Protocol on settlement of the military and political situation in the areas of confrontation
11 December 1996
The President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Mr. E. Sh. Rakhmonov, and the leader of the United Tajik Opposition, Mr. S. A. Nuri, condemn the recent marked deterioration in the military and political situation in the Karategin Valley and Tavildara areas of the Republic on the eve of their Moscow meeting, and have agreed as follows:
1. Before the signing of the Agreement in Moscow, to halt all military action starting at 00 hours on 12 December 1996;
2. The parties shall withdraw their armed units and formations from the Dushanbe-Khorog highway. Towards Tavildara, they shall establish their posts respectively on both sides of the Karanak pass (the government post in sector N1 and the opposition post in the village of Saridasht). They request the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan to assign representatives to these posts as observers. Simultaneously, the armed formations of the United Tajik Opposition shall withdraw from the centre of Tavildara to the village of Dashti-Sher. The government forces shall remain on the summit of the Khaburobot pass and in the Labi-Djar locality;
3. The parties shall remove their armed posts on the Dushanbe-Djirgatal highway. The United Tajik Opposition shall withdraw its armed formations from the regional centres of Komsomolobad, Garm, Tajikabad and Djirgatal. The Ministry of Internal Affairs battalion shall remain at Garm at the location where it was previously stationed;
4. As a confidence-building measure, the United Tajik Opposition shall release the military personnel of the government forces taken prisoner or hostage in the course of the recent events in the Tavildara, Komsomolobad, Garm, Tajikabad and Djirgatal regions. The United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan and the International Committee of the Red Cross shall be requested to assist in the conduct of this humanitarian action;
5. For purposes of preventing valuables, weapons, narcotic substances and other items prevented by law from being smuggled in and out, a customs control post shall be established on the border between the Djirgatal region and the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, and also, by the forces of the Government and the United Tajik Opposition, a joint border post;
6. The functioning of the lawful authorities in the territory of Tavildara, Komsomolobad, Garm, Tajikabad and Djirgatal regions shall be restored. In selecting and deploying troops and offices of the organs responsible for internal affairs, preference shall be given to local professionally trained personnel. The United Tajik Opposition accepts and will not impede the normal functioning of the structures of power;
7. Monitoring of the application of the present Protocol shall be the responsibility of the Joint Commission. The United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan shall be requested to assist in this respect;
8. The Protocol shall enter into force at the time of its signature.
E. Sh. Rakhmonov, President of the Republic of Tajikistan
S.A. Nuri, Leader of the United Tajik Opposition
G.D. Merrem, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Tajikistan
Northern Afghanistan, 11 December 1996
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