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

Tel: +92-51-2211451 Ext 484 
Fax: +92-51-2211 450 
e-mail: irin@irin.org.pk


Central Asia
IRIN-CA Weekly Round-up 108
19 - 25 April 2003


CONTENTS:

AFGHANISTAN: Flood victims continue to suffer despite emergency response
AFGHANISTAN: UNICEF backs minister's call for more education funding
AFGHANISTAN: UNIFEM researching gender gaps and division of labour
AFGHANISTAN: New national army coexists with local forces
AFGHANISTAN: Mixed reaction to Karzai's Pakistan tour
AFGHANISTAN: Attack in the east prompts suspension of UN mine clearance
AFGHANISTAN: Interview with Afghan deputy defence minister
IRAN: Focus on family planning
KYRGYZSTAN: Landslide kills up to 38
KYRGYZSTAN: Rights activist under threat
PAKISTAN: Constitutional crisis looms on the horizon
PAKISTAN: Karzai's visit meets cautious optimism
PAKISTAN: Destruction of re-emerging poppy fields under way
PAKISTAN: IRC developing health surveillance system for Afghan refugees
TAJIKISTAN: Regional security summit to convene in Dushanbe
CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap

AFGHANISTAN: Flood victims continue to suffer despite emergency response

Following heavy flooding in the Shamali region in the northern province of
Parvan on 18 April, the Afghan government and aid community are still
trying to cope with the consequences, with over 1,000 families still under
threat if further heavy rains occur. The United Nations reported that 25
affected families had been taken to a camp set up by Afghan government
five kilometres from Bagram Air Base on the road to the capital, Kabul.
"There are 1,500 flood-prone families living in 30 villages who could end
up in this camp if there is further flooding," David Singh, a media
relations officer of UN Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA), told
IRIN in Kabul, noting that these families had stayed in the flooded area
on higher ground, probably in the open, but with access to health
facilities and water.

[For a full copy of this report see:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33618&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN]

AFGHANISTAN: UNICEF backs minister's call for more education funding

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), one of the lead agencies
assisting Afghanistan's government in re-establishing its education
sector, is supporting Afghan Education Minister Mohammad Yunos Qanuni's
recent urgent call for increased funding. "UNICEF supports the minister of
education in urging for greater international assistance to the education
sector," an agency spokesman, Chulho Hyun, told IRIN from the Afghan
capital, Kabul on Friday.

[For a complete copy of this report see:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33692&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN]

AFGHANISTAN: UNIFEM researching gender gaps and division of labour

The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has launched a
research project to establish how vulnerable and disadvantaged women are
in Afghanistan. The study is focusing on sexual division of labour to
explore the dynamics of the country's diverse livelihood patterns and how
they fit into the larger picture of reconstruction. "We are trying to
situate the question of women's rights in studying the diverse livelihood
context of Afghanistan," Deniz Kandiyoti, a British anthropologist
initiating the research for UNIFEM, told IRIN from the Afghan capital,
Kabul, on Tuesday.

[For a full copy of this report see:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33619&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN]

AFGHANISTAN: New national army coexists with local forces

Following a two-day conference on the future of the Afghan army, during
which local and regional commanders agreed to help the government set up a
national army, the government has expressed concern that local forces
remained empowered while the Afghan National Army itself was still in its
infancy. "The process of the creation of the Afghan National Army [ANA] is
very slow, and unfortunately the local powers still exist and are being
further strengthened," Gen Atiqullah Baryalai, the deputy defence minister
and chairman of the commission for the rehabilitation and creation of the
ANA, told IRIN in the capital, Kabul.

[For a full copy of this report see:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33623&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN]

AFGHANISTAN: Mixed reaction to Karzai's Pakistan tour

Experts showed a mixed reaction to Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai's
one-day state visit to Pakistan, which ended on Wednesday morning. This
was his second visit to the neighbouring nation in one year. "The visit
was carried under the shadow of some Afghan authorities accusing Pakistan
of interference in their country," an Afghan analyst, Roasthar Tarakai,
told IRIN from the French city of Lyon. "It might be too early to assess
the extent of his success or failure."

