Mai 2011
Das Weiße Haus
24.05.2011. Category:Uzbekistan
'Absoluter Wahnsinn': 40000 Quadratmeter Fläche, 8000 Quadratmeter Marmor, 700 Millionen Euro Kosten: Am Palast von Taschkent wollten auch deutsche Mittelständler verdienen. Nun warten sie auf Geld.More ...
Germany: Use Visit to Press Uzbekistan on Rights
20.05.2011. Category:Uzbekistan
Germany should use the visit to Berlin by Uzbekistan’s deputy foreign minister on May 24 through 26, 2011, to press for concrete improvements in human rights, Human Rights Watch said today. Germany should make clear to the Uzbek government that enhanced relations depend on real human rights improvements, Human Rights Watch said.More ...
Turkmen and Uzbek Presidents Make Newsweek's Despot Index
20.05.2011. Category:Turkmenistan | Uzbekistan
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has madeNewsweek's Despot Index of the top 10 dictators of the world.
With his trademark "Peter Gallagher eyebrows" and "legit pal" Prince Andrew, as well as his "intellectual pursuit" as a trained dentist, the Turkmen leader's "future prospects" are considered "very good," says Newsweek.More ...
With his trademark "Peter Gallagher eyebrows" and "legit pal" Prince Andrew, as well as his "intellectual pursuit" as a trained dentist, the Turkmen leader's "future prospects" are considered "very good," says Newsweek.More ...
Nabucco postponed, Turkmenistan focuses on Trans-Caspian
20.05.2011. Category:Turkmenistan
Once again as it has before in its troubled history, the Nabucco pipeline consortium has announced a postponement of construction until 2013, citing a lack of supply contracts, Robert M. Cutler of the Asia Times reports. Gas would not start pumping until 2017, Reuters reported.More ...
Kiljunen's Report Blasted in Kyrgyzstan
13.05.2011. Category:Kyrgyzstan
One week after the publication of the Kyrgyzstan Inquiry Commission's (KIC) report detailing its investigation into the ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan, widespread discussion has been triggered in the country. Most local experts agree that the report adds more to understanding the causes and consequences of the four-day bloodshed in June 2010, which cost the lives of 470 and forced 400,000 citizens to flee the country. The report, however, has been criticized for its methodology, one-sidedness, and factual inaccuracies.More ...
MEPs call for swift ratification of partnership and cooperation agreement.
09.05.2011. Category:Turkmenistan
Press release by MEP’s, who support the ratification of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Turkmenistan:
In order to enter into a more constructive and successful partnership between the EU and Turkmenistan, the three Members of the European Parliament from the EPP Group who participated in high-level political meetings in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat last week, called for a positive vote in the upcoming plenary vote on the ratification of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with Turkmenistan. The MEPs underlined that the PCA would form the basis for a deeper and more efficient partnership with the Central Asian country. The PCA would give the EU the proper facilities to effectively cooperate with the country and help it to overcome the shortcomings it is still facing.
On April 28/29, the three EPP MEPs Elisabeth Jeggle (Germany), Inese Vaidere (Latvia) and Piotr Borys (Poland) participated in the European Parliament’s joint visit to Turkmenistan by the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Central Asia Delegation. The delegation met with the Turkmen Minister of Foreign Affairs and participated in the 2nd EU-Turkmenistan Interparliamentary meeting. Furthermore, the delegation met with representatives of the OSCE and UNICEF, as well as with European business representatives working in Turkmenistan.More ...
In order to enter into a more constructive and successful partnership between the EU and Turkmenistan, the three Members of the European Parliament from the EPP Group who participated in high-level political meetings in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat last week, called for a positive vote in the upcoming plenary vote on the ratification of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with Turkmenistan. The MEPs underlined that the PCA would form the basis for a deeper and more efficient partnership with the Central Asian country. The PCA would give the EU the proper facilities to effectively cooperate with the country and help it to overcome the shortcomings it is still facing.
