Kyrgyzstan, the EU concerned. The word is a little weak! (shift)
(B2, A Luxembourg) The 27 Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the European Union, meeting in Luxembourg today, laid down conclusions on Kyrgyzstan which seem a little below the situation. They thus express theirserious concern" in the face of the violence between Uzbekhs and Kyrgyz which agitated the south of Kyrgyzstan which made "a significant number of victims".
The 27 emphasize the "need to restore public order and respect for the rule of law and insists that all violence and provocations can cease immediately. Dialogue must be restored as a priority. They also call "all parties concerned, as well as neighboring countries (NB: Uzbekistan in particular), to take appropriate measures to preserve access to vulnerable populations and contribute, if appropriate, to corridors and support points humanitarian law, in accordance with international law."
The EU sent its special representative to the region, Pierre Morel, in close liaison with the OSCE and the UN. The European Commission is preparing an emergency financial decision (1).
A somewhat weak statement.
However, inter-ethnic violence has left more than 100 dead and more than 1200 injured at the latest assessment according to the Kyrgyz authorities (assessment which rose to 170 dead and 1800 injured, on June 15). A very provisional result. Because according to the ICRC, the International Committee of the Red Cross “ it is likely that the number of confirmed dead will increase as bodies can be recovered. 80 people have fled their homes. (...) According to various sources, injured and sick patients no longer go to hospitals for fear of being victims of violence; medical staff were attacked as they sought to evacuate patients. Listening to these testimonies, one has the impression of a mini-Rwanda. A first humanitarian plane arrived on Sunday, a dozen others have been scheduled.
(Update June 15)
The European Commission released, on June 15, 5 million euros to finance aid to victims. "The news from Kyrgyzstan is not good," explained Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, on this occasion. "Many people died and thousands of innocent civilians fled for their lives in Uzbekistan." European aid is diversified (food, water, emergency medical aid, shelter, psychosocial assistance to victims) and will be distributed to NGOs and UN organizations and "benefit both Kyrgyz and Uzbekhs".
