Feb 2012
RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT YULIA TIMOSHENKO
27.02.2012. Category:Ukraine
RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT YULIA TIMOSHENKO
EPP and likeminded Group in the OSCE-PA
Regarding the current situation of the trial of Mrs. Yulia Timoshenko, former Prime Minister of Ukraine, the EPP and likeminded Group in the OSCE-PA is:
• Deeply concerned about her personal, physical and health conditions in prison,

• Expresses its worries about her health situation and asks the Government of Ukraine to provide the best possible medical care by a medical team nominated by her and, if necessary, the transfer to any specialized medical centre of her choice, inside or outside the national territory, even if remaining in the custody of the competent authorities.

• Urges the Ukrainian authorities to allow the visit of observers and International Organisations like the International Red Cross, after the failed attempts to do so by observers of the OSCE-PA, NGOs, and political parties including the EPP led by Wilfred Martens,

• Regrets the constant violation of the fundamental Human Rights regarding her trial, the lack of Justice and the lack of respect to the Rules of International Rights,
• Recognises that Ukraine is strengthened by effective multiparty democracy and that Ukraine is weakened by one group controlling politics and influencing the judiciary.
• Calls upon the International community and the EPP and likeminded Member Parties to show its commitment to International Law and to seek a democratic rule of law in Ukraine and an independent judiciary.
We hope that the President and Government of Ukraine, leading political forces and its judicial system, will be able to resolve this problem in accordance with norms of international law permitting Yulia Timoshenko and other politicians in prison participate in the next elections contributing to the democratisations of Ukrainian powers and society.
EPP and likeminded Group in the OSCE-PA
Regarding the current situation of the trial of Mrs. Yulia Timoshenko, former Prime Minister of Ukraine, the EPP and likeminded Group in the OSCE-PA is:
• Deeply concerned about her personal, physical and health conditions in prison,

• Expresses its worries about her health situation and asks the Government of Ukraine to provide the best possible medical care by a medical team nominated by her and, if necessary, the transfer to any specialized medical centre of her choice, inside or outside the national territory, even if remaining in the custody of the competent authorities.

• Urges the Ukrainian authorities to allow the visit of observers and International Organisations like the International Red Cross, after the failed attempts to do so by observers of the OSCE-PA, NGOs, and political parties including the EPP led by Wilfred Martens,

• Regrets the constant violation of the fundamental Human Rights regarding her trial, the lack of Justice and the lack of respect to the Rules of International Rights,
• Recognises that Ukraine is strengthened by effective multiparty democracy and that Ukraine is weakened by one group controlling politics and influencing the judiciary.
• Calls upon the International community and the EPP and likeminded Member Parties to show its commitment to International Law and to seek a democratic rule of law in Ukraine and an independent judiciary.
We hope that the President and Government of Ukraine, leading political forces and its judicial system, will be able to resolve this problem in accordance with norms of international law permitting Yulia Timoshenko and other politicians in prison participate in the next elections contributing to the democratisations of Ukrainian powers and society.
Access to Fergana.ru should be restored immediately and Internet should remain free in Kyrgyzstan, says OSCE media representative
27.02.2012. Category:Kyrgyzstan
VIENNA, 27 February 2012 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, called today for the block on news site Fergana.ru in Kyrgyzstan to be lifted and urged the authorities to ensure that the Internet remains free in the country.
Kyrgyzstan’s Internet service providers last week started enforcing a parliamentary resolution to block Fergana.ru, an independent online portal specialized in Central Asian political issues. The parliament (Jogorku Kenesh), citing Fergana.ru’s coverage of the June 2010 violence in Kyrgyzstan’s south, last year requested that the government take steps to deny Internet users access to the portal.
“This effective ban, which was decided without even a court sanction, should be lifted immediately. Disrupting the free flow of information on the Internet contravenes OSCE media freedom commitments and constrains debate on issues of public interest,” Mijatović said.
“In a letter I sent on 23 February to Asylbek Jeenbekov, the speaker of the Jogorku Kenesh, I criticized the resolution and pointed out that legislators should not adopt laws or resolutions that aim at restricting freedom of the media, including online, but should ensure that the Internet remains a free forum to exchange information and ideas.”
