ccording to news agency reports, the situation in the Uzbek Surkhandarya Region is still tense. The reports - which refer to different sources - have not been either confirmed or denied by official Tashkent. One thing is clear at the moment: the armed conflict between Uzbek government troops and the group of terrorists is continuing.

According to our Tashkent correspondent, the Uzbek authorities are planning to finish the anti-terrorist operation by the end of the week. By now, the fighters are known to have been blocked in a mountainous area where they control several villages. (Kazakh Khabar TV, August 9)

ccording to preliminary reports, more than 202 countries will take part in the 22nd Olympic games which will start in the Australian city of Sydney in one and a half months. Uzbekistan will be represented by 76 sportsmen who will contest in 13 kinds of sports.

The president of the National Olympic Committee of Uzbekistan, Sobir Roziyev, speaks about the progress of preparations for Olympics-2000. Doctors from the Republican Physical training and treatment centre jointly with a group of scientists from the Uzbek State Institute of physical culture are doing a great deal to prepare the Olympians. They studied and analyzed a large volume of data on the adaptation of the sportsmen to conditions in Australia the results of which are being efficiently used in training.

The State Sports Committee and we have bought the necessary batch of medicines, including multivitamins, which our sportsmen receive during training. In general, all conditions have been created for an efficient preparation for the Sydney Olympics and the coaches are trying to make maximum use of them. Spending on food have considerably increased.

It is also very important that many teams will go to the Olympics with their own sport gear, which not all could afford in the past due to the lack of means. Sport costumes for the Uzbek national team are being made by a Malaysian firm. ('Tashkentskaya Pravda' newspaper of Uzbekistan, August 5)

azakh and Uzbek Presidents Nursultan Nazarbayev and Islam Karimov discussed the situation at the Uzbek-Tajik border in a telephone conversation on Wednesday [9th August], the Kazakh presidential press service told Interfax.

Karimov noted that the terrorists who entered Uzbek territory were spotted and localized "in time" and an operation to wipe them out is under way, the press service said. "The situation is under complete control and there are no apprehensions about a possible escalation of the conflict," Karimov said.

The Uzbek president also pointed out that "some media reports on the developments at the Uzbek-Tajik border exaggerate the degree of the tension and do not correspond to reality".

In the course of the telephone conversation, the heads of state came to the conclusion that there is currently no need to use the corresponding provisions of the Tashkent Treaty on the joint actions in fighting terrorism or other threats to stability and security, signed this year by heads of the Central Asian states, the press service reported.

Nazarbayev and Karimov confirmed their determination to jointly oppose "any threats" to Kazakhstan's and Uzbekistan's independence and territorial integrity, the press service said. The heads of state also discussed a wide range of issues relating to bilateral economic cooperation, the press service noted. (Interfax, August 9)

ut of all the months of the year, Islamic terrorists prefer August. Hardly had Russia managed to mark the anniversary of the invasion of Dagestan by Chechen gunmen than news came from Uzbekistan about events largely reminiscent of the start of the counterterrorist operation in the North Caucasus.

Subunits from the republic's Ministry of Internal Affairs, Defence Ministry, and border guards have been engaged for several days now in fighting with terrorists who have infiltrated Saryassiya District in the republic's Surkhandarya Region from the territory of neighbouring Tajikistan. Segodnya was told by Bakhodir Umarov, the Uzbek foreign minister's press secretary, that the gunmen, whose numbers are estimated at 70-100, crossed the border 2-3 August.

According to reports in some of the media, the terrorists have managed to seize the Kamchik Pass, which links Tashkent with the Fergana Valley. But the minister's press secretary called this information inaccurate. According to Umarov, the terrorists are currently blockaded and "every effort is being made to neutralize and destroy them in the very near future." The events are taking place in a sparsely populated area and so no civilian casualties have been recorded. But the Uzbek military are taking losses.

The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which is based in Afghanistan on Taleban-controlled territory, has claimed responsibility for the invasion. A corresponding statement was made by the "mouthpiece" of the extremists - Zubair ibn Abdurakhman [name as transliterated] - in an interview relayed by the BBC Uzbek Service. In this connection, the head of the Uzbek Foreign Ministry's press secretary stated, the republic's government "will be drawing certain conclusions" regarding the British TV and radio broadcasting corporation.

An Uzbek Government report notes that "certain known forces in Tajikistan have created the conditions and ensured passage for these bandit groups to move into Uzbek territory." Official Dushanbe is categorically rejecting the possibility that the terrorists may have infiltrated Uzbekistan via Tajik territory. In particular, according to Safarali Sayfulloyev, first deputy chairman of Tajikistan's Committee for the Protection of the State Border, an armed group of up to 50 men could not move into Uzbekistan unnoticed through the Tajik mountains. Arguments such as these do not satisfy the Uzbek side. "There is simply no other route," Bakhodir Umarov stated. According to him, Uzbekistan's border with Afghanistan is well reinforced and runs along the Amurdarya River, and attempts to cross it would be immediately spotted and interdicted. (Segodnya, August 9)

he Uzbek ambassador to Tajikistan left for Tashkent today, the ITAR-TASS correspondents have learned from confidential diplomatic sources. The republican government has let it be known that the report corresponds with the facts, but it refused to comment on the reasons for the departure of the Uzbek diplomat.

Independent observers do not rule out that the envoy may have been recalled in connection with the situation in Surkhandarya Region of Uzbekistan, where a large bandit group has initiated action against government forces. Certain circles in Tashkent believe that Tajikistan is implicated in it.

