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Wednesday 16 November 2005 |
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IRIN-Asia Weekly Round-up 35 covering the period 27 August - 2 September 2005[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]CONTENTS: AFGHANISTAN: Electoral observation effort gearing up With a little over two weeks to historic parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, tens of thousands of observers are set to monitor the internationally-supported poll, the joint UN-Afghan electoral body announced this week. According to Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB), 2,200 independent observers and more than 30,000 political party and candidate agents have been accredited to scrutinise the Wolesi Jirga (lower house) and provincial council elections. Full report AFGHANISTAN: Focus on security prior to election With less than three weeks to go before parliamentary elections in Afghanistan and with campaigning in full swing, security continues to be a major concern for voters, candidates and for national and international electoral bodies involved. Over recent months, extremist groups have stepped up violence as polling day draws nearer. While it appears the attacks have targeted pro-government and international forces rather than election candidates or election workers, analysts believe attempts to cause major disruption to the elections can still not be ruled out. Full report CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap This week in Central Asia - more than three months after Uzbek security forces violently suppressed protests in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan - the US re-iterated its calls for an independent international probe into what happened. "We've been very clear that the Uzbek government needs to let in an international team, needs to be fully transparent in investigating and allowing an international investigation of what happened at Andijan," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Wednesday. Full report KAZAKHSTAN: Civil society welcomes ruling on NGO laws Activists have welcomed a recent ruling by the Kazakh Constitutional Council that a set of draft laws regulating the activities of NGOs is unconstitutional. Even so, they still remain concerned by other laws that could impede the development of civil society in Central Asia's largest state. "The fact that the Constitutional Council acted correctly in this decision is a positive sign," explained Antonio Stango, the country director of Freedom House, a leading advocate of the world's young democracies, speaking on Wednesday from the Kazakh commercial capital, Almaty. Full report KYRGYZSTAN-TAJIKISTAN: New clinic eases border tension A new UN-supported project on the Tajik-Kyrgyz frontier aims to reduce tension between communities, while providing much needed healthcare to populations on both sides of the border. Funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and located in Tojikon village in the Tajik Vorukh enclave, over 450 km north of the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, but surrounded by Kyrgyz territory, the facility provides health care to around 5,000 residents in the area, Bakhrom Fayzullayev, UNDP's national coordinator for the project, said on Wednesday. Full report NEPAL: Focus on rural development in Maoist areas It’s a daunting task for development worker Narab Bhupal Rai. Not only does he have to walk for days to reach the remote villages where he works, he also has to run the gauntlet of Maoist rebel leaders who regularly interrogate him about his work and political affiliation. Despite the difficulties, Rai continues to carry out his duties. “What choice do we have? The Maoists control 80 percent of the district and say they have the authority to know all about our activities,? explained Rai. Full report NEPAL: King, politicians and rebels no nearer to talks When Nepal's King Gyanendra recently paid his first visit to east and west Nepal since assuming direct rule of the nation on 1 February this year, peace was the only thing that most people wanted to talk to him about. This week after his return to the capital, the king announced through state media that he was ready for dialogue with the nation’s political parties. Full report PAKISTAN: Refugee camps along tribal belt closing Pakistani authorities on Wednesday announced the closure of 32 Afghan refugee camps in the western tribal belt. The camps were originally established for Afghans fleeing the Soviet invasion over 25 years ago. "Basic services like health would continue on a limited basis for those preparing for repatriation and making other logistical arrangements," said Imran Zeb, head of the Chief Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees (CCAR), the state body dealing with Afghan refugees, speaking from the capital, Islamabad. Full report PAKISTAN: Afghans in capital concerned at eviction Tens of thousands of Afghans living in and around the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, not being residents of registered refugee accommodation, are uncertain about their future, as the government deadline for them to either return to Afghanistan or move out of their homes draws nearer. The Pakistani authorities announced earlier this month that they want the Afghans to relocate by 15 September. Full report PAKISTAN: No provision for Afghan refugees to vote Saeed Agha is a middle-aged Afghan mechanic living in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, who listens avidly to radio news broadcasts about the forthcoming parliamentary elections in his homeland. The programmes are transmitted in Dari, Pashto and Urdu to the millions of Afghans residing in neighbouring Pakistan but it's unlikely Agha or many of the others will get a chance to participate in the historic poll. Full report TURKMENISTAN: Ashgabat intimidating those linked with exiled activists say rights NGOs Rights activists living outside Turkmenistan say the Turkmen government has been intimidating their relatives and friends in Turkmenistan because of their own efforts from abroad to highlight the desert nation's poor human rights record. "There has been systematic pressure on us since we established the Turkmen Helsinki Foundation [THF] in 2003," Tajigul Begmedova, head of THF, said on Thursday from the Bulgarian resort city of Varna where the rights group is based. According to Begmedova, the Turkmen authorities have been harassing her relatives, who still live in her homeland, since THF was first established. Full report UZBEKISTAN: Radio Liberty condemns jailing of reporter The US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), on Tuesday condemned a six month jail sentence imposed on its Uzbekistan reporter for allegedly insulting a security service official. The sentence is being seen as part of increasing government pressure on both journalists and human rights groups in this Central Asian nation. Washington and Prague-based RFE/RL promotes democratic values by disseminating factual information and ideas. Full report UZBEKISTAN: Trial of Andijan accused to start in September The trials of people involved in the 13 May unrest in the eastern city of Andijan later this month, in which up to 1,000 people were killed according to rights groups, are set to begin later this month. Tashkent puts the number of dead at 187, blaming Islamic militants for the violence. President Islam Karimov, speaking on Wednesday on the eve of the Central Asian nation’s independence day, told local reporters that the trial would enable the truth of what happened in Andijan to come out. Full report UZBEKISTAN: Amnesty calls for moratorium on death sentence Amnesty International (AI) has called for a moratorium on all death penalty cases in Uzbekistan, following a presidential decree that the nation should abolish capital punishment in January 2008. "Exactly a month ago, President Karimov decreed that the death penalty would be abolished in Uzbekistan from 1 January 2008. We welcome this announcement but if the authorities have already come to the conclusion that the death penalty is wrong and inhumane, then it is hard to understand why they are still prepared to execute scores of people before 2008," said Anna Sunder-Plassmann, Central Asia researcher for AI, speaking in London on Thursday. Full report [ENDS]
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