DUSHANBE, June 26, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan has honored persons having made contribution to the National Peace Accord.
The general peace agreement that effectively ended the country’s five-year civil war was singed between the Tajik government and the United Tajik Opposition (UTO) in Moscow on June 27, 1997.
An international two-day conference dedicated to this event opened at the Kokhi Vahdat State Complex in Dushanbe Monday morning. The conference has brought together representatives from the UN agencies active in Tajikistan, guarantor countries, as well as former political and military opponents.
President Emomali Rahmon inaugurated the conference.
Said Abdullo Nuri, former chairman of the Islamic Revival Party (IRPT) also former chairman of the Commission for National Reconciliation (CNR), was awarded Zarin Toj (Gold Crown) Order posthumously.
A number of foreign officials and special envoys of UN to Tajikistan were also awarded high Tajik decorations. Ahmad Shah Masoud, former leader of Afghanistan’s Northern Alliance, was warded Ismoili Somoni Order (posthumously), while former Iran’s Foreign Minister Aliakbar Velayati and UN special envoys to Tajikistan Gerdt Dietrich Merrem, Ivo Petrov, Jan Kubis, and Vladimir Sotirov and some others were awarded Dusti (Friendship) Order.
Representative from International Charity Alliance
Peacekeeper
bestowed Ruby Star Order on President Emomali Rahmon for his contribution to establishment of peace.
In the meantime, some international experts pointed to the necessity of entering into the world practice the method of achieving peace negotiations on the Tajik model as a concept. This model also could be used in other hot spots of the world, in particular in Afghanistan, according to them.
Acting director of the Asia and Pacific Division of the UN Department for Political Affairs (DPA), Vladimir Goryayev, remarked this at a briefing in Dushanbe yesterday. According to him, political will of leaders of the confronting sides, who realized the necessity of peace dialogue, played a considerable role in the beginning of the peace negotiations.
Goryayev reminded that the first UN mission arrived in Tajikistan in September 1992 and a complex work to encourage the confronting sides to come to the negotiating table started. This work lasted till April 1995.
We will recall that UNMOT (the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan) was established on 16 December 1994 by Security Council Resolution 968 (1994) to monitor the implementation of the agreement on a Temporary Cease-fire and the Cessation of Other Hostile Acts on the Tajik-Afghan border and within the Country. Following the signing of the parties of the 1997 general peace agreement, UNMOT”s mandate was expanded to help monitor its implementation. The Mission successfully accomplished the assigned tasks and in May 2000 its mandate was terminated. On June 1 2000, the United Nations Tajikistan Office of Peace-building (UNTOP) was established with the support of the UN Security Council following the withdrawal of the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT).