Today an official spokesman of the Tajik Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a statement in which he stressed Dushanbe's commitment to a policy of good-neighbourly relations with Uzbekistan and the preservation of stability in the region. (Itar-Tass, August 9)

p to 15 bandits have been wiped out by Uzbek government troops in the course of a continuing operation to eliminate a group of international terrorists who have infiltrated the south of the republic. Interfax was informed of this on Wednesday [9th August] by the Uzbek Ministry of Defence, which was citing data from radio intercepts.

The fighters, who had been attempting to infiltrate highland villages in Saryassiya and Uzun Districts of Surkhandarya Region of Uzbekistan, are surrounded in an uninhabited mountain gorge, and their exit routes back to Tajikistan have been blocked.

In the opinion of the Uzbek military, the fighters could have been eliminated sooner, but this could have led to greater casualties among government troops. That is why the government forces are mainly firing on enemy positions, as they come to light, from mortars and from helicopters. Checkpoints have been set up on all tracks, roads and passes along which the fighters could pass.

Citing reliable sources, the Uzbek military are saying that the bandit groups include persons who took part in the attack on Kyrgyzstan's Batken District in spring-summer last year.

In an interview with Interfax on Wednesday, the press secretary of the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied reports in some of the media that the terrorists had brought down a plane belonging to the republic's air force. In addition, he did not confirm a report that the fighters were constantly getting reinforcements. "None of these reports correspond to the facts," stressed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs press secretary. (Interfax, August 9)

ussian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Yakovenko commented on the latest developments in southern Uzbekistan and the media's interpretation of them in an interview with Interfax on Wednesday.

"The Foreign Ministry would welcome a more cautious approach to information from unverified sources," Yakovenko said, referring to an article alleging that two Taliban army units totaling up to 700 people crossed the Uzbek border, went 3-5 kilometres into Uzbek territory and started fighting with Uzbek border guards.

"It was reported that at the time, some 50 people had been killed on the Uzbek side," the diplomat said.

In connection with this, the Russian Foreign Ministry received an official explanation from the Uzbek side saying that "the information is a complete fabrication, completely differs from reality and is provoking an aggravation of the situation in the country and panic among the population".

"Attention is also drawn to the fact that the number of reports of this sort in the Russian media has increased lately and, what is more, their authors sometimes even refer to alleged sources in the Russian Defence and Foreign ministries," Yakovenko said.

As for the actual events at the Uzbek-Tajik border in the past week, their development was covered at a press conference given by the Uzbek foreign minister and the National Security Council secretary on 8th August, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman recalled.

According to official Tashkent information, the terrorist bands that invaded southern Uzbekistan from neighbouring Tajikistan have been surrounded by Uzbek governmental forces.

Secretary of the Uzbek National Security Council Mirakbar Rakhmankulov has denied media reports alleging that the bandit groups seized the strategic Kamchik mountain pass connecting Tashkent with the Fergana Valley. The situation is currently under the control of Uzbek official armed structures and the bandit groups that entered Uzbek territory have been blockaded, Rakhmankulov said.

The Uzbek government forces have prevented the bandits' attempts to break the encirclement, he said. The military operation is now in its active phase and will produce results in the near future, he added.

Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov said in turn that the Uzbek and Tajik law enforcement and military structures "are acting in complete coordination". There are no victims among the civilians, though the military did suffer losses, the minister said, declining to specify their number. (Interfax, August 9)

The bandits, who were trained in Afghanistan, infiltrated Uzbekistan via Tajikistan, Kamilov said, referring to reliable information. "We have all grounds to state that a number of figures from the former unified Tajik opposition provide both undercover and open assistance to the bandit groups," the Uzbek minister said.

he operations aimed at destroying the groups of terrorists which attempted to infiltrate into [southern] Surkhandarya Region's mountainous Saryassiya and Uzun Districts from Tajikistan are going in accordance with the plan. The militants have been blockaded in an uninhabited mountainous area and the roads they could use to cross to Tajikistan have also been blocked. A combat group of selected fighters is continuing to drive the militants into a corner.

Brief armed clashes with the terrorists' main forces are continuing. The servicemen who have been intercepting the militants' radio communications say that about 15 terrorists have been killed in such clashes. We could have destroyed the terrorists in one attack, the servicemen told us. However, in this case there could have been losses on our side as well. Commanders do not want to risk the servicemen's lives and the enemy's positions are being attacked from mortars and helicopters. This is helping to avoid losses among the servicemen. Monitoring posts have been set up on all the paths, roads and passes the enemy might use.

Our servicemen, who are monitoring the terrorists' movements day and night, have no problems with arms and food supplies. Local people are actively helping our servicemen. Reliable sources report that among the militants there are terrorists who were directly involved in the bloody events in Kyrgyz Batken District last year.

The fact that some of the militants communicate with each other in foreign languages allows to describe them as an international terrorist group. The main purpose of the terrorists' attempt to infiltrate into Uzbekistan is to establish a drugs and arms transit. They might attempt to cover up their intentions with various political slogans and demands. However, the observation of the terrorists' actions and the analysis of their radio communications show that they have no political aims whatsoever.

The people living in the mountainous settlements of Kishtut, Sarinavo, Registon, Kunturmas and Hamid Archa, which are close to the terrorists' positions, have been evacuated to safe locations. They are receiving all the help they need.

