MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
24 October 2005
Cristiana Muscardini, Anna Elzbieta Fotyga, Marcin Libicki
on behalf of the UEN Group
on the human rights situation in Uzbekistan
B6-0579/2005
European parliament resolution on the human rights situation in Uzbekistan
The European Parliament,
- having regard to its previous resolutions on Uzbekistan,
- having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas in May this year hundreds of unarmed civilians were killed by security forces while putting down popular protests in the Uzbek town Andijan,
B. whereas the Uzbek Government accused armed Islamic extremists of provoking protests,
C. whereas thousands of people were arrested in Uzbekistan following the tragic events,
D. whereas 15 men accused of leading protests in the Uzbek town Andijan in May have been brought to court under allegations of planning to overthrow the government,
E. whereas the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan refused an international investigation into the incident and did not respond to a request by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to send an observation team to the trial,
F. whereas, according to independent organizations, the trial has been prepared in violation of the principles of just and fair proceedings on the basis of false confessions, which the accused and the local residents were brutally forced to make,
G. whereas UN human rights investigator expressed his doubts about the fairness of the trial and called for access to the defendants and the courtroom proceedings, saying that mistreatment was common in Uzbekistan,
H. whereas none of the people responsible for giving orders to shoot at the crowd of protesters has been brought to justice,
I. whereas the Uzbek authorities postponed the annual meeting of the EU-Uzbekistan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee,
J. whereas, despite the protests of the UNHCR, the Kyrgyz Government unlawfully deported to Uzbekistan refugees and is keeping others in detention,
K. whereas the Uzbek police arrested Sanjar Umarov, the chairman of the opposition Sunshine Coalition on criminal charges,
L. whereas the EU Council has imposed sanctions on Uzbekistan for the excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by the Uzbek security forces,
- 1.Regrets the fact that the investigation of the events in Andijan was carried out without the participation of a credible international enquiry team;
- 2.Expresses its conviction that only an independent, comprehensive and transparent enquiry, supervised by the UN or OSCE, can unveil the truth about the circumstances of the tragic events in Andijan and identify the guilty parties;
- 3.Expresses its serious concern about the conditions in which those arrested are being held and about alleged unfair treatment of the defendants;
- 4.Expresses its astonishment that the enquiry did not show interest in the appropriateness of the response by the security forces to the unrests in Andijan;
- 5.Calls on the Council and the Commission to monitor closely the trial in Uzbekistan as well as the overall human rights situation and to exert pressure on the Uzbek Government in order to guarantee just, fair and humane treatment of the defendants;
- 6.Expresses its concern about the arrest of Sanjar Umarov and urges the Uzbek Government to release him or to present convincing evidence of his criminal activities and to guarantee a fair trial;
- 7.Calls on the Council and the Commission to consider freezing or re-orientating EU assistance programmes for Uzbekistan in order to focus on human rights and democracy;
- 8.Asks the Uzbek authorities to allow members taking part in the EU-Uzbekistan Parliamentary Co-operation Committee to travel to Andijan and to have unimpeded access to representatives of the opposition, NGOs and the independent media;
- 9.Calls on the Kyrgyz authorities not to deport arrested refugees as long as the Uzbek Government cannot guarantee an independent and fair trial and grant access to those arrest by humanitarian organizations to ensure that they will not be subject to any form of torture or ill-treatment;
- 10.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, and to the governments of Uzbekistan and Kyrgystan.