DUSHANBE, June 13, 2012, Asia-Plus — Defense ministers from five of the six countries in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will observe the final phase of a joint counterterrorism military exercise in the Tajik northern Sughd province.
Five of the six countries in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have launched a joint counterterrorism military exercise in Khujand, Tajikistan. Uzbekistan, the sixth member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, has declined to send any troops to participate in the exercises in Tajikistan.
Troops from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan have reportedly deployed more than 2,000 troops in the drills, which have been dubbed Peace Mission-2012.
The exercises that began on June 9 and will last until June 14 are staged in three phases — strategic consultations, battle preparation, and operations.
The drills are being held at the Chorukh-Dairon training ground, some 30 kilometers east of Khujand, the capital of Sughd province.
According to information received from the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of Tajikistan, the Chinese Minister of Defense, General Liang Guanglie, arrived in Khujand yesterday evening, while defense ministers from Kazakhstan (Adilbek Jaksybekov), Kyrgyzstan (Taalaybek Omuraliyev) and Russia (Anatoly Serdyukov) are expected to arrive today.
“Representatives from Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Defense have also expressed wish to observe the drills,” the source noted. But he did not say at what level the Uzbek delegation would be represented.
It is the ninth joint exercise of its kind since the SCO was founded in 1996.
SOCIETY
Experts offer to set up independent organization for investigation of torture in Tajikistan
DUSHANBE, June 13, 2012, Asia-Plus /Nargis Hamroboyeva/ — Torture and ill-treatment have become systematic in Tajikistan and the authorities must take more specific measures to fulfill their obligations before the international community.
Experts stated this yesterday while delivering statements at the seminar for representatives of civil society formally titled “Freedom fro m Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.”
The seminar was organized by the Delegation of the European Union to Tajikistan.
Speaking at the seminar, Ms. Mohira Usmonova, Chairperson of the Sughd Barristers’ Association, noted that there were many cases of use of torture and ill-treatment during detention and interrogations.
She, in particular, offered to set up an independent organization for investigation of use of torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement officers.
Ms. Rachel Bugler, Amnesty International”s researcher on Tajikistan, noted that the Tajik authorities admitted that torture was the problem “number one” in the country and were taking appropriate measures, including removing libel and insult from the Criminal Code. However, implementation of these measures remains problematic, especially among the law enforcement agencies, she added. According to her, torture and ill-treatment are used by all law enforcement agencies and pretrial detention facilities.
We will recall that United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan Mendez, visited Tajikistan last month to assess measures taken by the Tajik government to bring its torture prohibition legislation into compliance with international standards.
Mr. Mendez noted that while the Tajik government has taken some steps to reduce the incidence of human rights violations, there remain significant gaps in legislation, policies and law enforcement practices.