“It is unfortunate that Kyrgyzstan, which lately took a number of steps toward enhancing media freedom, including decriminalization of defamation, made a decision that goes in the opposite direction,” she added.
Mijatović welcomed the statement of Presidential spokesperson Kadyr Toktogulov, who questioned the blocking of Fergana.ru, and said she hoped Internet users will be soon able to freely access this website again.
OSCE
Kyrgyzstan’s Internet service providers last week started enforcing a parliamentary resolution to block Fergana.ru, an independent online portal specialized in Central Asian political issues. The parliament (Jogorku Kenesh), citing Fergana.ru’s coverage of the June 2010 violence in Kyrgyzstan’s south, last year requested that the government take steps to deny Internet users access to the portal.
“This effective ban, which was decided without even a court sanction, should be lifted immediately. Disrupting the free flow of information on the Internet contravenes OSCE media freedom commitments and constrains debate on issues of public interest,” Mijatović said.
“In a letter I sent on 23 February to Asylbek Jeenbekov, the speaker of the Jogorku Kenesh, I criticized the resolution and pointed out that legislators should not adopt laws or resolutions that aim at restricting freedom of the media, including online, but should ensure that the Internet remains a free forum to exchange information and ideas.”
“It is unfortunate that Kyrgyzstan, which lately took a number of steps toward enhancing media freedom, including decriminalization of defamation, made a decision that goes in the opposite direction,” she added.
Mijatović welcomed the statement of Presidential spokesperson Kadyr Toktogulov, who questioned the blocking of Fergana.ru, and said she hoped Internet users will be soon able to freely access this website again.
OSCE
High Level Hearing on Uzbekistan: “From the Uzbek Cotton Fields to the Termez Military Base”
21.02.2012. Category:Uzbekistan
HIGH LEVEL HEARING
Berlin, February 6, 2012
Dear colleagues,
Dear friends,
We would like to cordially invite you to our next event:
“From the Uzbek Cotton Fields to the Termez Military Base”
A High Level Hearing on Uzbekistan and Germany
Thursday March 1, 2012 from 13:00 – 18:30
In Berlin, in the “Landesvertretung der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg”, Jägerstraße 1, 10117
In this public high-level hearing, experts from governmental, intergovernmental, business, and NGO backgrounds will discuss the relationship between Germany and Uzbekistan. From state-sponsored child labor during the cotton harvesting involving from 1.5 to 2 million Uzbek children each year, to the subversion of basic civil and political rights including the systematic use of torture, the Uzbekistan human rights record is so appalling that the country is considered one of today’s most repressive regimes left in the world. Experts will engage on how political and economical interests of Western Actors impact, positively or negatively, the advancement of human rights in Uzbekistan, with a particular emphasis on Germany’s role and military interests in the context of the NATO-led efforts in Afghanistan.
The hearing will be held in English and German, with simultaneous interpretation. See the outline and the eminent list of speakers below.
This event is co-sponsored by the German-Uzbek Forum for Human Rights, Anti-Slavery International, Human Rights Watch, Uzbekistan Press Freedom Group, terres des hommes, and Eurasian Transition Group.
Please RSVP at hearing@ecchr.eu. We look forward to seeing you!
With warm regards,
Attorney-at-Law Wolfgang Kaleck
ECCHR General Secretary
Hearing Outline
1) 13:00 – 13:30: Introductory Remarks And Video Screening
Wolfgang Kaleck, ECCHR General Secretary
Umida Niyazova, Head of the German-Uzbek Forum for Human Rights
2) 13:30 – 15:15: Part I - Who Benefits >From Forced Child Labor in the Cotton Fields?
Experts will discuss the respective roles played by Germany, European companies, the European Union, or the International Labor Organization with regards to the state-sponsored child labor in the Uzbek cotton harvesting. The Uzbekistan government’s monopoly on the cotton production and exports – ranked number 3 in the world – keeps the repressive regime rich and alive. Who benefits from this? What policies and conducts can change this status quo?
Moderator: Miriam Saage-Maaß, ECCHR Business and Human Rights Program Manager
Panelists:
Angelika Graf, Member of the German Bundestag (SPD):
“The role of Germany in eradicating child labor in the Uzbek cotton fields: challenges posed by realpolitik.”
Renate Hornung-Draus, Member of the Governing Body of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Vice President IOE, Managing Director of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA):
“ILO’s efforts to overcome Uzbekistan’s uncooperative stance.”
