DUSHANBE, December 27, 2012, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament yesterday postponed ratification of an agreement between Tajikistan and NATO on physical security and stockpile management (PSSM).
The agreement ratification was postponed because parliamentarians did not quite understand the essence of the document.
Presenting the agreement, Deputy Minister of Defense, Suhrob Mahmadov, said it was signed in Brussels on January 31, 2012.
According to him, the document provides for improving the physical security and stockpile management of ammunition in Tajikistan as well as destruction of explosive substances and training of personnel. Feasibility study was carried out on behalf of UK and Japan. Japan funded the study.
Press release issued by NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA) notes that the project includes the recruitment, training and deployment of a Weapons and Ammunition Disposal (WAD) Team that will work with government agencies and local communities to locate and destroy redundant and unserviceable munitions and, where necessary, relocate serviceable stocks to secure storage locations. The team will also conduct a survey of ammunition storage locations in the southern border region and recommend safety and security improvements. The WAD team would operate for 12 months.
Meanwhile, parliamentarians noted that they had not quite understood the essence of the agreement.
MP Suhrob Sharipov, in particular, noted that many provisions of the agreement were incomprehensible. “I understand almost nothing,” said Sharipov. “In my opinion, somebody wants to conceal something related to this issue from parliamentarians.”
Asked whether the agreement is in compliance with obligations taken by Tajikistan within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the deputy defense minister found difficulty in replying.
Speaking at the meeting, Jumakhon Davlatov, State Adviser to the President for Legal Issues also President’s Plenipotentiary Representative to Parliament Policy, stressed that the abovementioned agreement had been prepared in English and French and its Tajik version did not correspondent to the original text and “this has caused confusion.”
Parliamentarians have decided to postpone the document ratification for a later period.
