t On 16 October the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) completed the final airlift of food and bedding supplies to designated assembly areas in the Gorno-Badakhshan region. A week earlier UNMOT had provided similar material support to the assembly areas in the Karategin Valley and eastern Dushanbe districts through CNR Military Sub-Commission in Dushanbe. In total, UNMOT delivered 355 tons of food and 5,916 bedding items, including mattresses, blankets, pillows, as well as toiletries to all ten designated assembly areas throughout the country, thus completing fully and finally all its obligations towards supporting the assembly areas in this respect. UNMOT carried out this operation as part of its support and assistance to the implementation of the General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan, and the implementation of the Protocol on Military Issues, in particular. It did so by once again responding positively to requests to make exception to its standing policy of suspension of its field activities outside Dushanbe.

q PRESIDENT RAKHMONOV AND CNR CHAIRMAN REVIEW PROGRESS OF 28 SEPTEMBER AGREEMENT: President Rakhmonov and CNR Chairman Nuri met on 7 October to discuss and review the implementation of tasks assigned to the CNR and government structures to move the peace process ahead, as per agreement reached on 28 September.

q UTO REPRESENTATIVE APPOINTED TO GOVERNMENT POST: On 8 October President Rakhmonov signed a decree appointing UTO member, Mr. Zokir Vazirov, to the post of the Deputy Prime Minister responsible for social issues and local governments. Mr. Vazirov, a member of the Democratic Party, was Minister of Education in the coalition government of 1992.

q JOINT COMMISSION ESTABLISHED INTO THE INVESTIGATION OF MR. LATIFI’S KILLING: Also, on 8 October the President issued a decree on the establishment of a Joint Government/UTO Commission, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Abdurakhmon Azimov, to investigate the murder of CNR Opposition member, Mr. Otakhon Latifi. The Commission, consisting of 9 members, includes the Secretary of the National Security Council, Amirkul Azimov, CNR military sub-commission chairman Habib Sanginov and several CNR members, among others.

q WORK OF CNR: CNR has continued discussions on the Concept Paper on constitutional amendments. Extensive discussions clearly show that both parties have not changed their firm positions on the issue of the word "secular". The Opposition still demands to delete the word "secular state" from the Constitution while the Government insists that articles 1 and 100 of the Constitution cannot be amended, and that the CNR has no prerogative to consider this matter. On 12 October the chairmen of all four CNR sub-commissions reported on the work done during the previous week. Mr. Usmonov, Chairman of the Political Sub-commission, informed that its annual report on the work of the Political Sub-commission had been completed. Furthermore, he informed that a consensus had been reached on the composition of the Central Electoral Commission which will have 25% UTO representation based on the General Peace Agreement. Also, consultations had been conducted on the issue of UTO appointments to the posts of Deputy Ministers, Chairmen of Committees and on other UTO appointments according to the 30 % quota. Mr. Zukhurov, Chairman of the Sub-commission on Refugees, reported that four working groups had visited 12 districts in the Khatlon region to familiarize themselves with the returnees’ situation there. He informed that the returnees’ situation had in general improved and some progress had been made in their re-settlement. Based on a Government decision, the returnees were being allocated some financial compensation, as well as plots of land and reconstruction of destroyed houses was taking place. At the same time, it was pointed out that, many problems still remained to be solved. CNR Chairman Nuri instructed the Sub-commission to prepare a list with detailed information on the existing problems and tasked both Legal and Refugees sub-commissions to visit the district of Kumsangir to review the situation on the ground regarding the returnees. Mr. Sanginov, Chairman of the Military Sub-commission, briefed on the delivery of UNMOT-provided food supplies and bedding items to Gorno Badagshan assembly areas, on the verification of the number of registered UTO fighters, weapons and the results of their medical examination. He added the main remaining difficulty was the lack of an assembly area for 300 UTO fighters in Khorog. Mr. Sanginov underlined that, in principle, the second stage of the Military Protocol could be completed by the end of the current week. Mr. Faiziddin Imomov, Acting Chairman of the Legal Sub-commission, briefed on the difficulties related to Article 4 of the Amnesty Law, since this provision covers 351 UTO supporters who were still in prisons. CNR Chairman Nuri tasked the Chairmen of all sub-commissions to finalize their annual reports on the work of their sub-commissions so that the complete report on CNR activities could be submitted to the President soon.

q MR. HIMMATZODA APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF CNR LEGAL SUB-COMMISSION: Mr. Muhammadsharif Himmatzodah, the Chairman of the Islamic Revival Party and former member of CNR Political Sub-Commission has been appointed Chairman of CNR Legal Sub-Commission, replacing Mr. Otakhon Latifi who was killed by unknown assailants on 22 September in Dushanbe.

q X SESSION OF MAJLISI OLI SCHEDULED FOR 12 NOVEMBER: It has been announced that the tenth Majlisi Oli (Parliament) session will be held on 12 November 1998 in Dushanbe. Among issues to be considered by Majlisi Oli will be the Draft Law on Political Parties. The Draft has already undergone several amendments. In February 1998, CNR as per its mandate, prepared a draft bill on political parties which was then submitted by the Government for adoption to Majlisi Oli IX session on 23 May 1998. Majlisi Oli at that session adopted an amended version of the Draft Law, prohibiting the establishment and activities of political parties based on religion. The amended Draft Law was perceived by many, including the international community, to have run contrary to the spirit of the General Peace Agreement. To overcome the political crisis, President Rakhmonov established a Conciliatory Commission consisting of equal number of representatives of Majlisi Oli, the Government and CNR to submit proposals in order to eliminate existing disagreements regarding the Draft Law. On 18 June 1998, the Conciliatory Commission presented its compromise solutions regarding contentious Articles 3 and 4 of the Draft Law. The proposals, following Presidential endorsement, were then sent to Majlisi Oli for consideration at its next session. (See UNMOT Newsletter nos. 18 and 19.)

