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WARSAW, 13 May 2015 – On the 10th anniversary of deaths of hundreds of largely unarmed civilians, shot by security forces in Andijan, Uzbekistan, Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), repeated the Office’s call for an international investigation of the killings.
“We must, on this day, not only remember those who lost their lives in the massacre, or their families, still waiting for justice,” Director Link said. “Most importantly, we must renew our call for the establishment of an independent, credible, international investigation into the events in Andijan on 13 May, 2005.”
Although ODIHR officials were not allowed to visit Andijan after the shootings, a report of preliminary findings released by the Office, based on interviews in Kyrgyzstan with refugees from Uzbekistan, put the number killed at from 300 to 500. It also found that Uzbekistan’s security forces fired indiscriminately at unarmed protesters in the town’s Babur Square and that extrajudicial executions may have occurred during and in the wake of the protests at the square.
“Our report established strong grounds from which to conclude that the security forces committed gross human rights violations, including to the most basic right to life, through the unnecessary use of lethal force against the protesters,” the ODIHR Director said. “Until these violations are addressed and the full truth of what happened is established, the shadow of events a decade ago still hangs over the human rights and, as a result, the security situation today.”
The events in Andijan began with protests at the trials of 23 local businessmen. These were followed by the storming of the prison where the businessmen were being held by armed gunmen in the early hours of 13 May. This drew much larger crowds into the square, with the focus of the protest broadening to include issues such as economic policy and poverty. The deaths occurred as security forces reportedly fired indiscriminately on the crowds either in the square or trying to leave it, without warning, on numerous occasions through the day.
Uzbekistan officials put the death toll at 187, with 60 of these listed as protesters killed by the gunmen who stormed the prison and the rest as gunmen killed by government forces. These figures have been contradicted by most other reports of the events, including those by ODIHR and international human rights organizations, which put the number of deaths much higher.
Related StoriesKYZYLORDA, 13 May 2015 – An OSCE-supported training seminar on the use of advanced devices and technologies for water metering began today in Kyzylorda, southern Kazakhstan.
The OSCE Programme Office in Astana co-organized the two-day event in partnership with the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea for some 30 representatives of the Aral-Syrdaya Water Basin Council, local authorities, the business community and civil society who will discuss best practices and methodologies applied in water resources governance.
The seminar aims to enhance participants' knowledge and improve their skills of effective water management practices, in particular in water metering in irrigation systems, water control automation process and water accounting methods. On the second day, participants will take part in a site visit to the Kyzylorda and Baikadam water facilities where they will see the water-metering equipment and systems in use.
“In view of the priorities placed by Kazakhstan and the OSCE on water governance, one of the main tasks is to promote efficient use of available water resources because the situation with the water supply in Central Asia will hardly improve in the foreseeable future,” noted Ambassador Natalia Zarudna, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana. “Integrated water resources management, most notably the accounting and control of water use and equal access to water resources builds up trust and is of paramount importance for preventing water-related conflicts including at the local community level.”
Erdos Kulzhanbekov, Head of the Programme of Reclamation and Development at the State Programme of Water Resources Management in Kazakhstan at the Committee for Water Resources Ministry of Agriculture said: “Within the framework of the State Programme of Water Resources Management in Kazakhstan there are plans to supply up to 80% of water management systems with modern facilities and equipment to monitor the intake and use of water resources. Doing so is a basic condition for achieving the target goals of the State Programme until 2020.”
The event is part of the Office’s long-term activities to promote integrated water resources management and to support the host country’s efforts to introduce green growth and sustainable development principles and to rehabilitate the Kazakhstan’s part of the Aral Sea by modernizing water infrastructure in the region.
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