However, people in Saryassiya and Uzun Districts, and in Surkhandarya Region as a whole are not worried or disturbed. They are busy with their everyday peaceful businesses. (Uzbek TV, August 9)

zbek government troops have destroyed up to 15 gunmen during the continuing operation to stamp out a group of international terrorists who have infiltrated the south of the country, Interfax was told at the Uzbek Defence Ministry on Wednesday [9th August] on the basis of intercepted radio messages.

The gunmen, who tried to enter mountain villages in Saraasi and Uzun Districts, have been surrounded in an uninhabited mountain gorge and possible retreat routes to Tajikistan have been blocked.

The Uzbek military believe the gunmen could be destroyed faster, but with much larger losses for government troops. Hence mainly mortar fire and helicopter attacks are being used against detected militant positions.

Control posts have been set up on all roads, paths and passes which the gunmen may use. Quoting reliable sources, the military said the gunmen include persons who attacked Batken District of Kyrgyzstan in the spring and summer of last year.

On Wednesday the spokesman for the Uzbek Foreign Ministry denied media reports that the gunmen had shot down an Uzbek air force plane. Nor did he confirm reports that rebels are getting continuous reinforcements. "All these reports are untrue," he said. (Interfax, August 9)

ushanbe will do all it can to curb attempts to destabilize the situation both on its own territory and on the territory of neighbouring countries, Igor Sattarov, chief of the information department with the Tajik Foreign Ministry, said at a Wednesday news briefing in Dushanbe.

"Tajikistan is actively implementing a number of measures under existing multi-lateral treaties and programmes at the level of the CIS and the countries of Central Asia aimed at joint actions to combat terrorism, extremism, organized crime and other threats to the parties' stability and security," Sattarov said.

The reason for this statement was the events of 4th-8th August, when an illegal armed group attempted to consolidate positions near the settlements of Kishtud and Zevar in the Surkhandarya region of Uzbekistan, 20 km from the Tajik-Uzbek border. The operation for encircling and neutralizing this group carried out by the Uzbek governmental forces resulted in causalities on both sides, the number of which has been withheld.

Sattarov noted that "Tajikistan, which has survived a civil war, is by no means interested in the destabilization of the situation anywhere, including, naturally, Central Asia, let alone neighbouring, brotherly Uzbekistan." The diplomat explained that since the first days of tension in the Uzbek border region the corresponding Tajik structures have been taking all necessary measures aimed at constant coordination of actions and timely information exchange needed to take prompt measures to maintain law and order.

he latest events in Surkhandarya Region of Uzbekistan were brought up at a briefing for domestic and foreign journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 9th August.

The head of the ministry's information department, Igor Sattarov, said quoting an official Uzbek government statement that during the past several days Uzbek power-wielding troops had been carrying out operations to wipe out a 100-strong bandit formation, which intended to destabilize the Uzbek areas bordering on Tajikistan.

The mass media, particularly foreign ones, have been covering the situation on the Tajik-Uzbek border, but their reports have not always been objective. The fact that the media are carrying reports misrepresenting the real state of affairs in the region and continuing to portray it as "a hot spot", aiming at damaging relations between the Central Asian countries, cannot but cause concern.

Tajikistan has experienced a civil war and is not interested in the destabilization of the situation anywhere, including in Central Asia, and particularly, in neighbouring fraternal Uzbekistan.

The relevant Tajik agencies have been taking the necessary steps to step up coordination and exchange of information, preparing for task force operations.

Remaining true to the principle of the strict and unwavering fulfilment of its commitments and confirming its policy of the consolidation of peace and stability in the whole of Central Asian region, Tajikistan declares about its resolve to do everything to prevent any attempt to destabilize the situation both on its own territory and on the territories of neighbouring states.

resenter: We have some news from the area near the Uzbek-Tajik border where troops are fighting a group of terrorists. According to official Tashkent, the group has been trained in Afghanistan. Here is our correspondent Adilzhon Ashurov with the details.

[Correspondent] Today, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry sent a rather tough note to the Tajik government. It says inter alia that the gang formations which are now fighting Uzbek government forces in Surkhandarya Region have infiltrated the area from Tajikistan.

[Abdulaziz Kamilov, captioned as Uzbek Foreign Minister] We have reliable reports that the gangs have been thoroughly trained in Afghan centres specializing in staging sabotage and that they have infiltrated the border areas of Surkhandarya Region from Tajikistan. We have every reason to believe that a group of activists from the former United Tajik Opposition, who are now part of the Tajik government structures, as well as the elements who were not integrated into those structures steadily continue their contacts with extremist centres in Afghanistan while secretly providing help and assistance to gangs and terrorists.

[Correspondent] For their own part, the Tajik special services say the allegations are groundless. From the point of view of the military, 100 armed militants would not be able to cross the Tajik-Afghan border without being noticed, because there is barbed wire along the entire length of the border.

[Saidobid Saidov, captioned as brigade commander for the Committee for the Protection of the Tajik Border] There has been no movement of any gangs across the state border. Local residents have said so. Some operational work has been carried out to ascertain this fact. Our search and reconnoitre groups have also confirmed this. They have reported that no gangs have crossed the state border.

[Correspondent] As for the situation in the combat zone, the information which is coming in from there is extremely scanty and contradictory.

[Uzbek National Security Council Secretary Mirakbar Rahmonqulov] As already reported, bandits have been completely sealed off here. Throughout the entire period of the operations, the attempts of some groups to break out of the encirclement have not been successful, and now the operation to neutralize them has entered an active phase.

[Correspondent] According to our own information, the Uzbek regular units have not yet managed to encircle the bandits and are sustaining some considerable losses. The rebels who have Stinger missiles downed an Uzbek jet today. Nothing is known of whether the pilots are dead or alive.