Representative of the German Ministry for Economics and Technology, Department for foreign trade and investment (Confirmed. Name to be announced).
C&A Representative (to be confirmed):
“Why retailers like C&A boycott Uzbek cotton and with what impact.”
3) 15:15 – 15:45: Coffee Break
4) 15:45 – 17:30: Part II: Germany: Between Strategic Interests and Human Rights Concerns In Uzbekistan
With a southern border with Afghanistan, Uzbekistan is considered an important strategic partner for the countries involved in the NATO-led efforts against the Taliban, in particular in the context of the Northern Distribution Network supply lines. For a decade now, Germany has leased from the Uzbek government the Termez military base hosting thousands of German troops. In the meantime, the human rights situation in Uzbekistan still dramatically fails to improve, including since the EU lifting of the sanctions imposed in the aftermath of the Andijan 2005 massacre. How is the pursuit of strategic interests made compatible with a human rights agenda? Experts will discuss how those and other political factors should be approached towards the long-term goal of achieving democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights in Uzbekistan.
Moderator: Wolfgang Kaleck, ECCHR General Secretary
Panelists:
Theo van Boven, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture:
“From the Andijan massacre to findings of “systematic and widespread” torture: how to understand the situation in Uzbekistan.”
Patricia Flor, German Foreign Ministry’s Special Representative for Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia for Eastern Europe
Sanjar Umarov, Former Uzbek political prisoner and Chairman of the Sunshine Coalition of Uzbekistan:
“The exercise of civil and political rights in Uzbekistan and the role of the international community.”
Scott Horton, Contributing Editor, Harper’s Magazine:
“Uzbekistan as a Values Dilemma for NATO”
5) 17:30 – 17:50: Concluding Remarks
Jan Egeland, Europe Director at Human Rights Watch, former United Nations Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, and former Norwegian State Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
6) 17:50 – 18:30: Cocktail Reception
Berlin, February 6, 2012
Dear colleagues,
Dear friends,
We would like to cordially invite you to our next event:
“From the Uzbek Cotton Fields to the Termez Military Base”
A High Level Hearing on Uzbekistan and Germany
Thursday March 1, 2012 from 13:00 – 18:30
In Berlin, in the “Landesvertretung der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg”, Jägerstraße 1, 10117
In this public high-level hearing, experts from governmental, intergovernmental, business, and NGO backgrounds will discuss the relationship between Germany and Uzbekistan. From state-sponsored child labor during the cotton harvesting involving from 1.5 to 2 million Uzbek children each year, to the subversion of basic civil and political rights including the systematic use of torture, the Uzbekistan human rights record is so appalling that the country is considered one of today’s most repressive regimes left in the world. Experts will engage on how political and economical interests of Western Actors impact, positively or negatively, the advancement of human rights in Uzbekistan, with a particular emphasis on Germany’s role and military interests in the context of the NATO-led efforts in Afghanistan.
The hearing will be held in English and German, with simultaneous interpretation. See the outline and the eminent list of speakers below.
This event is co-sponsored by the German-Uzbek Forum for Human Rights, Anti-Slavery International, Human Rights Watch, Uzbekistan Press Freedom Group, terres des hommes, and Eurasian Transition Group.
Please RSVP at hearing@ecchr.eu. We look forward to seeing you!
With warm regards,
Attorney-at-Law Wolfgang Kaleck
ECCHR General Secretary
Hearing Outline
1) 13:00 – 13:30: Introductory Remarks And Video Screening
Wolfgang Kaleck, ECCHR General Secretary
Umida Niyazova, Head of the German-Uzbek Forum for Human Rights
2) 13:30 – 15:15: Part I - Who Benefits >From Forced Child Labor in the Cotton Fields?
Experts will discuss the respective roles played by Germany, European companies, the European Union, or the International Labor Organization with regards to the state-sponsored child labor in the Uzbek cotton harvesting. The Uzbekistan government’s monopoly on the cotton production and exports – ranked number 3 in the world – keeps the repressive regime rich and alive. Who benefits from this? What policies and conducts can change this status quo?
