OSCE hails exit visa abolition

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has hailed a recent government decision abolishing the need for exit visas for Tajiks, thereby enabling citizens of the tiny Central Asian nation to move more freely. "This is a real sign that Tajikistan is opening up," OSCE Ambassador Marc Gilbert told IRIN from the capital, Dushanbe. "It's of high symbolic value, because freedom of movement will help Tajikistan to enter the world's mainstream, from which it has so long been separated," he said, adding that the decision fully complied with international obligations endorsed by Tajikistan. The move comes at a time when the impoverished country is in dire need of international aid as it grapples with the aftereffects of a devastating drought which has left almost one million people facing starvation. Dushanbe passed a decree early last month repealing Article 8, entitled "Travel Passports for the Citizens of the Republic of Tajikistan of 26 February 1998," making it compulsory for Tajik citizens wishing to leave the country to obtain exit visas. The procedure of issuing passports to nationals has also been simplified under the ammendments made. A Tajik citizen can be denied a passport for a period of up to five years if he/she is believed to have access to state secrets, is under investigation in a criminal case, involved in a civil case or fails to fulfil the conditions of a court order, is liable for military conscription, or gives false personal details. The exit visa requirement was first implemented under Soviet rule. "It was at that time a symbol, and a way of controlling the population," the ambassador said. Indeed, according to the OSCE, in the past, many Tajiks who applied for exit visas were refused them. However, the decision to abolish the regulation now means that Tajik citizens can avoid such bureaucratic procedures before travelling abroad. The announcement was made on Friday at a news conference in Dushanbe, during which Gilbert praised the move, as did Davlat Nazriev, the vice-director of the Tajik information department on behalf of the foreign ministry, and Valdemar Rokashevski, the head of the UN Office for Peace Building. Gilbert reiterated that the OSCE was ready to support the Tajik authorities in implementing their decision. "If citizens meet difficulties, let them come to the OSCE. We shall help," he said. Tajikistan is part of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and by abolishing exit visas has aligned itself with Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, leaving Uzbekistan as the only Central Asian republic retaining the regulation.