Uzbekistan is chairing a meeting of the five Central Asian nations with Japan, the state news site gazeta.ru reported. This is the first such meeting of Central Asian foreign ministers with Japan's foreign minister since 2004. The meeting's agenda includes discussions on regional security and advancement of various economic programs.
Forced to leave the shelter of hastily-made refugee camps in Andijan region and border areas of Uzbekistan, more than 75,000 ethnic Uzbeks, traumatized and wounded, made their way back to Osh to vote in the June 27 referendum.
The recent death of a 24-year-old man in police custody in Armenia is prompting human rights activists to renew calls for an end to police abuse of prisoners. The push by rights activists is causing law-enforcement officials in Yerevan to back-peddle.
Human rights activists are condemning the Asian Development Bank for holding its annual meeting in Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent. They say the summit is helping to legitimize the repressive policies of President Islam Karimov’s administration.