Moderator: Miriam Saage-Maaß, ECCHR Business and Human Rights Program Manager
Panelists:
Angelika Graf, Member of the German Bundestag (SPD):
“The role of Germany in eradicating child labor in the Uzbek cotton fields: challenges posed by realpolitik.”
Renate Hornung-Draus, Member of the Governing Body of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Vice President IOE, Managing Director of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA):
“ILO’s efforts to overcome Uzbekistan’s uncooperative stance.”
Representative of the German Ministry for Economics and Technology, Department for foreign trade and investment (Confirmed. Name to be announced).
C&A Representative (to be confirmed):
“Why retailers like C&A boycott Uzbek cotton and with what impact.”
3) 15:15 – 15:45: Coffee Break
4) 15:45 – 17:30: Part II: Germany: Between Strategic Interests and Human Rights Concerns In Uzbekistan
With a southern border with Afghanistan, Uzbekistan is considered an important strategic partner for the countries involved in the NATO-led efforts against the Taliban, in particular in the context of the Northern Distribution Network supply lines. For a decade now, Germany has leased from the Uzbek government the Termez military base hosting thousands of German troops. In the meantime, the human rights situation in Uzbekistan still dramatically fails to improve, including since the EU lifting of the sanctions imposed in the aftermath of the Andijan 2005 massacre. How is the pursuit of strategic interests made compatible with a human rights agenda? Experts will discuss how those and other political factors should be approached towards the long-term goal of achieving democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights in Uzbekistan.
Moderator: Wolfgang Kaleck, ECCHR General Secretary
Panelists:
Theo van Boven, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture:
“From the Andijan massacre to findings of “systematic and widespread” torture: how to understand the situation in Uzbekistan.”
Patricia Flor, German Foreign Ministry’s Special Representative for Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia for Eastern Europe
Sanjar Umarov, Former Uzbek political prisoner and Chairman of the Sunshine Coalition of Uzbekistan:
“The exercise of civil and political rights in Uzbekistan and the role of the international community.”
Scott Horton, Contributing Editor, Harper’s Magazine:
“Uzbekistan as a Values Dilemma for NATO”
5) 17:30 – 17:50: Concluding Remarks
Jan Egeland, Europe Director at Human Rights Watch, former United Nations Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, and former Norwegian State Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
6) 17:50 – 18:30: Cocktail Reception
Arrest warrant for Kazakh billionaire accused of one of world's biggest frauds
17.02.2012. Category:Kazakhstan
A high court judge has issued an arrest warrant for a Kazakh billionaire accused of committing one of the world's biggest ever frauds.
Mukhtar Ablyazov, who is alleged to have embezzled $5bn (£3.2bn), was found guilty of lying to the court about the scale of his vast fortune, including a £17m mansion on The Bishops Avenue, known as London's "billionaires' row". Mr Justice Teare sentenced Ablyazov to 22 months in jail for "serious" and "brazen" contempt of court in trying to hide more than £34m of assets from creditors, who claim he siphoned off billions of pounds from the Kazakh bank he used to run, BTA.More ...
Mukhtar Ablyazov, who is alleged to have embezzled $5bn (£3.2bn), was found guilty of lying to the court about the scale of his vast fortune, including a £17m mansion on The Bishops Avenue, known as London's "billionaires' row". Mr Justice Teare sentenced Ablyazov to 22 months in jail for "serious" and "brazen" contempt of court in trying to hide more than £34m of assets from creditors, who claim he siphoned off billions of pounds from the Kazakh bank he used to run, BTA.More ...
ETG launches sister organization in US
14.02.2012. Category:Central Asia
Bonn; Washington, D.C. (Feb. 4, 2012)__Europe’s premier think tank for Central Asian issues has launched a sister organization in Washington to help facilitate cooperation, research, policy, business and cultural exchanges between the United States and the Eurasian nations.
With allied offices in Bonn and now in Washington, the Eurasian Transition Group, a bipartisan nonprofit organization, will be in a good position to address such critical issues as East-West relations, Afghanistan, international terrorism, energy security, weapons proliferation, Iran and human rights in the emerging nations of Central Asia.More ...
With allied offices in Bonn and now in Washington, the Eurasian Transition Group, a bipartisan nonprofit organization, will be in a good position to address such critical issues as East-West relations, Afghanistan, international terrorism, energy security, weapons proliferation, Iran and human rights in the emerging nations of Central Asia.More ...