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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia | |
| US urges Kyrgyzstan to end humanitarian crisis | |
| 2010-06-20 | |
[Al Arabiya Latest] A top U.S. envoy called Saturday for an independent investigation into the violence that has devastated southern Kyrgyzstan,
Prosecutors charged Azimzhan Askarov, the head of a prominent human rights group who shot the video, with inciting ethnic hatred. Askarov had accused the military of complicity in the bloody rampages that sent hundreds of thousands of Uzbeks fleeing for their lives. The country's rights ombudsman Tursunbek Akun insisted the charges against Askarov were fabricated, and activists in Bishkek demonstrated before U.N. offices to demand his release. The clashes have killed up to 2,000 people and set off a massive wave of refugees, with 400,000 people crammed in squalid camps with little access to clean water and food on Kyrgyzstan's sun-parched border with Uzbekistan. Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake, speaking after talks with Kyrgyz officials, said an international investigation must be held into the possible causes of the violence. "It is important for the provisional government to establish the atmosphere of trust and security so the refugees in Uzbekistan and the internally displaced persons in Kyrgyzstan can feel confident that they can return to their homes and live in safety and harmony with their Kyrgyz neighbors," he said. "I think clearly there was an ethnic element to the violence that took place. But the United States does not have any independent information about what happened ..." Kyrgyzstan's tiny, under-equipped army has struggled to bring order to the south and relief organizations have been unable to reach the worst-affected areas for security reasons. Some Kyrgyz officials have said a referendum on a new constitution, due be held on June 27, should be postponed until the situation stabilizes. The United States and Russia, both operating military air bases in the strategic Muslim nation, are concerned that continued turmoil in Kyrgyzstan could spread to other parts of Central Asia, a vast former Soviet region north of Afghanistan. The violence erupted on June 10 with coordinated attacks by unknown individuals in balaclavas and quickly spiraled into fierce fighting between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz, witnesses said. Mainly Uzbek households were targeted in three days of unrest, with entire neighborhoods burned to the ground. The U.N. says an estimated 1 million people were affected. | |
| Posted by:Fred |