Weekly Round-Up - IRINCAS-86: 22-Nov-02
U N I T E D N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Central Asia
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Central Asia
IRIN-CA Weekly Round-up 86
16 - 22 November 2002
CONTENTS:
PAKISTAN: Relief operation underway in quake-hit north
PAKISTAN: New quake hits remote north
PAKISTAN: Focus on plight of Afghan refugees in Karachi
PAKISTAN: Focus on care and rehabilitation of drug addicts
AFGHANISTAN: Focus on Kabul orphanage
AFGHANISTAN: FAO distributes 10,000 mt of seed and fertilizer
AFGHANISTAN: Oldest returnee set to stay
KAZAKHSTAN: Chechen asylum bid causes controversy
KAZAKHSTAN: IOM welcomes Astana's membership bid
TAJIKISTAN: UNHCR concerned over deportation of Afghans
TAJIKISTAN: Interview with Minister for Emergencies
TAJIKISTAN: Consolidated Appeal launched
UZBEKISTAN: Amnesty calls for fair and impartial trial
CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap
PAKISTAN: Relief operation underway in quake-hit north
Efforts continued on Friday to provide relief to thousands affected by a
moderate earthquake one day earlier in northern Pakistan. At least 23
people were killed and scores injured in the sparsely populated Astore
Valley near the northern city of Gilgit, approximately 400 km north of the
capital, Islamabad. "Preliminary reports indicate over 800 homes were
completely destroyed," Jehangir Khan, the government joint-secretary
responsible for the northern areas, told IRIN in Islamabad. "Between nine
and ten thousand people will be in need of assistance, but access to the
affected area remains limited."
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31066&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN
PAKISTAN: New quake hits remote north
A moderate earthquake, the second in less than a month, rocked northern
Pakistan on Thursday morning. While initial estimates are unclear, at
least 20 people have been confirmed dead and scores injured.
"http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31022&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&
SelectCountry=PAKISTAN
PAKISTAN: Focus on plight of Afghan refugees in Karachi
Morghaka, an Afghan refugee, wept as she stood in her mud house on the
outskirts of the southern Pakistani city of Karachi. She told IRIN how she
had been left on her own to support her three children after her husband
was jailed more than three months ago. "He was collecting rubbish for
recycling. This is the only way we can earn money here and the police took
him away for no reason," she cried.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30999&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&
SelectCountry=PAKISTAN
PAKISTAN: Focus on care and rehabilitation of drug addicts
Mohammed Jalil, a former heroin addict, hung his head in shame as he was
yelled at and told what a fool he had been for taking the lethal drug. A
few weeks ago he was at death's door shooting up five times a day in the
southern Pakistani city of Karachi. But now he's at a drug rehabilitation
centre - with an unconventional approach to addiction - trying to give up
the habit that nearly cost him his life.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30954&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&
SelectCountry=PAKISTAN
AFGHANISTAN: Focus on Kabul orphanage
As winter fast approaches, some two thousand orphans in the Afghan capital
Kabul's only state-run orphanage still await much needed assistance. While
conditions have eased somewhat since the demise of the Taliban regime last
year, the number of children has increased almost twofold.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30998&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&
SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN
AFGHANISTAN: FAO distributes 10,000 mt of seed and fertilizer
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is currently distributing
some 3,700 mt of wheat seed and 7,000 mt of fertilizer to about half a
million people throughout Afghanistan, an FAO representative told IRIN on
Tuesday.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30977&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&
SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN
AFGHANISTAN: Oldest returnee set to stay
Sitting in the window of his antique shop in the Afghan capital, Kabul,
Mohammad Ismail is the epitome of contentment. As tiny ringlets of white
hair drop from beneath his turbaned head, his weathered face softens as he
recalls a long and often turbulent life. But what is particularly
remarkable about this man and his recent return from Pakistan where he
lived as a refugee - is his age. If true, Ismail would easily be the
oldest returnee yet, providing a beacon of hope for millions of Afghans
everywhere. "I'm 127 years old," he told IRIN. And I couldn't be happier
to be back."
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30955&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&
SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN
KAZAKHSTAN: Chechen asylum bid causes controversy
With Russian forces intensifying military operations in the breakaway
republic of Chechyna following last month's dramatic hostage taking at a
Moscow theatre, an increasing number of Chechens are now seeking asylum in
Kazakhstan. According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) in the commercial capital Almaty, there are over 12,000 Chechen
refugees already in Kazakhstan. The government says there are many more,
including rebel soldiers.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31021&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&
SelectCountry=KAZAKHSTAN
KAZAKHSTAN: IOM welcomes Astana's membership bid
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has welcomed
Kazakhstan's bid for membership. If accepted, it will be the second
Central Asian nation after Kyrgyzstan to join the global network, working
to ensure the orderly migration of persons in need of international
assistance.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31000&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&
SelectCountry=KAZAKHSTAN
TAJIKISTAN: UNHCR concerned over deportation of Afghans
The UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in
Tajikistan has condemned the deportation of five Afghans on 15 November.
"The Tajik government hasn't really given us a reason as to why they were
deported and we are very concerned about this," senior protection officer,
Aurvasi Patel, told IRIN from the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30997&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&
SelectCountry=TAJIKISTAN
TAJIKISTAN: Interview with Minister for Emergencies
As Tajikistan's Minister of Emergency Situations and Civil Defence, Mirzo
Ziyoev remains alert to the challenges of earthquakes, recurrent floods
and landslides - the most common emergencies in the mountainous Central
Asian republic. In an exclusive interview with IRIN, Ziyoev maintained
while this tiny nation of six and a half million was prone to natural
disasters, Dushanbe could effectively deal with such calamities anywhere
in the country.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30972&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&
SelectCountry=TAJIKISTAN
TAJIKISTAN: Consolidated Appeal launched
The United Nations launched its Consolidated Appeal (CA) for Tajikistan on
Tuesday for humanitarian assistance in 2003. Land-locked Tajikistan is the
poorest of the former Soviet republics and continues to face a precarious
and complex humanitarian situation.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=30976&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&
SelectCountry=TAJIKISTAN
UZBEKISTAN: Amnesty calls for fair and impartial trial
Amnesty International has called on the Uzbek government to conduct a fair
trial following the resumption of a court case against three men charged
with religious extremism and anti-state crimes in the capital, Tashkent.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31034&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&
SelectCountry=UZBEKISTAN
CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap
In Central Asia this week a regional cooperation meeting of
parliamentarians from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan,
all members of the Central Asian Cooperation Organisation (CACO), ended on
Tuesday in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent. The forum agreed on a permanent
body for inter-parliamentary collaboration. It underlined the need for
joint efforts to combat drugs and religious fundamentalism as well as
increasing mutual economic cooperation with European and other Asian
countries.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31065&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=CENTRAL_ASIA
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