According to our sources in the Security Ministry, the stronghold of the terrorists is situated in the mountain village of (?Tamar-Khut) over 3,000 metres above the sea level. This is a strategic location because it is situated at the junction of five roads, all leading in different directions. If there is danger, the rebels can split into several groups and disappear into the mountains.

ussia's official position on military actions in Uzbekistan has not been announced yet. Meanwhile, a meeting of representatives of the states signatory to the 1992 Collective Security Treaty - Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, was held in Moscow today. But according to [presumably Kazakh Foreign Affairs Ministry's] press service, the situation in Uzbekistan was not raised at the meeting. Moreover, Uzbekistan opted out of the Collective Security Treaty last year. The issue of rendering military aid to this country might be considered if there is a relevant request from the Uzbek government. An opinion on the military conflict on the Uzbek-Tajik border was expressed at the Kazakh Foreign Affairs Ministry on August 8.

[Amangeldy Tazhenov, head of Kazakh Foreign Affairs Ministry's press service] As for Kazakhstan, of course, there are relevant agreements, in particular, the one which was signed in Tashkent at a meeting with the [Uzbek] president [Islam Karimov] on [20-21st] April this year during [Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's] official visit [to Uzbekistan to attend a two-day Central Asian summit in Tashkent]. So, in line with the international agreements concluded and within the framework of the Shanghai Five [summit] because Tajikistan is a Shanghai Five member country and Uzbekistan was an observer in Dushanbe [where the Shanghai Five summit was held on 5th July 2000 - changes tack]. If [the Uzbeks] ask for help then the relevant help will be provided.

Now, as I said, both the Foreign Ministry and our diplomatic corps in Tashkent are closely monitoring this situation. Tashkent has officially stated that the situation was under control, that the conflict was of a local nature, that the Uzbek government troops were currently carrying out counterterrorist operations and that the bandits were being squeezed out of the country, that is, the situation does not cause any concern [which would require] Kazakhstan to take an action.

embers of a supervisory council responsible for the efficient use of loans have been approved by a Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan On measures for the implemenation of a project for improving the system of sanitary cleaning of the city of Tashkent. The council is headed by the mayor of the Uzbek capital [Tashkent], Kozim Tolaganov. To realize the given project the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development [IBRD] has granted USD24m and EBRD - USD19.2m. The loan from the IBRD is granted for a term of 20 years with a 5-year preferential period, refinanced by the country's Ministry of Finance to the city administration for 12 years with a 3-year preferential period. The EBRD loan is granted for 10 years, also with a 3-year preferential period. The total cost of the project is USD56.3m which also includes USD11m allocated by our country and additional grants are to be attracted.

The supervisory council must organize a tender and an assessment of proposals made to buy goods, works and services with the loans, and also to coordinate the measures to realize all components of the project. These components include the setting up of refuse-reloading stations, modernization of the dumps, the purchase of equipment for burying bio-medical refuse, special machines for transporting the rubbish and many others. The project is expected to be completed in December 2003, and Tashkent will become cleaner and more beautiful.

news conference for the [Uzbek] republican and the foreign media took place [in Tashkent] today. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Council provided the jouranlists with additional information concerning the situation in the [far southern Uzbek] Surkhandarya Region sector on the Uzbek-Tajik border.

[Correspondent, over video of the news conference] As known, the militants in small groups penetrated Saryassiya and Uzun Districts [in the above Region] border area from neighbouring Tajikistan. The criminal formations attempted to base themselves in mountain localities which are difficult to access, so as to set up bases in the passes on the territory of our country, and then to carry out acts of sabotage. Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Komilov said that there were confirmations, to be precise, intelligence data, that certain forces were rendering assistance to the militants.

[Komilov] We have reliable reports that these groups infiltrated initially from Afghanistan into Tajikistan and then from Tajikistan into Uzbekistan, and for this reason it was not for nothing that I mentioned here that the integrated and non-integrated former UTO [United Tajik Opposition] leaders who are still continuing to cooperate and help such groups by all means.

[Correspondent] At present, the power-wielding agencies are continuing operations according to the specific plans worked out to wipe out the bandit formations. A special subdivision is carrying it out, using all the military means necessary for combat. Attempts by the militants to break through the belt have been foiled.

[Komilov] Currently, the bandit groups have been blockaded in close cooperation with the power-wielding agencies of Tajikistan. I would like to place particular emphasis on the fact that the power-wielding agencies of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have been carrying out closely-coordinated and special operations to wipe out the terrorists.

[Correspondent] Judging from the statements made today, the invasion, or rather the penetration, by the militants was not an unexpected event for the relevant agencies in possession of intelligence data.

[Uzbek National Security Council Secretary Mirakbar Rahmonqulov] The bandits infiltrated in separate groups. The law-enforcement agencies received information to this effect. The information was cross-checked and verified. So it is wrong to say that this was an unexpected event for the law-enforcement agencies. The process was closely observed. First-hand information was cross-checked and, when it was firmly established that a large group of these bandits was building up in the area concerned, special measures were undertaken to block and to contain this bandit group.

[Correspondent] The operation is being conducted in a complex locality, which requires special efforts, endurance and action on the part of the military. The foreign policy department head said that, unfortunately, there were losses among the Uzbekistan military.

[Komilov] There are no casualties among civilians, but, unfortunately, there are losses among our military.

[Correspondent] Several foreign media agencies alleged, as their top news story, that other terrorist groupings had managed to establish themselves in the Kamchik mountain pass [which links the capital with Fergana valley in the far east].

