Gharmi people

ethnic group
group=Gharmis
poptime=90,000 (est.)
popplace=Tajikistan
rels=Sunni Islam
langs=Tajik
related=Other Iranian peoplesThe Gharmi, or Garmi people ( _tg. Ғармӣ), originate from the Rasht Valley in central Tajikistan. From the 1920s to 1955 there was a Gharm oblast in Tajikistan, and henceforth people from central Tajikistan were known as Gharmis. During the 1950s many Gharmis were forced to migrate from central Tajikistan to the Vakhsh River Valley in western Tajikistan. Gharmis were in large excluded from government positions which were dominated by individuals from Khujand and Kulob. Gharmis who settled in Qurghonteppa Oblast are frequently described as a clan group that found social niches in education and the marketplace.

cite web
author= Edward W. Walker
publisher= Berkeley Program in Soviet and Post-Soviet StudiesWorking Paper Series
year= Spring 2006
url=http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~bsp/publications/2006_01-walk.pdf
title= Ethnic War, Holy War, War O. War: Does The Adjective Matter In Explaining Collective Political Violence?
accessdate=9th November
accessyear=2006
format=PDF] After Tajikistan became independent in 1991, many Gharmis participated in protests against the government.

cite web
author= | publisher=Open Society Institute | year=1998
url= http://www.osi.hu/fmp/html/Tajik_one.html
title= Tajikistan: Refugee Reintegration And Conflict Prevention
accessdate=2nd November
accessyear=2006

] When the Civil War of Tajikistan broke out in 1992 a large number of Gharmis joined the DPT-IRP opposition.

cite web
author= | publisher=Human Rights Watch | year=1994
url=http://www.hrw.org/reports/1994/WR94/Helsinki-20.htm
title= Human Rights Watch World Report: Tajikistan
accessdate=2nd November
accessyear=2006

] The organization Human Rights Watch among others, reported that Gharmis were targeted for execution, disappearances, mass killings, and Gharmi villages were burnt.Dilip Hiro. "Between Marx and Muhammad", HarperCollins. (London, 1995).] Ahmed Rashid. "The Resurgence of Central Asia". Oxford University Press. Karachi. 1994]

cite web
author= | publisher=United Nations | date=24 October1996
url=http://www.un.org/documents/ga/docs/51/plenary/a51-483add1.htm
title= Human Rights Questions: Human Rights Situations And Reports Of Special Rapporteurs And Representatives
accessdate=9th November
accessyear=2006

] During the fall and winter of 1992 as many as 90,000 Gharmis and Pamiris were expelled from their homes and found refugee in Afghanistan in a campaign described by the United States Department of State as a pogrom.

cite web
author= | publisher= U.S. Department of State | date= 31 January1994
url= http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/democracy/1993_hrp_report/93hrp_report_eur/Tajikistan.html
title=Tajikistan Human Rights Practices, 1993
accessdate=9th November
accessyear=2006

] This was followed by heavy fighting in the Rasht Valley between government and opposition forces that led to the destruction of villages. There is evidence that rape was used by both sides during this campaign.

References