[For a full copy of this report see:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33649&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN]

AFGHANISTAN: Attack in the east prompts suspension of UN mine clearance

Following an armed attack on a mine-clearance survey team from the Mine
Clearance Planning Agency (MCPA) on the Jalalabad-Kabul road, the United
Nations Mine Action Campaign for Afghanistan has suspended all its
activities in the east. "The UN mine clearance activities is suspended on
this road until Saturday," David Singh, a media officer of the UN
Assistance Mission for Afghanistan, told IRIN in Kabul, adding that all UN
movements had also been suspended in the area for 48 hours after the
incident. UNAMA said the attack happened on Tuesday while the
mine-clearance survey staff members were carrying out their duties,
driving a white Land Cruiser marked MCPA.

[For a full copy of this report see:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33681&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN]

AFGHANISTAN: Interview with Afghan deputy defence minister

Security remains a pivotal issue in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
With security threats persisting and international peacekeeping forces
restricted to the confines of the Afghan capital, Kabul, the only real
hope for the Afghan people lies in a well organised, multiethnic national
army, capable of ending local warlordism while creating direct links
between the capital and the country's volatile provinces. But while there
have been some achievements towards achieving this goal, many are asking
why this internationally supported effort is still in its infancy. In an
interview with IRIN, Gen Atiqullah Baryalai, the Afghan deputy defence
minister and head of the commission for the creation and rehabilitation of
the Afghan National Army (ANA), talked about some of the challenges ahead.

[For a full copy of this report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33682&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN]

IRAN: Focus on family planning

The Islamic Republic of Iran is often perceived by the outside world as a
very conservative, closed society when it comes to social issues. However,
the country boasts one of the best family planning programmes in the
region. With the average size of a family at 4.6 - rural five, urban 4.4,
according to official statistics compared to seven/eight in the
neighbouring countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Iran is the most
progressive country in the region when it comes to family planning. In
this report IRIN looks at how attitudes towards family planning and health
issues have changed since the 1979 revolution, and where its success lies.

[For a full copy of this report see:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33676&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=IRAN]

KYRGYZSTAN: Landslide kills up to 38

Relief teams were still on the scene on Monday after a landslide ripped
through a small village in mountainous southwestern Kyrgyzstan over the
weekend. "At the moment, 38 people are missing and most likely are dead,"
Andrei Khanzhin, the liaison officer for the United Nations in southern
Kyrgyzstan, told IRIN from the western city of Osh, noting that the
rescuers had already recovered five bodies. On Sunday afternoon, the
landslide, triggered by heavy rains and melting snow, slammed into
Karatarik, a village of between 200 and 300 people in Uzgen District,
about 100 km east of Osh. "The weather has been quite bad for the past
four or five days," Khanzhin said.

[For a full copy of this report see:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33592&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN]

KYRGYZSTAN: Rights activist under threat

The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) believes that
Ramazan Dyryldaev, the chairman of the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights
(KCHR), is being sought by representatives of the Kyrgyz interior minister
in the context of a campaign to discredit the KCHR. The case is
significant in that it reveals that despite what the government tells the
international community, it does not tolerate criticism. "Dyryldaev has
been harassed by Kyrgyz authorities for a number of years, because he
documents violations of human rights standards and official corruption,"
Aaron Rhodes, the IHF executive director, told IRIN from Vienna. "There
has been a long-term effort to intimidate and silence him and to thwart
the work of the Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights."

[For a full copy of this report see:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33647&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN]

PAKISTAN: Constitutional crisis looms on the horizon

Six months after general elections and the restoration of representative
rule in Pakistan, the legislature is barely functioning with the
government and opposition at loggerheads over the Legal Framework Order
(LFO) - constitutional amendments introduced by the country's powerful
military ruler, Gen Pervez Musharraf, in August last year. "LFO gives
Musharraf powers that no president or king in the world has," Senator Taj
Haider, a spokesman for the opposition Pakistan People's Party, told IRIN
in the capital, Islamabad. Although, the LFO has effected many procedural
changes to the constitution, such as reducing the minimum age for voters
from 21 to 18 years, and bringing about a substantial increase in women's
representation in parliament, it also gave sweeping powers to Musharraf,
including the authority to dismiss an elected parliament and government.

