US DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
For Immediate Release
August 29, 1997
Statement by James M. Rubin, spokesmanThe United States Government is deeply concerned by the continued delay in the implementation of the peace accords signed by the two Tajik parties in Moscow on June 27. Despite early progress - a first meeting in Moscow of the Commission on National Reconciliation, the exchange of a group of prisoners of war, and passage of an amnesty law repeated delays have prevented the arrival of opposition members of the Commission on national Reconciliation and the beginning of its work.
We call an the United Tajik opposition, in particular, to demonstrate the spirit of cooperation which was displayed in reaching the historic inter-Tajik peace accords. Continued disputes over secondary matters can only strengthen the hand of those who oppose peace and further weaken the fragile political situation in Tajikistan. We also call on the Government of Tajikistan to make every effort to provide appropriate political and security conditions for the further implementation of the peace accords and to increase trust between the government and the opposition. The peace accords provide an historic opportunity that should not be lost.