Dear Minister,

As you are about to travel to Central Asia, we would like to thank you for your commitment to a resolution of the conflict in Kyrgyzstan and for promising generous humanitarian aid. At the same time we would like to ask you to provide significant political signals that will further the stabilisation of the situation in Kyrgyzstan.

Please call on the Kyrgyz government to establish an independent international commission of inquiry before the general elections in October 2010 to investigate the reasons for the escalation of violence. The results of this investigation should be published in the Kyrgyz press. So far, there have been reports of individual eye witnesses, but no comprehensive account of the events. To date, the actual initiators of the pogroms have not been identified. Rumours about the events are more widespread than any form of credible information about what really happened. These rumours create uncertainty and increase the likelihood of another outbreak of violence.

According to numerous reports conveyed to the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), the Kyrgyz soldiers and military personnel deployed in the south of the country in recent weeks showed prejudice if not outright discrimination in their conduct towards the local ethnic Uzbeks. The Uzbek population has no confidence in the army units, some of which have been involved in human rights violations against Uzbeks. This is why protestors in Osh have called for international police forces. Again, the OSCE could now establish an international contingent to build confidence and prevent further human rights violations. Please convince the Kyrgyz leadership as well as your partners at the OSCE that an international police unit would be indispensable.

The humanitarian consequences of the conflict continue to be disastrous. At the moment, rebuilding the affected cities and villages is of major importance. According to UN information, 744 houses have been burnt down in the area of Osh, 1807 buildings in the city centre have been damaged at least partly, 1749 have been completely destroyed. The refugees who are returning to their homes have no roof over their heads. Not much time is left to build houses before the winter sets in. Although the United Nations and their sub-organisations have begun their work on the site of the destruction, their financial means are insufficient. UN-General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon has asked the UN member states to donate US $73 million for rebuilding southern Kyrgyzstan. So far, US $12.6 million has been contributed, which amounts to only 17.2 percent of the requested amount. In the face of the vast destruction and urgent needs of the population, this is completely unsatisfactory. Please promise more help: Germany should once more provide generous support for Kyrgyzstan.

Yours sincerely,

Tilman Zülch, GfbV-Bundesvorsitzender