q CONTACT GROUP WELCOMES POSITIVE COHESIVENESS OF CNR MILITARY SUB-COMMISSION’S WORK: On 13 October Contact Group of Guarantor States and Organizations (CG) during its regular weekly meeting was briefed by CNR Military Sub-Commission Chairman Sanginov and Deputy Chairman Haidarov on the implementation of the Military Protocol and the results of the still on-going verification of assembly areas as per Presidential Decree of 30 September. CG found the briefing, which was held in a frank and open atmosphere, timely and useful. It also noted with satisfaction a positive cohesiveness and common purpose shared by the Sub-commission regarding its work. The Sub-Commission Chairman pointed out the profound positive change in its work following the recent meetings between President Rakhmonov and CNR Chairman Nuri. He said that following these meetings, a list of specific tasks had been prepared to be carried out by both CNR Sub-Commission and Government power structures and that significant progress had been made towards the implementation of the first two stages of the Military Protocol. Regarding the verification process, the joint working groups had already visited assembly areas in Garm, Darband, Jirgital, Tajikabad, Tavildara and Tangai. The verification of assembly areas in Gorno-Badakhshan was expected to be completed by the end of that week. Following the completion of the verification process, a comprehensive report would be prepared and submitted to the President, including certain recommendations. His overall assessment was that soon after the completion of the verification process, the parties would be ready to declare the first two stages of the Military Protocol completed. The Chairman also thanked UNMOT for the material support provided to the assembly areas. CG issued a press release in which it noted with satisfaction the positive developments reported by the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the CNR Military Sub-commission and considered this a welcome proof of the shared political will of both parties to implement the General Agreement.

q GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES MILITARY OPERATION AGAINST UNAFFILIATED ARMED GROUPS IN EASTERN DUSHANBE: In the evening of 11 October, Government troops began military operation against unaffiliated armed groups in the eastern outskirts of Dushanbe. Mass media reported of casualties among the fighters of these groups, as well as of several wounded and taken prisoner. Reportedly, there were also several wounded among

government troops. The leaders of these armed groups have not been reported among casualties nor those apprehended. The Government and UTO on 1 October had issued an appeal to unaffiliated armed groups to disarm voluntarily, giving them one week to do so.

q CIS PKF MARK FIVE YEARS OF PEACEKEEPING IN TAJIKISTAN: At a ceremony held in Dushanbe marking the fifth anniversary of the Commonwealth of Independent States Peacekeeping Forces in Tajikistan (CIS PKF), attended by Tajik Government Representatives, the Chairman of Majlisi Oli, representatives of the diplomatic corps and CIS PKF, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Tajikistan, Jan Kubiš, on behalf of the United Nations and UNMOT congratulated CIS PKF on the occasion. He noted that both CIS PKF and UNMOT shared a common mandate and goals in Tajikistan - to assist Tajikistan in the achievement of peace and national reconciliation in the country. The General Peace Agreement stipulated several activities that need joint CIS PKF/UNMOT assistance, which had been manifested in the successful repatriation of UTO fighters from northern Afghanistan to Tajikistan during two separate operations.

® This year marks 50 years of United Nations peacekeeping operations in the world. To note the occasion, the United Nations General Assembly in New York held a special commemorative meeting on 6 October. Secretary-General Kofi Annan addressing the meeting said that "UN peacekeeping had earned its place in history and had saved tens of thousands of lives". He added that "peacekeeping has been one of many activities through which our organization has shown its ability to adapt to circumstances, to find its way round obstacles, and to make itself relevant to the actual problems at hand". The Secretary-General cited UN peacekeeping operations in Namibia, Mozambique and El Salvador as clear examples of success. However, he acknowledged that "we have also found ourselves maintaining calm in some seemingly intractable stalemates such as in Cyprus and the Middle East. And in some places - Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, we have found ourselves standing by in impotent horror, while the most appalling crimes were committed. There, the United Nations had learned the hard way that sometimes peace had to be made or enforced, before it could be kept ". "The mission of United Nations peacekeeping must continue. Too much remains to be done, too many innocents are dying even as we speak, for us to think of leaving the field now", he concluded.

® On 16 October, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Tajikistan, Jan Kubiš, held a press conference in Dushanbe in connection with the 50th anniversary of UN peacekeeping operations worldwide. Mr. Kubiš outlined UNMOT’s contribution to the peace process in Tajikistan, noting that UN-brokered General Peace Agreement, despite difficulties was progressing within the framework of the spirit of the Agreement. He pledged UNMOT’s continuous support for the further advancement of the peace process, as it had done during the past four years of its activities in Tajikistan. The same day, at a ceremony at UNMOT headquarters in Dushanbe, a number of UNMOT military observers were presented with peacekeeping medals.