Kyrgyz military forces condoned the
ethnically-based violence against the Uzbek population, state Uzbek civil
activists
July 1, 2010
(Brussels) – A press conference on the ethnic
conflict in southern Kyrgyzstan will take place in the Residence Palace on July 7, 2010 at 15:00-17:00 CEST.
A video documentary will also be prepared and shown. The event is
organized by Uzbek civil activists who carried out dozens of interviews with
eyewitnesses and who have visited refugee camps in Uzbekistan
From June 10-14, 2010,
ethnic cleansing took place in the Osh and Djalalabad provinces. An armed group
of people attacked predominantly Uzbek-populated neighbourhoods killing
children, elderly, women, burning down Uzbek-owned houses and shops. The
killings were accompanied by extreme cruelty; women were subjected to gang
rape, people were burned alive while being left to die in agony.
In only four days, no less
than two thousand people were killed, more than one hundred thousand (not
counting children) fled to neighbouring Uzbekistan. According to official
evaluation, 70% of the city of Osh was burned down during the unrest. Seeing
that all the destroyed objects belonged to the Uzbek population, hundreds of
thousands affected by these acts of violence were left homeless and without any
means of existence.
Refugees provided Uzbek
human rights defenders with video footage showing the wide extent to which
Kyrgyz militants assisted in fuelling the ethnic conflict. Firemen and
militants simply observed the burning down of ethnic Uzbek property.
Eyewitnesses declared that militants and policemen - personnel in the service
of the Kyrgyz state - did not put in any efforts to protect the ethnic Uzbek
population and their property. The footage also clearly show the scale of the
humanitarian catastrophe.
On June 24, the National
Security Service of Kyrgyzstan officially declared that the perpetrators of the
conflict are two international terrorist organisations, these being " The
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan” (IMU) and "The Islamic Djihad Union” (IDU),
with an active participation by Kurmanbek Bakiev’s family clan-based regime.
Uzbek political analysts,
some of which are studying the tactical behaviour of Uzbek Islamists, strongly
doubt that the version in which IMU and IDU allegedly took part in the mass
cleansing of their fellow Uzbeks is realistic. The above mentioned official
declaration by the National Service of Kyrgyzstan exposes the Kyrgyz
authorities’ incompetence to conduct a reliable and an independent
investigation. In order to conceal the fact that the military participated in
the attacks on the Uzbek population, Kyrgyz authorities started arresting
activists who documented human rights violations committed by the law
enforcement agencies of Kyrgyzstan.
Local residents reported
that, under civil disguise, Kyrgyz militants and security forces carried out
"cleansing” operations in Uzbek neighbourhoods. The raids included killing and
humiliating ethnic Uzbeks, as well as seizing their passports saying: "You’re not people, you don’t need
passports anymore.”
Currently, inter-ethnic hatred and mistrust is extremely high. Unfortunately, the European Union misapprehends the elevated danger
level of the conflict. In all of the five Central Asian republics, different
ethnic minorities and unresolved border issues could potentially cause another
stir in the region. And in case the European politicians continue not to pay a
good attention to the conflict regions of Central Asia, it (Europe) might face
an extremely high refugee flow, in addition other accompanying problems. In
order to reduce the tension, the European Union should cooperate in setting up
an international commission which would investigate the situation and the
causes which triggered the conflict in Kyrgyzstan.
Location:International Press
Center
Residence Palace
Rue de la loi 155
1040 Brussels
Room: «Passage»
For further information contact: info@uzbekgermanforum.org
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