Fergana massacre happened in 1989, after riots broke out between the Meskhetian Turks exiled in Uzbekistan and the native Uzbeks. Hundreds of Meskhetian Turks were killed or injured, nearly 1,000 properties were destroyed and thousands of Meskhetian Turks fled into exile.[4] Bukharian Jews living in Fergana were also targeted, and many fled to Israel.[3]
| Fergana Massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of the exile of the Meskhetian Turks and the dissolution of the Soviet Union | |
| Location | Fergana Valley, Uzbek SSR |
| Date | 3 June 1989–12 June 1989 |
| Target | Meskhetian Turks, some Bukharan Jews |
Attack type | pogrom |
| Deaths | minimum 97[1] |
| Injured | 1,000[1] |
| Perpetrators | Uzbek nationalist mobs |
| Accused | KGB-led mafia[2][3] |
Since their World War II deportation, Meskhetian Turks were not allowed to return to their homeland. They continued living in Central Asia, primarily in Uzbekistan, until June 1989, when Uzbek extremists took part in a mass slaughter of the Meskhetian Turks and other minorities in the Fergana Valley. According to official, and most probably low figures, 97 people died, over 1,000 were wounded and 752 houses destroyed. Before the massacre, about 100,000 Meskhetian Turks lived in Uzbekistan.[1]
Aftermath
editAuthorities in Moscow and Tashkent quickly claimed that the riots were planned by the mafia, the political enemies of Gorbachev or by Uzbek nationalists.[2]
Following this events, the majority of Meskhetian Turks, about 70,000, went to Azerbaijan, whilst the remainder went to various regions of Russia (especially Krasnodar Krai), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine.[4][5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "POPULATION TRANSFER: The Tragedy of the Meskhetian Turks". Cultural Survival. March 1992.
- ^ a b Pravda 14 October 1989, p.2
- ^ a b Patrick Sullivan (2017). Economic Inequality, Neoliberalism, and the American Community College. p. 79.
- ^ a b UNHCR 1999b, 20.
- ^ UNHCR 1999b, 21.
Bibliography
edit- UNHCR (1999a), Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Azerbaijan, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- UNHCR (1999b), Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Georgia, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees