OSCE HEAD VISITS UZBEKISTAN

OSCE Chairman in Office and Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel met with Uzbek President Islam Karimov in Tashkent on 16 February. Their discussion focused on economic reforms in Uzbekistan, regional security issues, and Uzbekistan's cooperation with the OSCE. Rupel also brought up human rights issues, noting the OSCE's criticism of Uzbekistan's December 2004 parliamentary elections and stressing the need to take steps to combat the problem of torture in custody in Uzbekistan, Ljubljana STA reported. Rupel also suggested that the OSCE's media-freedom representative could help Uzbekistan to improve its media legislation. Finally, Rupel congratulated Uzbekistan's recent initiative to demine its borders, offering OSCE and Slovenian assistance.