DUSHANBE, October 13, 2010, Asia-Plus — Delivering a statement at the Plenary Permanent Council Meeting in Vienna, Ambassador Nuriddin Shamsov, Head of Tajikistan’s Permanent Mission to the OSCE, noted on October 12 that Delegation of Tajikistan to the OSCE would like to draw the OSCE Permanent Council Meeting’s attention again to alarming situation with regard to continuation of Uzbekistan’s halting of freight cars bound for Tajikistan.
“We note that since our last statements on the matter at the Permanent Council Meeting on April 22 and May 6, 2010 the situation still remains unchanged and concerned.”
According Tajik Railways, 884 Tajikistan-bound freight cars, including 749 cars bound for to Dushanbe area and 135 others bound for Khatlon, are still being held up in Uzbekistan, Ambassador Shamsov said.
“We emphasize that despite CIS and international norms and rules related to trans-border rail and automotive shipments, the Uzbek railway authorities are continuing the practice of delaying Tajik transit by up to 4-5 months. Over the first nine months of this year, Tajik rail cargo transit volumes have fallen by more than 40% as compared to the same period last year.”
To-date, Tajik Railways has received 360 applications and complaints from public and private owners over cargo damage and loss or theft of cargo on Uzbek territory, Shamsov noted.
“Over the last 10 months, Uzbek state rail company has regularly infringed the CIS and regional agreements on railroad cooperation, international covenants on freight traffic and bilateral Tajik–Uzbek agreement on rail cooperation, he noted.
“We remind that representatives of Tajik business community have already applied to the international organizations, including the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, asking to explore the situation and provide necessary assistance.
“In conclusion, my Delegation notes that continuous railway blockade of Tajikistan seriously undermines the stability, paralyzes socioeconomic development of the country and will have longstanding negative security implications… We reiterate our request to the OSCE and the Kazakh CiO to provide urgently the OSCE fact-finding mission to the area through its field offices, as well as to ensure relevant technical expertise in order to find fair solution to this pressing issue.”