[Rahmonqulov] Media agencies have, indeed, alleged that a group of terrorists had seized the Kamchik pass, a strategically important pass for our republic, that it was blockaded and the movement of traffic was stopped, and that the Uzbek special services had to end the stand-off. In reality, all these reports do not correspond with reality. Our power-wielding departments and agencies are taking measures to guard it reliably.

azakh Minister of Defence Sat Tokpakbayev commented on the situation in Uzbekistan at Almaty airport today. He believes that the Uzbek armed forces are capable of coping with the bandit formations.

[Tokpakbayev, at airport, to camera] According to information we have, a skirmish with a small group of bandit formations is going on in the south of Uzbekistan, specifically, in [Uzbek] Surkhandarya Region near the Uzbek-Tajik borders. We hope that Uzbek armed forces will bring order to this area.

[Correspondent] Are our [Kazakh] armed forces undertaking any actions in connection with this incident? Maybe, things like intensive preparations?

[Tokpakbayev] As you know, there was a directive by the Supreme Commander [Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev] which was voiced as far back as at the end of last year [1999], and we are undertaking measures on reinforing the southern borders of our Homeland. A group of officers of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan are flying to Taraz [centre of southern Zhambyl Region] tomorrow to directly carry out our country's president's decree. Last time, everyone witnessed how the newly-formed fifth brigade demonstrated its battle training and skills and this brigade will be redeployed in relevant places on the southern borders of our Homeland. (August 8, Kazakh Khabar TV)

bout 100 militants tried to seize remote mountain villages in Uzbekistan and clashed with government troops, killing and wounding several servicemen, officials said Monday.

The militants have been crossing into this Central Asian nation from neighboring Tajikistan for the past several days through a rugged mountain pass, the Uzbek Defense Ministry said.

The ministry would not release figures on how many casualties the government troops suffered, and had no information on militant losses. It said there were no losses among civilians. The few dozen families who lived in the region were being evacuated.

The UZA government news agency said the fighters had been trained at camps in Afghanistan, and were attempting to set up temporary bases and weapons caches for carrying out terrorist acts in Uzbekistan.

Troops from the Uzbek Defense Ministry and Interior Ministry and Tajikistan's security services have blocked the militants in the Saryasia and Uzun districts of the Surkhandarya region, UZA said. The area is about 450 kilometers (300 miles) southwest of the capital Tashkent and at an altitude of nearly 4,000 meters (12,000 feet).

Uzbek officials have been struggling to stem the flow of militants, arms and drugs from more restive countries in the region. Threats to Uzbekistan were highlighted last year by a series of bombings of government buildings in Tashkent that killed 13 people, an attack blamed on Islamic militants.

President Islam Karimov, the former Uzbek Communist Party boss, has established a strong secular rule, cracking down on Islamic movements, human rights activists and other dissent. He and other regional leaders say that tough rule is necessary to prevent the spread of Islamic fundamentalism following the rise of the Taliban in nearby Afghanistan.

andit formations conducted such acts on the Kyrgyz borders [with Uzbekistan] a year ago [in Batken District of southern Kyrgyzstan]. At that time, the Islamists also took hostages and later retreated towards Afghanistan. Today, our correspondent, Aleksey Svetlov, managed to get Kyrgyz Security Council Secretary Bolot Dzhanuzakov [from caption], on the telephone and ask him a few questions.

[Svetlov, by telephone] Bolot Chinibayevich, what is Kyrgyzstan's official reaction to the fighters' infiltration into Uzbek territory?

[Dzhanuzakov] The Uzbek armed forces are stong enough, well-armed and well-trained and we are confident they will wipe out the fighters in the nearest future.

[Svetlov] Will Kyrgyzstan undertake anything if official [Uzbek capital] Tashkent turns to member countries of the Collective Security Treaty?

[Dzhanuzakov] Certainly, according to the treaties and agreements we have signed so far, Kyrgyzstan will help if the Uzbek authorities officially turn to us. For its part, Kyrgyzstan is taking all the necessary measures to ensure security and is taking measures not to allow the fighters to infiltrate the [Kyrgyz] republic's territory. (Kazakh Khabar TV)

member of an illegal armed group has been detained in the Asht [in the north of northern Leninobod Region] direction of the Tajik-Uzbek border. Asia-Plus news agency learned from the first chairman of the State Border Protection Committee [of Tajikistan], Safarali Sayfulloyev, on 8th August that the detained had been handed over to the appropriate services of Uzbekistan. According to the same source's information, members of the armed group frequently violated the Tajik-Uzbek border.

We recall that Tajik frontier guards detained 12 suspicious persons in the same Asht direction at the end of last week. At present, it is being clarified to which armed group, operating in Uzbekistan, they belong to. For this reason guards at a number of the southern and northwestern sectors of the Tajik-Uzbek border have been put on a state of high alert. Safarali Sayfulloyev said such measures had been taken to prevent the possible infiltration of armed groups from Uzbekistan to Tajikistan and vice versa.

Asia-Plus news agency learned from the Uzbek embassy in Tajikistan on 8th August that government troops [of Uzbekistan] had blocked an armed group consisting of about 60 men near the settlements of Zevar and Kishtud [southern Uzbek] (Surkhandarya Region, 20 km from the Tajik-Uzbek frontier) after the armed skirmish. According to a report received by the Asia-Plus news agency from the apparatus of the Tajik Security Council, they were remanents of [a leading member of a banned Islamic anti-Uzbek government organization] Juma Namangoniy's group.

ews agencies reported armed conflicts between government troops and bandit terrorist groupings in the south of Uzbekistan last Sunday [6th August]. Here are some details of what happened.

