Uzbekistan scraps plans to curb Karakalpak autonomy after protest

3/7/2022 7:26

        Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Saturday dropped plans to curtail the autonomy of the country's Karakalpakstan province following a rare public protest in the northwestern region, his office said.
        
        Friday's rally was called to protest constitutional reform plans that would have changed the status of Karakalpakstan, an
        autonomous republic home to the Karakalpak people - an ethnic minority group with its own language, Uzbek authorities said.
        
        Police dispersed the protesters after some of them tried to storm local government buildings in the region's capital, Nukus, following a march and a rally at the city's central market, local and government officials said.
        
        Mirziyoyev later issued a decree proclaiming a state of emergency in Karakalpakstan for a month "in order to ensure the security of citizens, defend their rights and freedoms and restore the rule of law and order" in the region.
        
        Under the current Uzbek constitution, Karakalpakstan is described as a sovereign republic within Uzbekistan that has the right to secede by holding a referendum.