[For a full copy of this report see:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33593&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN]

PAKISTAN: Karzai's visit meets cautious optimism

Afghan refugee community leaders are cautiously welcoming Afghan President
Hamid Karzai's upcoming one-day visit to Pakistan on Tuesday. "It's good
that Karzai is visiting our neighbours, but it's equally important that
such tours deliver substantial results on key issues," Fatana Gailani,
head of the Afghan Women's Council, told IRIN from the northwestern
Pakistani city of Peshawar on Monday. She said Afghan refugees in Pakistan
were facing many difficulties, which would hopefully be addressed. "The
situation in Afghanistan remains difficult for many returnees, and
refugees here should not be pushed to go back," she said, adding that
Karzai should describe Afghanistan's problems, such as the lack of a
functioning economy, insecurity and diminishing international assistance,
rather than projecting a rosy picture of the country.

[For a full copy of this report see:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33594&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN]

PAKISTAN: Destruction of re-emerging poppy fields under way

The Pakistani authorities have destroyed some 500 acres of poppy fields in
the southwestern province of Balochistan, on the border with Afghanistan,
following a tip-off that there were some 1,500 acres under the crop. "A
massive joint operation is under way by the police and Frontier Corps to
destroy the existing poppy crop and prevent others from growing," Brig
Sikander Ali of Pakistan's anti-narcotics division, told IRIN in the
capital, Islamabad. According to Ali, this was the first time poppy
cultivation has been reported in that particular province. "This is a
fairly confined incident and we are not worried about it spreading to
other areas," he said.

[For full copy of this report see:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33621&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN]

PAKISTAN: IRC developing health surveillance system for Afghan refugees

An updated health surveillance system for Afghan refugees in Pakistan is
being developed by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) for the
US-based Center for Disease Control (CDC) in order to better respond to
their medical needs. "Unless you have a system for collecting information
about health, it is very difficult to manage all health aspects," IRC's
country coordinator for the health information system, Dr Ishaq Mohmand,
told IRIN from the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Wednesday.
IRC is collecting health-related information from Afghan refugee camps
located in the North West Frontier, Punjab and Balochistan provinces,
where the main concentrations of camps are, and generating country-level
reports for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to
help detect and prevent epidemics through active surveillance.

[For a full copy of this report see:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33651&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN]

TAJIKISTAN: Regional security summit to convene in Dushanbe

An upcoming summit in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, set to begin on Monday,
is expected to deliver the formation of a permanent council and
headquarters for the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) - a
six-member military and political alliance of the former Soviet republics
of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. "There
is a need for cooperation on issues such as drug trafficking and
terrorism, and this development will be positive," Vladimir Sotirov, the
UN secretary-general's special representative in Tajikistan, told IRIN
from Dushanbe.

[For a full copy of this report see:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33678&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=TAJIKISTAN]

CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap

This week in Central Asia, Uzbek President Islam Karimov warned
neighbouring nations against underestimating the threat posed to the
region by extremist Islamic groups. According to the Associated Press
(AP), he said on Tuesday that the recent increased activity of the radical
Hizb-ut-Tahrir (Liberation Party) in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan was the
result of the underestimation by those governments of the danger of
religious fundamentalism, warning that this might have "tragic
consequences". On Thursday, Karimov, long criticised by rights groups for
his tight authoritarian grip on the nation, explained in an interview
moves to reduce his own authority as a means of bringing the Uzbek
administrative system into line with world standards.

[For a full copy of this report see:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33693&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=CENTRAL_ASIA]


IRIN-Asia
Tel: +92-51-2211451
Fax: +92-51-2292918
Email: IrinAsia@irin.org.pk

[This Item is Delivered to the "Asia-English" Service of the UN's IRIN
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or to
change your keywords, contact e-mail: IRIN@ocha.unon.org or Web:  
http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this
item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial
sites requires written IRIN permission.]

Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2003


distributed by
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International                  web: www.cidi.org
    Disaster Information             listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Central Asia                       www.cidi.org/humanitarian/irin/casia