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.
Police dispersed the protesters who were chanting for independence from Uzbekistan 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.
Karakalpakstan's government said in a statement earlier on Saturday that police had detained the leaders of Friday's protest, and several other protesters who had put up resistance.
The changes concerning Karakalpakstan were part of a broader constitutional reform proposed by Mirziyoyev, which also includes strengthening civil rights and extending the presidential term to seven years from five.
"It is the duty of all of us to preserve the age-old friendship and brotherhood, mutual respect and kindness between the Uzbek and Karakalpak peoples, our unity, and the atmosphere of peace and stability in our country," Mirziyoyev said, according to a post on his press secretary's Telegram channel.
"We will definitely build New Uzbekistan and New Karakalpakstan together. All our reforms and discussions in this field must be carried out on the basis of democracy and legal criteria, without a doubt.
"At the same time, strict measures will be taken within the law against any persons who try to disturb the peace and tranquility and public safety."
There are at least two conflicting provisions of the Uzbek Constitution regarding Karakapkastan, namely the Article 3 which reads ”The state border and territory of Uzbekistan are inviolable and indivisible, and the Article 74 “The Republic of Karakalpakstan has the right to secede from the Republic of Uzbekistan on the basis of a general referendum of the people of Karakalpakstan.” This is the legacy of the late president Karimov administration. The Uzbek authorities are standing for the principle of Uzbekistan’s territorial integrity over the self determination.