The events took place in Uzbekistan's Surkhandarya Region, in two districts, Saryassiya and Uzun, bordering on Tajikistan. The Uzbek authorities received reports that armed bandit formations had infiltrated Uzbekistan from neighbouring Tajikistan to establish bases at the beginning of August. The group used a less-populated and mountainous locality with difficult terrain and passes up to 4,000 metres high to pass through. The grouping numbers from 70 to 100 people. According to the Uzbek service of the BBC World Service, the fighters are holding three high-mountain villages in Denau area. They have taken six shepherds hostages.

ussian border guards are denying the assertion that a large armed group has secretly crossed the Tajik-Afghan border to materialize in neighbouring Uzbekistan.

"The movement or any traces of temporary stay of several dozen people in the border zone could not have gone unnoticed by our guard posts," the chief of staff of the Russian Federal Border Service frontier group in Tajikistan, Gen Sergey Zhilkin, told ITAR-TASS on Tuesday [8th August].

ll power-wielding agencies in the south of Kyrgyzstan have been called for first-degree combat preparedness due to the military operations in Uzbekistan.

All the frontier posts at the Kyrgyz-Uzbek and Kyrgyz-Tajik borders have been alerted, sources in the republic's power-wielding agencies have told Interfax. In addition, double strengthening of police outposts in regions bordering Tajikistan and Uzbekistan is in process. Special battalions are being moved from the north to the south of Kyrgyzstan.

ajikistan says rebels could not have accessed Uzbekistan through Tajikistan.

In an interview with Interfax on Tuesday [8th August], Maj-Gen Safarali Sayfullayev, first deputy chairman of the State Border Protection Committee with the Tajik government, categorically ruled out the possibility that an armed group numbering up to 50 people, "even having split into smaller groups", could have got into Uzbekistan through the Tajik mountains unnoticed. "No penetration of fighters through the Tajik-Afghan border has been registered either," he said.

At the same time, the frontier troops in reserve, which have been trained to fight high in the mountains, have been alerted in the republic, Sayfullayev said. It will take the reserve from half an hour to several hours to come to support the frontier guards should such help become necessary, he said.

n an article entitled "Assignments have been set, but their completion is still far off. Will Uzbekistan achieve grain independence?", published in the Russian newspaper 'Nezavisimaya Gazeta' on 4th August, Yuriy Yegorov considers the possible reasons for Uzbekistan's consistently low grain production figures and concludes that grain self-sufficiency is thwarted not so much by drought and excessive cotton planting, as by sheer inefficiency and theft. The text of the article follows.

Tashkent: The grain harvest has been completed in Uzbekistan. And although people in the republic prefer not to say they are disappointed with the results, the figures from statistical reports are extremely eloquent: Less than 3m tonnes of grain were harvested. Taking into account that more than a million hectares were assigned to grain crops, the yield turns out to be extremely low.

The republic's Ministry of Agriculture is trying to explain this by saying that, along with everything else, at the beginning of planting there was a shortage of seed material, and this had an effect on the time frame for carrying out the basic agricultural measures as well.

Of course, you could argue that the poor yield resulted from the water shortage in Central Asia, but practice shows that agriculture in Uzbekistan was not very efficient even before that. And this is still the case. The productivity of both the grain and the cotton plantings here has been low by world standards even during years that were most favourable climatically.

Oriented during the USSR years towards raising mainly cotton, called "white gold" in this region, Uzbekistan was provided with grain from the outside. But when it gained its sovereignty, it announced its desire to achieve grain independence as well. To this end, it reduced the areas planted with cotton and began to raise grain crops on the land that had been vacated. There is no doubt that achieving grain independence was very important to the country, for the main food products of the indigenous population are still grain, sugar and tea.

Even though the grain growers have failed to reach their goal from year to year, they have always been assigned the task of raising and harvesting as much as possible. This year, for example, the grain growers were to have raised, harvested and sold to the state 5.4m tonnes of grain. Uzbekistan has never reached that mark.

In spite of the failures in grain production, they continue to assert that it will not be long before they achieve grain independence. How realistic is this? In an interview with a Nezavisimaya Gazeta correspondent, one bureaucrat from the Ministry of Agriculture, while declining to give a direct answer to the question, suggested that the correspondent should do his own calculations. He was to take as his starting point the fact that, by world standards, grain consumption, including forage, should be about 1,000 kg per person per year, and Uzbekistan has about 24m inhabitants. The harvest should, thus, amount to 24m tonnes.

While experiencing an already fairly large grain deficit, Uzbekistan is encountering large thefts of grain and flour along with everything else. This spring, it was suddenly discovered that the granaries were empty, even though, according to preliminary calculations, the grain that had been raised and imported should have lasted until the new harvest. Uzbekistan concluded an emergency agreement with the United States for credit of 10m dollars to buy the necessary quantity of wheat abroad, and three dozen bureaucrats guilty of stealing large amounts of grain ended up in the SIZO [investigative detention facility].

he US Agriculture Ministry has announced on Thursday that it will provide 7,000 tons of food aid to Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The aid will be granted to 76,500 people from low-income groups and people sick with tuberculosis by the personnel of the US Red Cross. The US Agriculture Ministry will also provide foodstuffs to Russia, including 28,500 tons of flour, cereals and vegetable oil. The foodstuffs will be turned over to representatives of an international Orthodox charity organization to be distributed among the most needy groups of the population including those who are under guardianship of social welfare organizations.

ompetition "21st Century Woman" will be held shortly before the National Independence Day (September 1, 2000) and it will be organized by Uzbek businesswomen association "Tadbirkor Ayol" with the assistance of Oliy Majlis's family and woman problems Committee, State TV and Radio Company, and Academy of Arts of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Businesswomen from all Uzbek regions, Karakalpakstan and Tashkent will take part in the competition.

ajik border guards on Monday [7th August] stepped up security on the western section of the Uzbek border following the appearance of an unknown armed group of up to 100 people, sources in Tajik power structures said. The group is said to have clashed with Uzbek troops, and the shooting continued throughout the day.

