperation, and regional influence.
The leaders also talked about the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, a major project intended to transport 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from Russia’s Yamal region to China – which is crucial for Moscow’s strategy to compensate for the loss of gas sales to Europe due to the Ukraine conflict.
Observers added that the trip could also be interpreted as a deliberate challenge to the ICC’s authority: Before the visit, the Kremlin claimed it had “no worries” about Putin’s upcoming visit.
Meanwhile, Hungary and Armenia – both ICC members – have assured Putin that he would not be detained on their soil, further eroding the tribunal’s ability to enforce international law and reducing the likelihood of prosecuting suspected war criminals.
No More Room
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Almost 130 people died this week in an attempted mass breakout from the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s largest prison, marking one of the deadliest incidents in the country’s recent history of prison violence, CNN reported.
The breakout attempt at the Makala Central Prison, near the capital Kinshasa, occurred in the early hours of Monday, resulting in major damage to the facility’s infrastructure, with fires destroying offices, the infirmary and food depots.
Interior Minister Jacquemain Shabani Lukoo Bihango confirmed that 129 people were killed, including 24 by gunshots, while others died from suffocation and jostling. The chaos also resulted in sexual assaults on women. About 59 individuals sustained serious injuries and were taken to hospitals for treatment.
The government has since stated that the situation is under control.
Makala Prison, built in the 1950s, has a capacity of 1,500 inmates but was holding more than 12,000 inmates before the incident. Some sources claimed the number of inmates was as high as 14,000.
In 2020, a prison official told the BBC about how people were dying there because of poor conditions, including food shortages and a lack of hygiene. At the time, only about 6 percent of inmates were serving sentences. The rest were trapped in prolonged legal proceedings.
This overcrowding issue has been a longstanding problem in the DRC’s penal system, contributing to deteriorating conditions and frequent prison breaks. In 2017, a similar incident at Makala resulted in the escape of over 4,000 inmates.
In response to the latest breakout, Justice Minister Constant Mutamba condemned the event as a “pre-meditated act of sabotage” and announced measures to prevent overcrowding, including suspending new transfers to Makala.
Rights groups are now calling for an international investigation into the incident to address systemic issues within the DRC’s penitentiary system.
DISCOVERIES
Crossing Lines
Italian researchers have found traces of cocaine and its metabolites in preserved brain samples inside a 17th-century crypt in Milan, challenging long-held assumptions about the drug’s spread across the European continent occurring only in the 19th century.
Instead, researchers say the find leads them to believe the use of the coca plant in Europe probably began two centuries earlier.
Scientists analyzed the remains inside the crypt of Ospedale Maggiore, a prominent Milanese hospital during the late Renaissance. Toxicological tests on nine brain samples revealed cocaine, benzoylecgonine and hygrine in two of the mummified corpses.
Hygrine is a substance specifically linked to the chewing of coca leaves, suggesting these individuals consumed coca in its natural form, likely as leaves or tea.
“We present, to the best of our knowledge, the first hard evidence regarding the use of the coca plant in Europe through archaeotoxicological analyses on human remains,” the researchers wrote in their paper published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
The coca plant, native to South America, has been used for thousands of years by Indigenous communities for its medicinal and recreational reasons, noted Popular Science.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, Milan was under Spanish rule, which maintained strong connections with South America through its sea trade. This connection likely facilitated the introduction of coca leaves to Milan despite the Spanish embargo on specific New World information and goods.
The team isn’t sure why the two individuals consumed the stimulant. The analysis showed the bodies belonged to people of modest means, hinting that they were consuming the plant for its appetite-suppressing effects or medicinal purposes, CTV News added.
“Whether coca leaves were used for recreational purposes, or rather for their reinforcing properties helpful for the population in their hard everyday life, is a topic that requires further debate,” the study notes.
The crypt, known as Ca’ Granda, holds nearly three million bones from around 10,000 individuals, providing a unique insight into life and death during the 17th century.
These findings add to a growing body of evidence that Ospedale Maggiore’s patients were exposed to a variety of substances. Previous studies detected traces of opium and cannabis in the same crypt.