Information Agency “Jahon” -On June 15,
2010 a briefing was held at the UN Office in Tashkent for the
representatives of the diplomatic corps, international organizations,
foreign and national media, in order to inform them on the situation of
refugees from Kyrgyzstan, as well as the measures being taken by the
Government of Uzbekistan to provide them with necessary assistance.
The First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of
Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov presented detailed information about the
situation in the southern regions of Kyrgyzstan. It was particularly
emphasized that the events occurring there were of a large-scale and
unprecedented nature, characterized by an extreme cruelty and evaluated
by many observers as a massacre, ethnic cleansing and genocide. The
mass slaughter has acquired an organized nature, what was recognized by
the Interim Government of Kyrgyzstan itself.
At that, the Interim Government of Kyrgyzstan demonstrated an absolute
helplessness before the actions of bandits. There is no doubt that the
third party stands behind the events in Kyrgyzstan as evidenced by the
presence of a large number of weapons, the use of mercenaries and
professional snipers. The special cartridges are used, which allow to
set fire to houses from a long distance.
Currently, the number of refugees accounts for more than 75 thousand
people. The Government Uzbekistan provides them with necessary
assistance – in the course of the first three days for this purpose was
spent more than 1.5 billion soums (about 1 million US dollars).
Uzbekistan continues to provide assistance to refugees, but their
number is growing. Taking into account serious difficulties, the Uzbek
Side has sent official appeals to the UN Secretary-General and other
international organizations in order to bring in the humanitarian aid.
Unfortunately, currently the purposefulness of humanitarian aid from
international organizations is not ensured, as it is mainly accumulated
in Bishkek.
The cruelty in the southern regions of Kyrgyzstan with regard to the
Uzbek community was reaffirmed by representatives of such international
organizations as the UN International Children’s Emergency Fund
(UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), who have eye-witnessed everything
that happened.
The UN Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan Anita Nirodi expressed a
serious concern of the UN system over the developments in southern
Kyrgyzstan, which resulted in tens of thousands of people being forced
to save their lives by fleeing into the territory of Uzbekistan.
She noted that the UN highly appreciated the quick and decisive actions
taken by the Government of Uzbekistan to assist the people crossing the
border of the country and secure their humanitarian needs.
A.Nirodi also informed about her visit together with the heads of
UNICEF and WHO, to the border zone and several camps in Andijan, the
huge number of refugees, mostly women and children, crossing the
border, the wounded, who are being treated in the hospitals in Andijan
Region.
She stressed that the Government of Uzbekistan is providing
humanitarian support to the refugees staying in many camps that have
been deployed within a few hours. At the same time, the refugees
continue to cross the border.
Regarding participation of the UN, A.Nirodi cited the following data:
-the UNICEF sent 7 cargo containers loaded with basic items: kitchenware, blankets, hygienic sets, water containers, and others;
-the UN Office of High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) offered a
humanitarian assistance which was accepted by the Government of
Uzbekistan;
-the WHO sent 3 cargo containers with blankets, and will render medical assistance;
-the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and
the UN Food Program consider ways of rendering assistance. Two staff
members of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
are expected to arrive for assessing proposals on financing.
The Head of the UNICEF Representation Jean-Michel Delmotte informed
that he has been on the border jointly with A.Nirodi and other
colleagues, where he had an opportunity to see refugees crossing the
Kyrgyz-Uzbek border, among whom there were mainly women and children.
The Head of UNICEF representation also commended the efforts of
Uzbekistan to support the refugees. “During my visit to the border I
have witnessed that refugees received all necessary assistance from
Uzbekistan, namely – safety, shelter, food etc., which is very
important to support the refugees at the moment”, - he said.
Further he noted that some of the refugees were able to capture on
photo and video the atrocities taking place in the city of Osh. All
this is going to be a strong psychological trauma for the people.
According to him, now 9 employees of UNICEF are in Andijan in order to
assist on site. The large flow of refugees will be a burden for
Uzbekistan to provide them with all necessary assistance.
He added that the number of refugees was much greater than imagined and
the UNICEF hoped that they would be provided with timely international
help. As a manifestation of solidarity, he has cited the example of
financial assistance of the US Embassy in Tashkent.
The WHO Representative Michel Tailhades highly appreciated the
“well-elaborated and highly organized” measures of Uzbekistan in terms
of providing medical and socio-psychological assistance to the refugees
from Kyrgyzstan. “We have seen how the Uzbek Side selflessly provides
medical assistance to the refugees. However, the stocks of the Ministry
of Health of Uzbekistan are running out. Therefore, it is necessary to
consider steps to provide a long-term assistance to the refugees”.
“I was astonished by the terrible picture when two young ladies crossed
the border, who were brutally raped by a group of bandits. After that
the whole meaning of their future life is lost”, - he said. According
to him, there are 25 such cases, which means that the rape cases are
numerous. In this respect, the Head of the WHO Representation stressed
the need to ensure rule of law in Kyrgyzstan.
M.Tailhades has underlined once again the importance of strengthening the international assistance to Uzbekistan.
During the briefing the participants were given video and photo
materials depicting cruel murders of representatives of the Uzbek
community by bandit groups in Kyrgyzstan.
Photo
Video
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