DUSHANBE, March 18, Asia-Plus  -- The Social-Democratic Party (SDPT) intends to hold a demonstration in Khorog, Gorno Badakhshan on April 8 to protest ignorance of Constitution’s regulations 

This was remake data press conference hosted by the SDPT in Dushanbe today.  During the press conference, it was noted that the SDPT regional organization for Gorno Badakhshan made a special statement on this subject on March 13.    

According to the SDPT leader Rahmatillo Zoirov, one of issues to be raised during the demonstration will be the parliament’s resolution of 2002 on ceding 96,000 hectares of Tajikistan territory to China.  “Ceding a part of our territory to neighboring country, we not only broke the Constitution’s regulations but we ignored them all,” Zoirov said.  

Another issue will be observance of a legal status of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (Gorno Badakhshan or GBAO), he said.  “No one resolution adopted by the parliament on Gorno Badakhshan was coordinated with the GBAO regional legislature,” the SDPT leader said, citing as an example the parliament’s resolution to transfer six GBAO’s villages to the Tavildara district.  

“The other issue of no small importance will be protest against illegal actions of the law enforcement agencies in the region that was rude to the population lately,” Zoirov noted.    

He also noted that pressure has been made on SDPT members in the region since 2005.  “It is clear because our party was the second in elections to local legislatures following ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party, and local authorities fear expansion of our influence in the region,” said Zoirov.     

We will recall that the Social-Democratic Party of Tajikistan turns 10 today.  On this occasion, the party gave a jubilee press conference in Dushanbe today.  

The constituent assembly of the Social-Democratic Party   was held in Dushanbe on March 18, 1998.  The party chairman is Rahmatillo Zoirov.

The Social-Democratic Party was originally registered with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) as the Party of Justice and Development (Adolat va Tarraqiyot) on February 5, 1999.  A MoJ requested that same year that the Supreme Court ban the party’s activities and its registration was canceled.  The party reemerged and was registered under its current name on December 20, 2002.  According to the SDPT board, the party now has 6,500 members.