We welcome Ambassador Buhoara back to the Permanent Council, and especially welcome the news that the Mission has received permission to open the long-awaited field office in Khojent.

Mr. Chairman, the inter-Tajik peace process has been moving generally forward, albeit with many bumps along the way, since the Moscow Accords were signed in June 1997.

Considerable progress has been achieved in disarmament, return of refugees, and the reintegration of opposition fighters into Tajik society. There has also been some progress toward power sharing between the Government and the United Tajik Opposition, although significant portions of Tajik society remain excluded.

We are now coming up on a watershed in this process – the parliamentary elections we expect to take place early next year.

Elections that are acknowledged as free and fair by all the participants, as well as by the international community, will consolidate the achievements of the peace process and help make them irreversible. They would send the signal that the long civil war is truly over, and Tajikistan is ready to make effective and productive use of reconstruction assistance and foreign—as well as domestic—investment.

On the other hand, if the rules do not create a level playing field for all participants, if the electoral law is seen as unfair and election officials are perceived to be biased, and if the balloting is not carried out in a transparent manner, then all the gains of the peace process will be jeopardized.

In this regard, Tajikistan’s parliamentary elections will have to be much better than last month’s presidential elections.

In addition to passing an electoral law, some important steps would include making provision for domestic election observers, and reversing the highly questionable practice of de-registering political parties.

Mr. Chairman, the Moscow Accords give the OSCE a special responsibility to ensure that the parliamentary elections meet international standards.

We look to Ambassador Buhoara and the Mission in Tajikistan to take the lead in helping the Tajiks prepare elections that will cement internal reconciliation, facilitate reconstruction, and open the door for productive foreign and domestic investment. We look to Ambassador Buhoara to be an active, aggressive spokesman for all OSCE states in his work with Tajik authorities. They need to hear how we feel, and Ambassador Buhoara is best placed to deliver the international community’s and the OSCE’s firm message. At stake is not only the credibility of our organization, but – more importantly – the ultimate success of the Tajik peace process.