NGOs support conflict prevention with Uzbek asylum seekers

A new project aimed at reducing tension and preventing conflict between the local population and hundreds of asylum seekers who fled the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan in May is under way in southern Kyrgyzstan. Abdukhakim Abdusattarov, head of the Ladankar-Domoor local public committee recently established to work on conflict resolution in the southern Suzak district, is a frequent visitor to the Sasyk-Bulak camp where 426 Uzbek asylum seekers are currently sheltered. "I talked to many people here and learnt that they are simple, ordinary folks and what their grievances and thoughts were. I tell our local population the truth about the asylum seekers so that there are no prejudices against them," Abdusattarov said in Suzak, capital of the district with the same name. "The attitude of local residents towards the asylum seekers is changing. They are becoming more tolerant and kinder to them. A lack of awareness about the issue was the main thing to blame," he maintained. Over 500 Uzbeks crossed the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border early on 14 May 2005, the day after Uzbek security forces violently suppressed protests in Andijan. The Uzbek government said that the death toll was 187, but rights groups claimed that almost 1,000 unarmed civilians may have been shot in and around Andijan by Uzbek police and soldiers. Like the other five local committees in Suzak and Bazar-Korgon districts of the southern Jalal-Abad province, Ladankar-Domoor was established by Lawyers of the Ferghana Valley without Borders and Development and Cooperation in Central Asia (DCCA) NGOs. "The analysis [that we conducted] has shown that there is a real threat of conflict between the locals and asylums seekers," Ikbol Bakhramova, a coordinator with DCCA, said. There have been three major protests around the camp, with local residents demanding that asylum seekers be sent home, allegedly fearing the growth of religious extremism and more complicated relations with neighbouring Uzbekistan. Moreover, some believed rumours that the asylum seekers would have claims in the future for land plots and later on for jobs, which are both already scarce in the area, thus further deteriorating the social problems on the ground. Others were simply jealous about the high profile and care being shown to the asylum seekers by the government and international organisations. Each public committee consists of 10 to 20 people, who are local elders, leaders of women or youth organisations, religious leaders or law-enforcement officials. Their main task is to raise the awareness of local communities. All of them have undergone training on refugee rights and their status, the rules of their stay in the country and international covenants of which Kyrgyzstan is a party to. The project also envisages assistance to local communities in terms of helping to tackle social problems. The committees maintain continuous dialogue with all the groups involved and inform local communities about what is happening in the camp and developments related to the asylum seekers and their status. Activists of the project, supported by the Eurasia Foundation, say that in order to tackle the lack of information, the committees also hold meetings and discussions with local residents, distribute brochures and maintain close contact with government bodies and the camp's administration. "The local authorities are supporting us and the governor of the Jalal-Abad province said he was interested in the positive results of the project, seeing it as kind of a bridge between the local communities, asylum seekers and government bodies," DCCA activists noted. Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan's president-elect Kurmanbek Bakiyev indicated on Saturday that 12 asylum seekers would likely be returned to Uzbekistan, while most others would not be forced home, AFP reported. "I consider that the place of a criminal is in prison…. Among the more than 400 Uzbeks who have sought refuge in our country after the Andijan events in May there are 12 who have really committed crimes in Uzbekistan," Bakiyev reportedly said. A total of 29 Uzbeks are currently being detained by the Kyrgyz authorities. Carlos Zaccagnini, head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) mission to Kyrgyzstan, said on Monday that the 29 Uzbek asylum seekers held in custody were still undergoing refugee status determination procedure by the Kyrgyz migration department and UNHCR. "We hope to complete this shortly and are trying to shorten it. The outcome will be announced shortly. But until that time, I understand no extradition can take place until this refugee determination procedure is over," he explained.