A teacher at a school in Uzbekistan hit a student several times because he asked her to teach a lesson in Russian. Moscow asked Tashkent for an explanation, but they were advised to “mind their own internal affairs.”
This was reported by the Uzbek service of Radio Liberty.
The incident occurred on September 23 at School No. 188 in Tashkent during a Russian language lesson for the 6th grade. Earlier, a video was circulated on social networks showing the teacher hitting the student in the face and head, and pulling his ear.
The boy's mother posted on Facebook, where she said that her son was beaten because he asked to teach the lesson in Russian, not Uzbek. The post was later deleted.
In the wake of the incident, Russian supporters requested an official explanation from Uzbekistan, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, quoted by the RIA Novosti propaganda agency.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000According to Zakharova, in the allied relations between Russia and Uzbekistan, “there is no and cannot be any room for hostility, especially on linguistic grounds.”
In her statement, she also spoke about the “centuries-long positive influence of the Russian language in mutual communication and cultural, educational, scientific, and socio-economic relations” with Uzbekistan.
According to the Uzbek service of Radio Liberty, local activists criticized Moscow for “turning an internal conflict into an international one.” The Uzbek Foreign Ministry did not respond to Russia's statements, but Uzbek MP Alisher Kadyrov advised the Russians not to interfere, in his words, in Uzbekistan's internal affairs.
He assured that measures would be taken regarding the child's beating, but he also believed that “it would be right” for the Russians to “mind their own problems.”
Prepared by: Nina Petrovich