Reports of a land swap deal between Kyrgyz and Uzbek authorities have exacerbated security concerns among residents of southern Kyrgyzstan's Batken region. The controversy began April 20, when local newspaper Batken Tany (Morning of Batken) leaked details of a secret Kyrgyz-Uzbek memorandum on a land swap, signed in February during a visit by Uzbek Prime Minister Utkir Sultanov to Bishkek. Kyrgyz officials, apparently concerned about the public backlash, have sought to downplay the memorandum, insisting that no final arrangement has been agreed upon.

According to the memorandum, Kyrgyzstan expressed willingness to make a territorial exchange with Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan has been seeking to establish a land corridor to its Sokh enclave located at the heart of Kyrgyzstan's Batken region. The February 26 memorandum states that "it is expedient to link Sokh enclave to the Rishtan region of Uzbekistan with the corridor along the river Sokh." Tashkent has reportedly produced a new map outlining the Sokh land bridge to Uzbekistan proper. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archives].

Uzbekistan has pressed Kyrgyzstan on the territorial issue for months. During the winter, Tashkent increased the pressure on Bishkek to acquiesce to its territorial demands by suspending deliveries of natural gas. The cutoff prompted a severe energy crisis in Kyrgyzstan.

Now that the secret negotiations have become public knowledge, Kyrgyz officials find themselves in an awkward position. Bishkek is reportedly dissatisfied with the territories that Uzbekistan is offering in exchange for a Sokh corridor, saying the Uzbek land is mountainous and unsuitable for agriculture.

During the past several days, outraged Batken residents have sent dozens of protest letters to Bishkek demanding the immediate annulment of the secret deal, and the rejection of any potential for a territorial exchange. "The area is not either strategically or economically important for Uzbekistan. Inhabitants are almost 99 percent Tajiks. We are not causing any problems for them, and they move freely via Kyrgyz territory," said Mamat Aibalaev, the Batken regional governor.

Land and water remain sensitive issues in this multi-ethnic region of Central Asia. Since the early 1980s, Batken has been the scene of several Kyrgyz-Tajik interethnic clashes over land and water. The confrontations have produced numerous casualties.

"We are absolutely against the intended move of the Bishkek authorities. If a territorial concession were made, the entire Batken region itself would be effectively turned into enclave – cut off by the Sokh corridor [from the rest of Kyrgyzstan]. Furthermore, the local people would lose valuable lands, and Uzbekistan would gain total control over the Sokh River, which is vital to Batken's irrigation," said Tashmuhammed Orozov, editor of the paper that leaked news about the secret memorandum.

The Batken protests have caught the attention of some members of the Kyrgyz parliament, who have started to press the government to explain its negotiating actions. During an April 25 news conference, government representative Salamat Alamanov stressed that Kyrgyzstan has not finalized a swap, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. Alamanov said that Kyrgyzstan could not provide a full account of the territorial negotiations without the consent of Uzbekistan, adding that Kyrgyz officials would vigorously defend the nation's interests in ongoing talks.

Some experts say Tashkent's desire to obtain a Sokh corridor is connected with the insurgency conducted by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), whose fighters operate out of bases in Afghanistan. During the past two summers, IMU fighters have used the Batken region as a forward base of operations. The IMU is widely expected to renew hostilities again this coming summer. A land corridor to Sokh would facilitate Uzbek military efforts to frustrate the IMU's operational capabilities in and around Batken. Meanwhile, a few observers have suggested that IMU militants want to occupy the Sokh enclave and declare the establishment of an Islamic state there.