Uzbekistan goes back on amending constitution following protests
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Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visits Karakalpakstan and pledges to take a U-turn on constitutional amendments regarding the region.
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Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrived in an autonomous republic on Saturday following protests over an amendment to the country's constitution.
Mirziyoyev pledged that the proposed constitutional amendments, which would have weakened the territory's status, will be scrapped after a rare round of protests.
Authorities said earlier on Saturday that they had detained organizers of mass riots who sought to seize administrative buildings in the Republic of Karakalpakstan.
Thousands took to the streets of the regional capital on Friday and demanded the overturning of the constitutional reform proposals that would have impacted the republic's self-determination.
A reformer, Mirzioyoyev held a meeting with lawmakers of Karakalpakstan's parliament and his press service said the articles of the constitution concerning the region would remain unchanged on the basis of the stated opinion of the region's residents.
The proposed changes include one that would have barred the republic's ability to secede from Uzbekistan via referendum. The article dates back to 1993 after the republic's leadership tried to secede from Uzbekistan on the eve of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Tashkent is set to hold a referendum on various amendments to the Uzbek constitution in the coming months.
