U.N. panel presses Uzbekistan on Andizhan protest

Reuters November 22 A U.N. General Assembly committee urged Uzbekistan on Tuesday to stop harassing eyewitnesses to the government's violent suppression of demonstrators in the town of Andizhan in May. The assembly's social and humanitarian committee, in a resolution adopted 73-38 with 58 abstentions, expressed deep regret over the government's rejection of repeated calls by U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour for an independent inquiry into the events in Andizhan. Witnesses say about 500 people were killed on May 13 when Uzbek troops fired into a crowd to put down a rebellion. Uzbek authorities put the number at 187 and said they were mostly "foreign-paid terrorists." New York-based Human Rights Watch called a subsequent trial of the organizers of the unrest "a show trial." The Uzbek Supreme Court rejected the criticism as unfounded and biased. The court this month sentenced 12 Uzbek citizens to 14-20 years in prison, and three Kyrgyz citizens were sentenced to 14 years. Uzbekistan has in the past come under fire from human rights groups for jailing dissident Muslims and using torture. The resolution, put forward by the European Union, expressed grave concern over "eyewitness reports of indiscriminate and disproportionate force" used by government troops to put down the unrest. It also criticized reported arbitrary arrests and detentions "including of eyewitnesses to the events." It urged Uzbekistan to end its "harassment and detention of eyewitnesses" and to ensure fair trials. It asked the government to ensure full respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms including freedom of religion and of the press. It also pressed the authorities to tolerate dissent and allow opposition political parties to register and participate in the electoral process. All 191 U.N. members have a seat on the panel, and adoption is tantamount to approval by the full U.N. General Assembly. It was the fifth human rights resolution targeting an individual nation to be adopted by the committee this year. The panel has in recent days approved measures critical of Iran, Myanmar, North Korea and Turkmenistan.