Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by David Drew (Labour). It was answered on Tuesday, 1 November 2005 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Andijan Massacre

Question: It would appear from the various e-mails that the Uzbek embassy kindly sends me that it has already made up its mind about the relative guilt of those who were shot. Is it not about time that the international community took the Uzbek regime much more seriously and tried to do something about it, rather than showing it far too much leniency as it has done in the past?

Answer: I assure my hon. Friend that we take extremely seriously both the monitoring of the trial and, more generally, the need for an independent inquiry into the events in Andijan. We have led the international efforts to co-ordinate monitoring of the trial on behalf of the European Union, and we expect verdicts on the 15 defendants in only a few days. I assure my hon. Friend that the matter will continue to be of concern to the British Government.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 438 c712
Session: 2005-06
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Politics and government Uzbekistan Arms trade Human rights Violence Sanctions EU external relations Oppression
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk