Call for sanctions against Uzbekistan - Campbell

5.16.45pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 4th Oct 2005

Sir Menzies Campbell MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, has written to the Foreign Secretary, urging the government to press for the immediate imposition of EU sanctions against the Uzbekistan government for its role in the Andijan massacre. In his letter, Sir Menzies writes:

"There has been a failure of the European Union to react to the slaughter carried out by President Karimov's forces.

"As one survivor recently said: "Someone gave the order to kill all of us. Can you tell us, sir, why this silence over what happened in Andijan?" I believe that we owe him an answer.

"There can be no excuse for such conduct by the Uzbekistan government to go unpunished.

"The European Union should immediately suspend the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement with Uzbekistan. Other measures, such as a visa ban for senior Uzbek officials and an arms embargo, should also be adopted."

Text of the letter to Jack Straw dated 30/09/05 -

I am writing to you in connection with the massacre in Andijan, in eastern Uzbekistan, in May. There has been a disappointing failure of the European Union to react to the slaughter carried out by President Karimov's forces. As you know, the killing of hundreds of people has been well documented, by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the OSCE's Office on Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Amnesty International, and others.

In June, the EU rightly called for an international inquiry, and threatened sanctions against Uzbekistan if it failed to cooperate. Far from cooperating with the international community, Uzbekistan has rejected calls for an international inquiry. Now, it has begun a series of show trials in Tashkent. Torture has been widely used in order to bolster the government's version of events in those trials, as documented, for example, in the most recent Human Rights Watch report on the massacre, Burying the Truth. As one survivor recently told the Guardian: "Someone gave the order to kill all of us. Can you tell us, sir, why this silence over what happened in Andijan?" I believe that we owe him an answer.

It is disappointing that the issue was not on the agenda of the EU foreign ministers' informal meeting held in Newport earlier this month. The meeting of the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on 3 October, where you will be in the chair, provides an opportunity for this inaction to end. There can be no excuse for such conduct by the Uzbekistan government to go unpunished.

The European Union should immediately suspend the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement with Uzbekistan. Other measures, such as a visa ban for senior Uzbek officials and an arms embargo, should also be adopted. I hope that you will agree.