Letter Jody Williams for Alisher Taksanov

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CAf,flilfiffi ]O DY'W-ILLIAMS tlNilIIII|{l -*o"", LAUREATE FoR pEAcE, 1997 Campaign Ambassador- International Campaign to Ban Landmines 6 June 2006 Ambassador Abdulaziz Kamilov Embassy of Uzbekistan 1746 Massachusetts AvenueNW Washingfon, DC 20036-1903 United States Via fax transmission : 202-293 -6804 RE: ICBL member Mr. Alisher Taksanov DearAmbassador Kamilov, Enclosed is a letter for Col. Ganiev Elyor Majidovich, Uzbekistan'sMinister of Foreign Affairs. I would like to kindly ask for your office to send a copy of this letter to Tashkent andwould appreciate your assistance in helping to follow-up and receivea response from Col. Elyor Majidovich regarding this situation. Please do not hesitateto contact me if you require additional inforrnation. I would be pleased to meetwith you in person. JodyWilliams 1997 Nobel Laureate for Peace 663 reNcesrnR srREET, FREDERTcKSBURc, vrRGrNrA 'rnr: 54o-372-9661 FAx: j40-372-994r puerr: [email protected] 22405 VSA wEBSITE: www.icbl.org Sincerely,

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Letter to the protection and support of researchers from Uzbekistan Alisher Taksanov The Uzbek authorities put the barriers to his trip to a conference in Cambodia in 2006.

Transcript of Letter Jody Williams for Alisher Taksanov

Page 1: Letter Jody Williams for Alisher Taksanov

CAf,flilfiffi ]O DY'W-ILLIAMStlNilIIII|{l

-*o"", LAUREATE FoR pEAcE, 1997

Campaign Ambassador- International Campaign to Ban Landmines

6 June 2006

Ambassador Abdulaziz KamilovEmbassy of Uzbekistan1746 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashingfon, DC 20036-1903United States

Via fax transmission : 202-293 -6804

RE: ICBL member Mr. Alisher Taksanov

Dear Ambassador Kamilov,

Enclosed is a letter for Col. Ganiev Elyor Majidovich, Uzbekistan's Minister of ForeignAffairs. I would like to kindly ask for your office to send a copy of this letter to Tashkentand would appreciate your assistance in helping to follow-up and receive a response fromCol. Elyor Majidovich regarding this situation.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require additional inforrnation. I would bepleased to meet with you in person.

Jody Williams1997 Nobel Laureate for Peace

663 reNcesrnR srREET, FREDERTcKSBURc, vrRGrNrA' r n r :

54o -372 -9661 FAx : j 40 -372 -994 r pue r r : w i l l i ams@icb l . o r s2 2 4 0 5 V S A

wEBSITE: www. icb l .o rg

Sincerely,

Page 2: Letter Jody Williams for Alisher Taksanov

Cffiilfff;fiffi IODY'W'ILLIAMSlll[WilllHt

-*o"", LAUREATE FoR pEAcE, 1997

Campaign Ambassador- International Campargn to Ban Landmines

6 June 2006

Col. Ganiev Elyor Majidovich, Minister of Foreign AffairsMinistry of Foreign Affairs9 Uzbekistan StreetTashkent 70A029Uzbekstan

Via fax transmission : +98-7 l -139-15 -I7

RE: Mr. Alisher Taksanov, ICBL Landmine Monitor researcher

Dear Col. Elyor M4iidovich,

I am writing regarding my colleague, Mr. Alisher Taksanov, a researcher for the LandmineMonitor initiative of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), with which I sharedthe 1997 Nobel Peace Prize. Mr. Taksanov was invited to participate in the Landmine MonitorGlobal Research Meeting, held 2-4 April 2006 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. His Uzbek exit visaexpired in March 2006, and his application to renew the exit visa was denied. Mr. Taksanovappealed this decision and the appeal was rejected. He was not given a reason for why his exitvisa was not renewed.

We have several international meetings scheduled over the next twelve monthso beginning withthe Seventh Meeting of States Parties to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty (7MSP), to be held 18-22September 20A6 at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. We are concerned that Mr.Taksanov is unable to participate in upcoming meetings without a valid Uzbek exit visa.

In addition, we have recently received information that Mr. Taksanov has received threats fromunknown callers by telephone and that his colleagues and personal acquaintances have beenquestioned about his activities. We are concerned about his personal security, and hope that youcan give us assurances in that regard.

We would also appreciate knowing why Mr. Taksanov's exit visa was denied and what measureswe can take to remedy this situation so our colleague is fully able to participate in our activities.Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Jody Williams1997 Nobel Laureate for Peace

6 6 3 r - e N c e s r r R s r R E E T , F R E D E R T c K S B U R G , v I R G I N I A z z 4 0 j u s A

rnu 54o-372-9663 F^x : j40-372-994r n rv re l r : w i l l i ams@icb l .o rg wEBsITE: www. icb l .o rg