Yegor Vinogradov, Deutsche Welle
A special place in the annual report of Amnesty International has been allotted to Central Asia. The most unfavorable situation, according to human rights defenders, is in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
Post-Soviet Asian republics did not answer any questions posed by the experts of Amnesty International over the last year. That is the conclusion of experts of the international human rights organization, which presented a progress report on the human rights situation in the world in Moscow on May 27 . Speakers noted that the situation has changed little since the last report. Moreover, in connection with the global financial crisis, problems only came because addressing economic issues, governments in many countries in Europe and Asia put aside the human rights theme.
The most unfavorable situation in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
Director of Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia Program Nicola Dakvort said in an interview with Deutsche Welle the largest number of outstanding issues related to human rights are unsolved in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan so far.
"These two countries, especially where all dissent is suppressed, not only at the political, religious field, but also in the economy. Furthermore, it is hard for human rights activists to work in these two countries. While Amnesty International experts are able to talk to people in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, it is impossible to do this in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Human rights activists called the feature of Uzbekistan country's attitude to death penalty. The death penalty was abolished in the country since January 1, 2009, but is still not known how many people were executed by court and how many commuted to life imprisonment, while the relatives of most convicts do not know they are alive or not. Power and impunity of government officials dominated in Turkmenistan, according to experts.
Women's rights are violated in Tajikistan, office exceeded in Kazakhstan
Where the situation looks like a bit better, there are problems. In Tajikistan, defenders did not manage to solve the problem of domestic and sexual violence, in addition, a lot of people subjected to forced eviction. Refugees and asylum-seekers from Uzbekistan to Kyrgyzstan were still facing forcible return to their homeland. The Kazakhstan government increased pressure on religious minorities in 2009 and, moreover, remain unpunished brutality and abuse of authority by the power, although the authorities claim that they are ready to bring order.
Russia's negative role
Human rights activists also highlighted the fact that all former Soviet republics are of a strong dependence on Russia. Nicolas Dakvort said that the authorities of Central Asian countries adopt the worst from neighbors.
"For example, the Russian law on nongovernmental organizations have adopted in Kyrgyzstan, which greatly complicate the lives of human rights defenders. In addition, the influence of Russia can be seen in the situation with the investigation of cases of shooting of civilians in Andijan." The EU is already very difficult to ensure that the Uzbek authorities accountable for this crime, but even harder when he intercede for such a powerful ally of Russia, Dakvort said.
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