OSCE Chairman-in-Office issues statement on Tajikistan

COPENHAGEN, 11 February 1997 - The Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Danish Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen, issued the following statement in Copenhagen today:

The Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE is seriously concerned about the deterioration of the situation in Tajikistan, resulting from the taking of hostages by an armed group, and strongly condemns this act of terrorism. The hostages, being representatives of UN Military Observers, UNHCR and independent journalists, are persons who came to the country to assist the local population, the Government and other political forces in their endeavours to reach a peaceful settlement of the existing conflict and to build a stable and democratic state.

The Chairman-in-Office expresses his concern at the repeated cases of hostage-taking and the threat to the lives of staff members of international organizations, humanitarian and diplomatic missions.

The present situation impedes the activities of international organizations in Tajikistan, protracts and complicates ongoing peaceful negotiations and thus increases existing heavy burdens for the population of Tajikistan.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office calls upon the captors to release all hostages immediately and unconditionally. He also calls upon the Government of Tajikistan to intensify its efforts for a peaceful solution of the problem in order to restore normal working conditions for the international organizations, guaranteeing their safety and freedom of movement in the country.

The Chairman-in-Office underlines the necessity that all appropriate steps be undertaken to prevent any further attempts of terrorist actions in Tajikistan and calls on the parties to remain committed to a continuation of the talks on the basis of the Moscow Agreement of 23 October 1996 with a view to achieve national reconciliation.