Media group “Asia-Plus” published in the newspaper, as well as on its website and on its pages in Telegram and Facebook, the article “An unprincipled approach. How did the first militia reform in Tajikistan end?”
Judging by the number of comments, this topic didn’t arouse interest among readers at all. There are no comments at all on the website of Asia Plus, only one comment on Telegram and Facebook. Why is this hot topic in the entire post-Soviet space practically of no interest to civil society in Tajikistan?
“Everyone in Tajikistan is already accustomed to the fact that reforms are carried out only to ensure that international organizations working in our country allocate funds for the needs of various ministries and departments,” says legal expert Nuraly Khalimov. “Look at the work of the courts! We have been allegedly undergoing a judicial reform since 2007, and the work of the courts didn’t inspire confidence among the population, and so far people are trying to manage without this instance, solving their problems in other ways.”
“It’s the same with militia reform,” Khalimov says. “There is no political will. In 2012, the President instructed to develop a law “On the police”, but he didn’t mention this anywhere else.”
The militia reform program for 2014-2020 (and it provides that the law on the police was to be adopted in 2014), states that this law “will be the first step, the adoption of which will entail changes in the name of the militia, defining the main functions and tasks of the police, changes in personnel policy, carried out in a short period of time”. In the new program, the adoption of the law is scheduled for 2024, and most likely, this event will be postponed for a third term.
“If the first step has not been taken, what can we talk about?” the expert asks. There are no changes in the work with personnel. On the contrary, according to the employees of the Internal Affairs bodies, all appointments have been made behind the scenes; sometimes the employees, who are invited to be appointed to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, find out about their new job only at an audience with the minister.
The program provided that people would be appointed to all positions in the police on a competitive basis. First, an announcement of a vacant position and requirements for candidates will be published. Then testing will be carried out with the participation of members of public councils, and only then, after a special check on the records of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a person will be appointed to the position. However, all this remained on paper.
There are no changes in the personnel training system. The Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs trains not police officers, but lawyers, who, for the most part, after the first year of service, leave it and leave for labor migration. It’s very difficult to get by on 1,000 somoni ($100) per month in Tajikistan at the current level of inflation.
Speaking at the anniversary meeting dedicated to the Day of the Militia, President Rahmon said that when training personnel in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it’s necessary to take into account international standards in this area of the police, the experience of other states, including those that have recently undergone relevant reforms. “That is, so-called police academies should be created in Tajikistan, in which people with higher education will be recruited by competition, and after six months of training, they should be appointed to vacant positions in the police,” says an education expert who wishes to remain anonymous. “And those employees, who want to improve their level of education, can also enter a higher educational institution of the Ministry of Internal Affairs by competition.”
If we compare the new police reform program and the one that was adopted for 2014-2020, we can see that most of the events in them are repeated. That is, the old program wasn’t even half-fulfilled, and those measures that the Ministry of Internal Affairs reports that they have been fully implemented are nothing more than the daily activities of this Ministry, which are indirectly related to the reform. Questions about the implementation of the program were raised by individual representatives of civil society and NGOs, but there is no proper control over its implementation. The Militia Reform Strategy states that “when carrying out militia reform, a non-departmental approach should be ensured, that is, the government is responsible for the planning, implementation and results of the reform.” But in reality, no one is engaged in this reform, except for two employees in the Ministry of Internal Affairs – the national coordinator and his assistant. In addition, for 7 years the minister has already changed three national coordinators. And therefore, it is most likely not worth expecting that the militia reform in Tajikistan will be held.
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