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Tuesday 15 November 2005 |
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IRIN-Asia Weekly Round-up 33 covering the period 13 - 19 August 2005[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]CONTENTS: AFGHANISTAN: Policies in short supply as election campaigning begins Sitting in a printing house in a dusty Kabul street, Ghani Mohamad, a 45-year-old candidate in Afghanistan's first democratic parliamentary elections next month, is about to launch his campaign. He's pondering what to put on his campaign poster that would capture the electorate's attention as campaigning began officially on Wednesday. Full report AFGHANISTAN: Debate on justice reform State institutions involved in the justice system along with the United Nations and other national and international organisations, are discussing justice reform at a three-day workshop that began on Monday in the capital, Kabul. A 24-page strategy paper entitled 'Justice for All' is being used as the basis for discussion at the meeting and is expected to form the foundation of future policy for the justice sector. Full report CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap Around 4,000 residents in eastern Tajikistan are to be resettled within five to six years from an area that will become the future Rogun reservoir, the Tajik Avesta news agency reported on Monday. Russian investors in the Rogun hydropower plant will reportedly compensate for the resettlement costs. The construction of the Rogun hydropower plant started in the 1980s, but was suspended after Tajikistan became independent in 1991 and suffered a subsequent five year civil war from 1992 to 1997. Full report KYRGYZSTAN: Up to a thousand Andijan asylum seekers remain Activists believe that more than 1,000 Uzbeks may still be in Kyrgyzstan and in need of assistance after fleeing from a violent government crackdown in the southeastern Uzbek city of Andijan on 13 May. More than 400 Uzbek refugees from Andijan recently left Kyrgyzstan under the protection of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Full report KYRGYZSTAN: Increase in rural youth migration to cities In economically deprived Kyrgyzstan, young people are increasingly migrating from rural areas to urban centres like the capital, Bishkek, in search of improved employment prospects and a better future. "Next year I will finish [secondary] school and will go to Bishkek. My elder brother is already there. I do not know whether I will be able to study at university. If not, I will work and help my family," 16-year-old Zaripa explained, speaking from her home in Juzumjan village in the southern Jalal-Abad province. Full report KYRGYZSTAN-UZBEKISTAN: Court overturns denial of refugee status to Uzbeks An appeal to overturn a decision by the Kyrgyz migration department to deny refugee status to Uzbeks who fled violence in southeastern Uzbekistan was granted by a city court in the capital, Bishkek, on Thursday. "We decided to rule out the statement by the migration department to deny refugee status due to the fact that the department had not sufficiently assessed all the materials," Jyrgalbek Nurunbetov, a judge at Bishkek's inter-district court, said. Full report NEPAL: New NGO law spells end of autonomy, say activists Some national and international NGOs in Nepal say they are seriously concerned over the introduction of the Social Welfare (First Amendment) Ordinance 2005. The new government ruling was promulgated during the last week of July and gives new powers to the state to enable it to control and regulate programmes run by NGOs and their activities. Full report PAKISTAN: Impoverished Christians face forced eviction Hundreds of Christian residents in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore may be forced off their land in the face of soaring land values. The area, known as Yohanabad-II, was established in 1998 on the outskirts of the city as a model village but rumours of planned redevelopment of adjacent areas have created a problem for residents. Residents report that local 'land mafia' are now desperate to get their hands on the land and are attempting to harass around 400 families out of their homes. Full report TURKMENISTAN: Focus on ethnic minorities The plight of ethnic minorities in Turkmenistan remains bleak, despite claims to the contrary by the Turkmen government during this month's session of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). "Each of Turkmenistan's ethnic and racial minorities bears a heavy burden of discrimination and exclusion in the environment where preferential treatment is openly afforded only to ethnic Turkmen," Robert Arsenault, president of the International League for Human Rights (ILHR), asserted from New York. He went on to describe the human rights situation in the largely desert but energy rich state, as alarming. Full report UZBEKISTAN: Fear grips Andijan three months after killings Three months after a violent government crack down on protests in the southeastern Uzbek city of Andijan, there is a palpable sense of fear on and off the streets, despite less soldiers seen in public and shops and office open as usual. People who witnessed the killing of up to 1,000 mainly unarmed civilians on 13 May in and around the city say they are burning inside but giving up hope of obtaining justice for the dead and injured. Full report UZBEKISTAN: Russian human rights journalist deported The Uzbek government on Saturday deported Russian human rights journalist, Igor Rotar, after he had spent two days in detention at Tashkent airport. John Kinahan, assistant editor for Forum 18 News Service, an agency covering religious freedom in the former Soviet republics and Eastern Europe, commented on the significance of the deportation in a statement. "The case has shown how religious freedom is an excellent 'litmus test' of the state of human rights and that attention should remain on the extremely grave human rights situation still faced by Uzbekistan's people." Full report UZBEKISTAN: New support for those living with HIV/AIDS When a police officer barged into Natalya's home in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, screaming at her that she had AIDS she nearly died of shame. She had not even told her parents about the disease which she contracted by sharing a hypodermic needle. "I had problems with the police earlier as I was an injecting drug user. When they came to the house the police started insulting me loudly saying that I was infected with HIV. It was a shock for my parents - and the neighbours were watching," the 34-year-old said. Full report [ENDS]
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