Brussels
The E.U. Council will review the sanctions imposed on Uzbekistan in October 2005, after the killing of hundreds of people in the city of Andijanm, in May 2005.
The subcommittee of the European Parliament on Human Rights met last week and heard a range of views on the best way to proceed.
Mrs. Helene Flautre, the chairwoman of the Committee said during the meeting that there have been "no headways", neither in the investigation by the government in Tashkent of the massacre in Andijan, nor in the case of Umida Niyazova, a translator for Human Rights Watch, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for alleged anti-government activities.
According to Mr. Martin Callanan, UK, "Uzbekistan is the most repressive of the Central Asian states..."
Experts warned, during the Committee meeting, that the European Union runs the risk that by engaging with Uzbekistan, the European Union will become "complicit" in the Uzbekistan government's domestic policies and that the E.U. "will be discredited by such a strategy".
Mr. Rolf Timans, of the European Commission said that he was sceptical of the idea of making the release of political prisoners a precondition for engaging with Uzbekistan, "No one should expect the authorities in Tashkent will release such prisoners overnight."
Mrs. Flautre, France, concluded the meeting by saying that, it is not enough for the European Union to "express concern" but the E.U. must demand the release of human rights defenders unjustly held by the Uzbek government.
Israel Rafalovich
U.N. OBSERVER & International Report
Please also see:
Uzbekistan: Imprisoned Rights Activist Sentenced Again
Unabated Crackdown on Human Rights Defenders Demands Continued EU Sanctions http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2007/05/10/uzbeki15899.htm
The E.U. Council will review the sanctions imposed on Uzbekistan in October 2005, after the killing of hundreds of people in the city of Andijanm, in May 2005.
The subcommittee of the European Parliament on Human Rights met last week and heard a range of views on the best way to proceed.
Mrs. Helene Flautre, the chairwoman of the Committee said during the meeting that there have been "no headways", neither in the investigation by the government in Tashkent of the massacre in Andijan, nor in the case of Umida Niyazova, a translator for Human Rights Watch, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for alleged anti-government activities.
According to Mr. Martin Callanan, UK, "Uzbekistan is the most repressive of the Central Asian states..."
Experts warned, during the Committee meeting, that the European Union runs the risk that by engaging with Uzbekistan, the European Union will become "complicit" in the Uzbekistan government's domestic policies and that the E.U. "will be discredited by such a strategy".
Mr. Rolf Timans, of the European Commission said that he was sceptical of the idea of making the release of political prisoners a precondition for engaging with Uzbekistan, "No one should expect the authorities in Tashkent will release such prisoners overnight."
Mrs. Flautre, France, concluded the meeting by saying that, it is not enough for the European Union to "express concern" but the E.U. must demand the release of human rights defenders unjustly held by the Uzbek government.
Israel Rafalovich
U.N. OBSERVER & International Report
Please also see:
Uzbekistan: Imprisoned Rights Activist Sentenced Again
Unabated Crackdown on Human Rights Defenders Demands Continued EU Sanctions http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2007/05/10/uzbeki15899.htm