SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH PRESIDENT OF TAJIKISTAN

9 June 1998

Press Release
SG/SM/6590

SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH PRESIDENT OF TAJIKISTAN

19980609 The following was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General met today with President Emomali Rakhmonov of Tajikistan. The Secretary-General discussed with the President the recent decision of the Tajik Parliament to adopt an act which would effectively prohibit Islamic Revival Party, the largest component of the United Tajik Opposition, from participation in the political life of the country. The Secretary-General expressed serious concern that, if enacted into law, this decision would remove one of the main pillars of the General Peace Agreement, which is the legalization of banned political parties following the public declaration by the UTO of the disbandment of its armed forces.

The Secretary-General voiced the expectation that the Conciliation Commission established by President Rakhmonov will resolve this matter in the spirit of the General Agreement signed between the Tajik Government and the United Tajik Opposition.

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