On April 28/29, the three EPP MEPs Elisabeth Jeggle (Germany), Inese Vaidere (Latvia) and Piotr Borys (Poland) participated in the European Parliament’s joint visit to Turkmenistan by the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Central Asia Delegation. The delegation met with the Turkmen Minister of Foreign Affairs and participated in the 2nd EU-Turkmenistan Interparliamentary meeting. Furthermore, the delegation met with representatives of the OSCE and UNICEF, as well as with European business representatives working in Turkmenistan.More ...
On Torture and Arbitrary Detention in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
09.05.2011. Category:Uzbekistan | Turkmenistan
Summary
The following represents a compilation produced by human rights defenders in conjunction with partners, presenting analysis and case studies on torture and arbitrary detention in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
This report is intended as a briefing to UN Special Rapporteurs on Torture, Human Rights Defenders, and other UN Special Mechanisms and bodies on the situation in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
It is also intended as an invitation to continued cooperation, to network building, and to strengthening civil society in both countries by encouraging increased interface on the part of Turkmen and Uzbek human rights defenders with the United Nations. Moving forward, we hope that together we can bring new information to light and take concrete steps toward ending human rights violations.
Partners in civil society find that years after the special rapporteur on torture concluded that systemic torture exists in Uzbekistan, torture in both countries continues to be a routine component of investigations and detention and is a common practice in the penal systems. Forms of torture include.
Bludgeoning with batons
Genital mutilation
Male and female rape and sodomy
Psychological humiliation and degradation
Electrocution
In particular, people linked with the Andijan events of 2005, including innocent family members, are routinely detained, brought up on bogus charges, and subjected to long years of bodily torture and psychological terror. Notably, medical personnel often play a roll in concealing evidence and fabricating fake documents which make filing charges impossible. Other at risk groups include:
Human rights defenders
Religious people
Refugees and asylum seekers who are often deported from other CIS countries back to Uzbekistan
Ex convicts used as scapegoats
Journalists
While information regarding Turkmenistan is scarce, according to our sources, the situation is the prison colonies is dire. This is exacerbated by the general weakness of civil society in Turkmenistan.
Of note have been recent studies carried out by the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights, excerpts of which are contained in this report. These studies on Turkmen prisons and penal colonies detail arbitrary detention and torture as both physical and psychological daily realities.
It is our hope that this report by partners in civil society from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan can be used as an ongoing advocacy tool to improve the human rights situation. The contributors of the report offer their contact information and invitations toward further discussion.
The full report can be found here.
The following represents a compilation produced by human rights defenders in conjunction with partners, presenting analysis and case studies on torture and arbitrary detention in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
This report is intended as a briefing to UN Special Rapporteurs on Torture, Human Rights Defenders, and other UN Special Mechanisms and bodies on the situation in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
It is also intended as an invitation to continued cooperation, to network building, and to strengthening civil society in both countries by encouraging increased interface on the part of Turkmen and Uzbek human rights defenders with the United Nations. Moving forward, we hope that together we can bring new information to light and take concrete steps toward ending human rights violations.
Partners in civil society find that years after the special rapporteur on torture concluded that systemic torture exists in Uzbekistan, torture in both countries continues to be a routine component of investigations and detention and is a common practice in the penal systems. Forms of torture include.
Bludgeoning with batons
Genital mutilation
Male and female rape and sodomy
Psychological humiliation and degradation
Electrocution
In particular, people linked with the Andijan events of 2005, including innocent family members, are routinely detained, brought up on bogus charges, and subjected to long years of bodily torture and psychological terror. Notably, medical personnel often play a roll in concealing evidence and fabricating fake documents which make filing charges impossible. Other at risk groups include:
Human rights defenders
Religious people
Refugees and asylum seekers who are often deported from other CIS countries back to Uzbekistan
Ex convicts used as scapegoats
Journalists
While information regarding Turkmenistan is scarce, according to our sources, the situation is the prison colonies is dire. This is exacerbated by the general weakness of civil society in Turkmenistan.
Of note have been recent studies carried out by the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights, excerpts of which are contained in this report. These studies on Turkmen prisons and penal colonies detail arbitrary detention and torture as both physical and psychological daily realities.
It is our hope that this report by partners in civil society from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan can be used as an ongoing advocacy tool to improve the human rights situation. The contributors of the report offer their contact information and invitations toward further discussion.
The full report can be found here.