Hundreds of Uzbek refugees have been resettled in a third country after being flown to Romania last year following a government crackdown on protesters, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) confirmed on Tuesday.
Several hundred Uzbeks fled to neighbouring Kyrgyzstan one year earlier after security forces quelled dissent in the eastern city of Andijan on 13 May 2005, killing up to 1,000 - mainly unarmed - civilians, according to rights groups. The Uzbek government said 187 were killed.
UNHCR granted 439 Uzbeks refugee status and they were flown to the western Romanian city of Timisoara in July 2005. A baby boy was born during their stay in Romania.
An accommodation centre run by the Romanian National Refugee Office provided the refugees with a home for a year pending their resettlement by UNHCR in a third country, while the Uzbek government continued to demand the group be extradited on charges of terrorism.
Christina Bunea, UNHCR’s assistant public information officer in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, said all but four of the refugees had been resettled in a third country.
"These are Australia, Canada, Sweden, Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Finland and the US, which received the highest number - over 250," Bunea said.
"The four [refugees] remaining have also been accepted to another country and will leave this week," she added.
Canada, the US, Australia, Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands and Germany often take refugees but it was a first for the Czech Republic.
"This was an unusual and special operation and it was an international effort," Bunea said.
However, Andijan survivors are still seeking refuge in other countries. At least 14 Uzbek nationals have applied for refugee status in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh over the past few days, according to UNHCR and Kyrgyz migration officials.
The UN refugee agency in Tashkent, the Uzbek capital, was closed down in April after it was told by the government to leave the country.
The relationship between the government and UNHCR has been strained since the refugees were evacuated to Romania.
AJ/GS/DS
Several hundred Uzbeks fled to neighbouring Kyrgyzstan one year earlier after security forces quelled dissent in the eastern city of Andijan on 13 May 2005, killing up to 1,000 - mainly unarmed - civilians, according to rights groups. The Uzbek government said 187 were killed.
UNHCR granted 439 Uzbeks refugee status and they were flown to the western Romanian city of Timisoara in July 2005. A baby boy was born during their stay in Romania.
An accommodation centre run by the Romanian National Refugee Office provided the refugees with a home for a year pending their resettlement by UNHCR in a third country, while the Uzbek government continued to demand the group be extradited on charges of terrorism.
![[Kyrgyzstan] Uzbek refugees from the killing in Andijan, receive medical care at a camp near Jalal-Abad.](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw== "Uzbek refugees from the killing in Andijan, receive medical care at a camp near Jalal-Abad in southern Kyrgyzstan")
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| An Andijan survivor receiving medical care at a camp near Jalal-Abad, Kyrgyzstan, in May 2005 |
"These are Australia, Canada, Sweden, Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Finland and the US, which received the highest number - over 250," Bunea said.
"The four [refugees] remaining have also been accepted to another country and will leave this week," she added.
Canada, the US, Australia, Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands and Germany often take refugees but it was a first for the Czech Republic.
"This was an unusual and special operation and it was an international effort," Bunea said.
However, Andijan survivors are still seeking refuge in other countries. At least 14 Uzbek nationals have applied for refugee status in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh over the past few days, according to UNHCR and Kyrgyz migration officials.
The UN refugee agency in Tashkent, the Uzbek capital, was closed down in April after it was told by the government to leave the country.
The relationship between the government and UNHCR has been strained since the refugees were evacuated to Romania.
AJ/GS/DS
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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