Rights activists welcome EU sanctions

Rights groups have welcomed a decision by the European Union (EU) to impose sanctions on Uzbekistan, following the country's refusal for an international probe into the Andijan killings of May. "It's the right thing to impose these sanctions with regard to Uzbekistan and I support it," Surat Ikramov, head of the Independent Initiative Group of Human Rights Activists of Uzbekistan (IIGHRAU), a local rights group, said from the Uzbek capital Tashkent on Tuesday. His colleague Tolib Yakubov, head of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU), another local rights body, agreed. "What the EU has done is the right thing," Yakubov said, adding, however, that given the magnitude of the crime the sanctions should have been tougher. Adding their assessment, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated that by imposing sanctions on Uzbekistan over its refusal to allow an independent inquiry into the Andijan massacre, the EU gave new impetus to international efforts to pursue accountability for atrocities committed in the eastern Uzbek city on 13 May. "With today's [Monday’s] decision, the EU has given much-needed concrete meaning to its human rights policy," Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director of HRW, remarked. Their comments came after the EU imposed an arms embargo, cut aid and suspended a cooperation accord on Monday to punish Tashkent for refusing to investigate the violent suppression of an uprising in Andijan. The EU foreign ministers also banned senior Uzbek officials cited as involved in the killings from travelling to Western Europe. The decision marks the first time in the EU's history that it had suspended a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with another country. The agreement contains a human rights clause that states: "respect for democracy, principles of international law and human rights...underpin the internal and external policies of the parties and constitute essential elements of partnership and of this agreement." According to the Associated Press (AP), out of the US $9.7 million originally earmarked for economic and political reform in Uzbekistan in 2005, $1.8 million is expected to be shifted to non-governmental organisations. Aid for 2006, totalling $13.6 million, is to be cut to $11.2 million with the savings to be redirected to anti-poverty campaigns in Uzbekistan and neighbouring Kyrgyzstan. Upwards of 1,000 civilians may have been killed in Andijan on 13 May, according to some rights groups, when Uzbek forces opened fire indiscriminately at anti-government protesters. Tashkent says the official death toll was 187. But while activists welcome the move by Brussels, they warn that the actual impact of the sanctions should not be overstated. "These sanctions adopted by the EU perhaps in a way will urge the [Uzbek] authorities [to act], but I don't think that this will provide the possibility that they agree to an international inquiry into what transpired in Andijan," Ikramov continued. "It is very difficult to predict the implications of the sanctions. The Uzbek authorities would not be very worried about the EU's ban on sales of arms as Russia and China are supplying them with arms. These states might somehow support [President Islam} Karimov's regime financially. For those officials who are responsible for Andijan and won't be able to fly to Europe it is not a big deal, they will simply use a policy of 'wait and see'," Yakubov said. "However, it is a very good move because Karimov's regime should know that the world community is alert and watching the things in Uzbekistan," Yakubov added. Meanwhile, HRW urged the EU to use its summit with Russia to raise its concerns about Uzbekistan with Russian President Vladimir Putin and seek Moscow's support for an independent, international inquiry into the Andijan events. Russia has been a staunch supporter of Uzbekistan since the Andijan massacre. "Russia can play a crucial role in ensuring accountability for the Andijan massacre," said HRW's Cartner. "This week's summit in London provides an important opportunity for the EU to demonstrate its resolve by seeking President Putin's support on this issue."