Tajik border guards have blocked the routes of possible retreat of the terrorists from Uzbekistan. They have blocked roads and mountain paths and have temporarily closed checkpoints. Tajik law-enforcement officers are working in cooperation with their Uzbek counterparts.

Tajik border guards have also been posted on the northern section of the Tajik-Uzbek border where armed groups of up to 30-50 people have been reported moving around. An agreement has been reached with Kyrgyzstan to step up security on the border.

A representative of one of the power structures in Tajikistan told ITAR-TASS that it would be premature to speak about the political orientation of these groups and the reason for their unexpectedly increased activity until full and objective information becomes available.

Earlier in the day, at least 100 terrorists crossed the Uzbek-Tajik border and clashed with Uzbek troops in the Surkhandarya Region, official sources in the Uzbek law-enforcement agencies said. The terrorists exchanged fire with the Uzbek troops, while trying to seize several villages, the sources told ITAR-TASS.

They said there were casualties among the troops. The terrorists had been well-trained in Afghanistan and armed with sniper rifles, night-vision devices and grenade launchers.

They had decided to set up a base in an inaccessible mountainous area between two Uzbek districts and used a pass about 4,000 m up in the mountains to cross into the country. These parts of Uzbekistan are practically unpopulated, and there are only 15-30 families living in some villages there.

The Uzbek and Tajik law-enforcement agencies have blockaded the terrorists in and are taking measures to destroy them. The operation involves border guards, internal troops and Defence Ministry units.

tarting from 1st August 2000 the law-enforcement agencies began to receive information saying that bandit and terrorist groups were crossing into the border areas of Surkhandarya Region from the territory of Tajikistan, to base themselves in barely accessible mountain settlements in Saryassiya and Uzun Districts [in the Region]. Verification of the reports coming in confirmed the information. The aim of the bandit groups infiltrating from the territory of Tajikistan is to set up bases in mountain passes on the border areas of Uzbekistan for storing the arms, ammunition and food necessary to plot and perpetrate acts of sabotage and terrorism on the territory of Uzbekistan and organize routes for transporting drugs and arms. For this purpose the bandit groups have chosen barely accessible localities with complex and highly rugged topography, mountain passes about 4,000 metres high, gorges and natural caves.

The specified areas are virtually unpopulated: 15 to 30 families live in a number of mountain villages. Drug dealers and smugglers had got to know the existing mountainous paths well in advance and caches of arms were created. The bandit groups are thought to number 70 to 100 men who, as material evidence and radio interception suggest, have undergone all-round preparation in sabotage centres on Afghanistan's territory.

The bandits are well equipped with modern arms, sniper rifles, precision-vision devices and grenade throwers. According to information that needs verifying, certain known forces in Tajikistan have created conditions and provided passage for these bandit groups to cross into Uzbekistan's territory.

At the moment, the bandit groups have been blockaded, in close interaction with the power-wielding agencies of the Republic of Tajikistan. All necessary measures are being taken to destroy them. The border guard forces are engaged as well as subunits of the interior troops and the Defence Ministry of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The civilian population has been been evacuated from the blockaded territory. There are no casualties among civilians, but there are losses among servicemen.

ontrols were beefed up at the end of last week along several northwestern sections of the Tajik-Uzbek border. These precautions were taken to prevent the possibility of an armed group crossing over from Uzbek territory into Tajikistan and back, deputy chief of the Tajik State Border Protection Committee, Maj-Gen (?Safarali Saifullayev) has told Interfax.

A source in Dushanbe has informed Interfax that an illegal armed group several dozens of people in strength was observed at the end of last week near the Uzbek villages of Zevar and Kishtud, a mere 20 km from the border. Tajik border guards have taken the necessary security measures to avoid instability on the border. However, Saifullayev said, he knew nothing about any armed group crossing the Tajik-Afghan border before these developments.

he Uzbek police force has confiscated firearms and "extremist literature" during raids carried out in Qibray District near the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, the Uzbek newspaper `Na Postu' reported on 3rd August.

The report said "books, magazines and audio cassettes of an extremist and anti-constitutional nature" were found at the house of a resident of Qipchoq settlement in Qibray District".

"During the operation the District was thoroughly cleaned from people who could destabilize the situation. For example, very often people without a permanent place of residence and a job commit crimes or are a cause of violence," the report said in conclusion.

he national airline, Uzbekistan Airways, has taken another step to renew and modernize Tashkent international airport. The most advanced ground equipment arrived few days ago from Germany.

The investment project to improve ground services at the airport has been carried out with the support of the Uzbek government and financial institutions such as the German KfW [Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau] bank, the Uzbek National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry for Foreign Economic Relations.

Following talks, an agreement was signed in Tashkent with the Frankfurt-on-Maine Airport joint-stock company to supply Western-made technological equipment. A feasibility study was approved and a procedure for financing the project was determined. Under the project, 122 units of 29 different kinds of equipment were to be delivered, and it also envisaged the supply of spare parts and the training of personnel. The equipment includes cars, tractors, buses, boarding ramps, elevators, machines for washing aircraft and cleaning runways and other.

