Newsroom
President of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly visits Uzbekistan
TASHKENT 21 November 2001
TASHKENT, 21 November 2001 - From 19-20 November, the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) Mr. Adrian Severin travelled to Uzbekistan as part of his official visit to two Central Asian participating States of the OSCE, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
During the visit, Mr. Severin met with the Foreign Minister, the Speaker of the Parliament together with the Head of the Uzbek Delegation to the OSCE PA, Ambassadors of OSCE participating States as well as representatives of international organizations, local media and non-governmental organizations. During the meetings, Mr. Severin was accompanied by members of the OSCE Centre in Tashkent and was briefed by the Head of the Centre, Ambassador Gantcho Gantchev, and Centre staff.
The general goal of the visit was to assess the situation in Central Asia in general and in Uzbekistan in particular from the political, economic, and security points of view. Mr. Severin noted that, in an era of globalization, it is necessary for the participating States of the OSCE to build compatible institutions, on the basis of each country's own experiences, so as to be able to work together to take advantage of available opportunities and to confront new dangers.
One such danger, international terrorism, was discussed at length in each meeting. Mr. Severin expressed his support for the important role of Uzbekistan in the coalition against international terrorism and encouraged the authorities to take advantage of the opportunity now available to improve its position within the OSCE family. Mr. Severin agreed that the fight against international terrorism would be long and complicated and would only be complete when the coalition had rooted out terrorist networks in those countries, including Afghanistan, where they operate. Mr. Severin also agreed with the Foreign Minister that a political solution to the current situation in Afghanistan would need to be fostered by encouraging all constructive elements of Afghan society to play a role in the formation of a government, which should be first and foremost pro-Afghan rather than one which meets the geopolitical interests of other countries.
Mr. Severin added that, on another level, the fight against the root causes of terrorism was as important as destroying the terrorist networks currently in place. Mr. Severin cited poverty, corruption, and weak democratic institutions as among those root causes and encouraged the Uzbek authorities to make efforts to reduce the democratic deficit in Uzbekistan by promoting political pluralism, encouraging the growth of constructive opposition parties and a thriving civil society, which have been seriously stifled up to present. "If we don't learn to fight constructively with words in political fora, it will become necessary to find ways to stop those from fighting with stones in the streets," stated Mr. Severin.
He was encouraged by the preparations underway to conduct parliamentary reform in the country. In general, he expressed his support for the growth of democratic parliamentarism in Uzbekistan as well as a strong role for the country's parliamentarians and conveyed his readiness on behalf of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to assist in these positive developments. He also expressed his strong support for the work of the OSCE Centre in Tashkent and encouraged the Uzbek authorities to deepen its cooperation with the Centre.
During the course of the discussions, Mr. Severin also stressed the need to address problems in these and other areas not only on a national level, but to make efforts to increase regional cooperation as well.
In this light, Mr. Severin presented his interlocutors with a new initiative of the OSCE PA - the Trans-Asian Parliamentary Forum, for which Mr. Severin received strong support during his official visit to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in May this year. The Forum, which would be organized in the framework of the OSCE PA, is designed to bring together parliamentarians from the OSCE participating States, as well as those from the Asian Partners for Cooperation, in order to discuss various developments in the trans-Asian sphere of the OSCE. Mr. Severin expressed the hope that Uzbek parliamentarians would take part in this important initiative, which could help the OSCE to formulate specific approaches to achieving common goals in the spheres of security, economic development and political pluralism.
Overall, Mr. Severin was grateful to all his interlocutors for openly and honestly sharing their views and valued the opportunity to outline his approach as President of the OSCE PA whereby "we intend to work as partners with Uzbekistan, not as teachers or judges, by taking into consideration certain regional specificities, in order to ensure prosperity and stability in Central Asia, which is a crucial factor for stability in the OSCE region as a whole."
During the visit, Mr. Severin met with the Foreign Minister, the Speaker of the Parliament together with the Head of the Uzbek Delegation to the OSCE PA, Ambassadors of OSCE participating States as well as representatives of international organizations, local media and non-governmental organizations. During the meetings, Mr. Severin was accompanied by members of the OSCE Centre in Tashkent and was briefed by the Head of the Centre, Ambassador Gantcho Gantchev, and Centre staff.
The general goal of the visit was to assess the situation in Central Asia in general and in Uzbekistan in particular from the political, economic, and security points of view. Mr. Severin noted that, in an era of globalization, it is necessary for the participating States of the OSCE to build compatible institutions, on the basis of each country's own experiences, so as to be able to work together to take advantage of available opportunities and to confront new dangers.
One such danger, international terrorism, was discussed at length in each meeting. Mr. Severin expressed his support for the important role of Uzbekistan in the coalition against international terrorism and encouraged the authorities to take advantage of the opportunity now available to improve its position within the OSCE family. Mr. Severin agreed that the fight against international terrorism would be long and complicated and would only be complete when the coalition had rooted out terrorist networks in those countries, including Afghanistan, where they operate. Mr. Severin also agreed with the Foreign Minister that a political solution to the current situation in Afghanistan would need to be fostered by encouraging all constructive elements of Afghan society to play a role in the formation of a government, which should be first and foremost pro-Afghan rather than one which meets the geopolitical interests of other countries.
Mr. Severin added that, on another level, the fight against the root causes of terrorism was as important as destroying the terrorist networks currently in place. Mr. Severin cited poverty, corruption, and weak democratic institutions as among those root causes and encouraged the Uzbek authorities to make efforts to reduce the democratic deficit in Uzbekistan by promoting political pluralism, encouraging the growth of constructive opposition parties and a thriving civil society, which have been seriously stifled up to present. "If we don't learn to fight constructively with words in political fora, it will become necessary to find ways to stop those from fighting with stones in the streets," stated Mr. Severin.
He was encouraged by the preparations underway to conduct parliamentary reform in the country. In general, he expressed his support for the growth of democratic parliamentarism in Uzbekistan as well as a strong role for the country's parliamentarians and conveyed his readiness on behalf of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to assist in these positive developments. He also expressed his strong support for the work of the OSCE Centre in Tashkent and encouraged the Uzbek authorities to deepen its cooperation with the Centre.
During the course of the discussions, Mr. Severin also stressed the need to address problems in these and other areas not only on a national level, but to make efforts to increase regional cooperation as well.
In this light, Mr. Severin presented his interlocutors with a new initiative of the OSCE PA - the Trans-Asian Parliamentary Forum, for which Mr. Severin received strong support during his official visit to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in May this year. The Forum, which would be organized in the framework of the OSCE PA, is designed to bring together parliamentarians from the OSCE participating States, as well as those from the Asian Partners for Cooperation, in order to discuss various developments in the trans-Asian sphere of the OSCE. Mr. Severin expressed the hope that Uzbek parliamentarians would take part in this important initiative, which could help the OSCE to formulate specific approaches to achieving common goals in the spheres of security, economic development and political pluralism.
Overall, Mr. Severin was grateful to all his interlocutors for openly and honestly sharing their views and valued the opportunity to outline his approach as President of the OSCE PA whereby "we intend to work as partners with Uzbekistan, not as teachers or judges, by taking into consideration certain regional specificities, in order to ensure prosperity and stability in Central Asia, which is a crucial factor for stability in the OSCE region as a whole."