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European Parliament Delegation Dances During Visit EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DELEGATION DANCES DURING VISIT TO ANDIJAN Tuesday, 27 March 2007 Uznews.net – The Andijan Region authorities have done everything possible to present Andijan as the town of happiness and prosperity to a European Parliament delegation during its visit on 22 March. It seems that they managed it because the guests had fun and even danced, and after this tourist trip they gave the most optimistic interviews. The European Parliament delegation, which visited Uzbekistan between 19 and 23 March to take part in the sixth session of the Uzbekistan-EU parliamentary cooperation committee, on its last working day went to Andijan, the town that has become well-known in the world after government troops massacred civilians on 13 May 2005. Members of the European Parliament joined Navruz celebrations in Andijan, whose licked- clean streets were decorated with plastic flowers, flags, colourful billboards, flowered beds and newly-commissioned buildings and offered music and tasteful food. With every foreign delegation visiting Andijan the town authorities are getting more and more skilful in presenting the town in best light, so that the bloody massacre in May 2005 seems to be only the myth invented by the enemies and enviers of Uzbekistan and Andijan remains to be the town of prosperity and peace as if this has always been the case. The Andijonnoma newspaper, a mouthpiece of the Andijan Region administration, said that the visit by the European Parliament delegation started at the UzDaewooAuto car plant in Asaka. Then they had a lunch after which they went to the Bagishamol residential area to visit the Babur and World Literature Museum. MEPs also watched the process of cooking the sumalak and witnessed and took part in Navruz celebrations and even danced with people on the streets. “Folk music is so welcoming that it is impossible to resist,” Hungarian MEP Peter Olajos told Andijonnoma after plenty of dancing. “This is my first but I hope not the last visit to Uzbekistan. I will advise my compatriots to visit your hospitable country.” The delegation also visited Babur Square and the eponymous regional theatre of musical drama. They also watched tightrope walkers in the Navoi park and held meetings with people there. The newspaper said that conversations with ordinary Andijan residents had continued during a visit to the Uzum bazaar in the regional centre. Summarising the delegation’s visit to Andijan, the head of the delegation, Ona Jukneviciene, said: “The partnership agreement concluded between the European Parliament and Uzbekistan has important aspects such as the level of democracy and the protection of human rights. During the visit to Andijan we wanted to see the present situation in the town and the region, the atmosphere in society and people’s mood with our own eyes. The visit achieved its aim.” Ordinary Andijan residents have already got used to such visits by foreign delegations to their town, realising that the main interest in their town is generated by the bloody events in May 2005. However, Andijan residents said that they were convinced that the guests learnt nothing about the Andijan massacre during such “tourist trips” and that no resident of the town would speak to them openly. They have paid too great price for the May 2005 events: almost every house in Andijan had victims of the bloodshed or the arrest campaign that followed it. Speaking about the European Parliament delegation, an Andijan resident called Karimjon said that in order to see what they had been shown they did not have to waste their time to come to Andijan at all. “They simply needed to be cosy in their armchairs and watch the Uzbek television’s ‘Ahborot’ programme. What did they see in the theatre? Of course, they were not shown a lot of faults builders left in the theatre building which was solemnly commissioned in the run-up to Constitution Day last December,” Karimjon said. “It is understandable when guests are shown sightseeing attractions,” Dilafruz from Shahrihan District believes. “But what fun could they see at the Uzum bazaar? Chinese and Turkish consumer goods, because goods produced in Andijan or Uzbekistan are not on sale there. Instead they should have visited a local village where they could see and hear all the truth about reforms which are allegedly being conducted in the country.” However, judging by interviews with some MEPs they had enough visits organised by the authorities to Uzbek regions and meetings with government officials in Tashkent to draw conclusions that are pleasant for the Uzbek authorities. Maltese MEP John Attard Montalto told an interview with the UzA news agency that he was taking the warmest and favourable impressions from Uzbekistan with him. “I visited Uzbekistan the firs time as a tourist. This time I have come to Uzbekistan on business trip to hold official meetings and learn about socioeconomic reforms conducted in the country. In addition, my colleagues from the European Parliament and I remember this visit that we were lucky to take part in Navruz celebrations in Tashkent,” he said. “At celebrations I was pleasantly surprised and delighted by a special mood the country’s people celebrate this spring holiday with their president.” --------------- EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DELEGATION VISITS UZBEKISTAN Monday, 19 March 2007 Uznews.net – A delegation of the European Parliament started a four-day visit to Tashkent on 19 March; because of the visit many Uzbek human rights activists were put under house arrest again. The visit by the European Parliament’s delegation will last between 19 and 23 March, and it will attend the sixth sitting of the European Union-Uzbekistan parliamentary cooperation committee. The first day of their visit, 19 March, European parliamentarians started with a morning meeting with the ambassadors of EU member states in the German embassy. They continued their day with a visit to the lower chamber of the Oliy Majlis, the Uzbek parliament, where the European Union-Uzbekistan parliamentary cooperation committee held two plenary sessions in the morning and afternoon. The delegation also met Uzbek Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov and the speaker of the Oliy Majlis’s Senate, Ilgizar Sobirov, on 19 March. On 20 March, the European parliamentary delegation was expected to attend festive events in connection with the holiday of Navruz and continue their work with meeting US ambassador John Purnell and visiting the German Konrad Adenaur Foundation and the OSCE mission. The European delegation will head for the Fergana valley to visit the towns of Fergana, Margilan and Andijan. In the run-up to the visit, member of the European delegation and MEP from Germany Elisabeth Jeggle gave an interview to the Jahon agency and expressed the confidence that the visit of the European delegation would be successful and would develop inter- parliamentary relations further. Speaking about her impressions of Uzbekistan, Jeggle noted that she had visited the country many times and that every time she was impressed by “those steps Uzbekistan is taking to pursue reforms and democratise society”. An Uzbek human rights activist, who has been placed under house arrest due to the visit of the European Parliament delegation, said that he had been impressed by Mrs Jeggle’s statements. “I am shocked that the member of the European Parliament has come to one of the world’s most repressive countries and spoken about reforms and democratising society – this is an insult,” the human rights activist said..
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