The European Parliament strongly condemned the repressions of the Tajik authorities against the civilian population during the suppression of protests in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region. The resolution of the European Parliament on this issue was adopted on July 7 by an absolute majority.
The European Parliament also expressed serious concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in the region and called for an end to repression against the local population.
“MEPs remind the Tajik authorities that the legitimate fight against terrorism and violent extremism should not be used as a pretext to crack down on opposition activities, and also remind that the fundamental freedoms of all Tajik citizens and the rule of law must be guaranteed”, the European Parliament said in a statement.
A group of MEPs who prepared the draft resolution demanded that the Tajik authorities immediately provide international humanitarian and human rights organizations with unconditional access to GBAO to monitor the situation, fully restore communications and provide full access to the Internet in the region.
Member of the European Commission Virginijus Sinkevičius said that Brussels is closely monitoring the situation in GBAO and Tajikistan in general, and intends to achieve an international and independent investigation of these events. According to him, the EU will express its concern during political consultations with the Tajik government scheduled for September.
However, experts believe that consideration of the issue of the situation in GBAO and the adoption by the European Parliament of a resolution on this issue will in no way affect the actions of the Tajik authorities in this autonomous region. “On the same day, the European Investment Bank made a statement that it intends to become the largest investor in the construction of the Rogun HPP. And this bank is a structure of the European Union, and therefore economic issues will again prevail over human rights issues. Nothing will change,” says a legal expert on anonymous terms. “The situation in Afghanistan is also forcing Western countries not to make loud statements about the states of Central Asia that border this country.”
The EU is interested in achieving “Central Asia’s energy independence from Russia” and the funding will be part of the EU’s “Global Gateway” strategy. Last December, Brussels unveiled a 300 billion euro global infrastructure spending plan.