With this ground equipment Tashkent airport will be able to provide reliable and high standard service for aircraft and passengers and also world standard handling of cargoes and luggage of both the national and foreign airlines.

he police in southern Uzbek Surkhandarya Region have detained "several dozens" of "extremists" over the first six months of the year, a senior Regional police official told the `Na Postu' newspaper.

"The Regional police have been consistently taking measures to uncover extermists. Over the first six months of the year we arrested several dozens of people, 11 of these are Wahabbis", B. Joramurodov said.

He said in June they had arrested several people and seized from them weapons and literature of "religious and extremist nature". In the home of one of the detainees the police found 33 books under the title "Khatarli Tushunchalar" ("Dangerous concepts"), four books entitled "Hezb-e Tahrir Tushunchalari" (Ideas of Hezb-e Tahrir) and a number of other publications, he said. The detainees also kept grenades, firearms, cartridges and leaflets "with calls to overthrow the constitutional system", the police official said. He said the police would now establish why the arrested had kept the weapons and literature.

he first national report on climate change has been published in Uzbekistan. It was prepared as part of the "Uzbekistan - study of climate change in the country" project with financial support from the Global Environment Facility and with UNDP assistance.

The work that has been done is one of the first steps in fulfilment of Uzbekistan's obligations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which our country signed up to in 1993, the head of the "Uzbekistan - study of climate change in the country" project, a leading expert from the Convention section of Uzbekistan's Main Hydrometeorological Service, Tatyana Ososkova, said in an interview to Turkiston-Press news agency.

In the course of three years of work we have studied climate change, Ososkova said. The studies of the dynamics of climate showed that the process has already started in the region. Observations of mountain river basins show a reduction in snow reserves. We observed degradation and shrinkage of mountain glaciers. In just a few decades, warming will lead to the border between dry, tropical and moderate climatic zones moving 150 - 200 km northwards and climatic high-altitude zones shifting 150 - 200 metres upwards. The frost-free period and the number of hot days in spring and summer will be 8 - 10 days longer, which may have a negative effect on the productivity of crops and pastures. Assessments of possible changes in the water balance have shown that reserves of snow and ice at mountains will be reduced, evaporation will increase, and accordingly there will be increased losses of water in irrigation zones. A reduction in water resources in the future might entail serious negative consequences, above all in the agro-industrial sector.

hina and Uzbekistan established their first joint venture, the Uzbek Market Co Ltd, here in an effort to strengthen the two countries' economic links. The Shanghai-based new joint venture is a result of joint efforts from six Uzbekistan companies, including an exchange centre for goods and material, an auto industry corporation and a chemical industry corporation, and Chinese companies.

Shenli Group based in central China's Henan Province and the Chinatex Non-Cotton Yarns and Fabrics Import and Export Corporation are the Chinese shareholders of the joint venture. Akrom Muhidov, chief of the Uzbek foreign economic coordination department [attached to the Cabinet of Ministers], said the founding of the joint venture will help expand trade between China and Uzbekistan... He said Uzbekistan is willing to further expand cooperation with China in diverse sectors.

Chinese statistics show that Sino-Uzbek trade volume reached 24.4m US dollars during the first half of this year, up 11.3 per cent over the same period last year.

republican divers' school has opened under the emergency situations department in Tashkent Region. The training of enthusiastic young specialists has begun this August. There is a well-appointed dormitory and Spirituality and Enlightenment room arranged for those attending the school. Also, the school is well equipped with modern educational supplies and demonstration equipment. Over a month of training, 14 students from all over the republic will take theoretical and practical classes. They will then put their knowledge into practice, gather experience and do examinations in rivers, lakes and outdoor reservoirs crowded with people.

ietnam and Uzbekistan have discussed measures to boost bilateral cooperation at the first session of the Vietnam-Uzbekistan Joint Committee for Economic, Commercial, and Scientific and Technological Cooperation in Tashkent between 31st July and 3rd August.

The Vietnamese delegation to the session was led by Deputy Minister of Trade Ho Huan Nghiem and the Uzbek delegation by First Deputy Minister of Foreign Economic Relations B. Akhmedov. The two deputy ministers are presidents of their countries' sections on the committee. The two sides exchanged views on boosting the two countries' relations in trade, agriculture, consumer goods production, health care, education and training, tourism, and science and technology.

here are reports of more fighting in Uzbekistan between the armed forces and Islamic militants. A spokesman for the Tahir Yuldash Islamic group told the BBC that there had been casualties on both sides.

The Uzbek authorities are reported to have sent reinforcements from the capital, Tashkent, to the area. The fighting is taking place in the mountainous region close to the border with Tajikistan.

man has been sentenced to six years in prison in Uzbekistan for being instrumental in causing the premature death of his wife. A district court in Tashkent Region found Halil, father of three, guilty of driving his wife to commit suicide by repeatedly beating and abusing her.

"My son-in-law very often used to beat my daughter and bruise her body for no good reason reason," the victim's mother said.

She could have asked the police to intervene after she was twice admitted to hospital for treatment of her injuries, but she "would always forgive him" because of their children, the judge, Abdumalik Jalilov, said.

zbekistan has launched production of rhenium and osmium. A new technique devised by Uzbek and Russian metallurgy specialists has made it possible to extract these metals from ores dug out from the Qalmoqqir mine, one of the world's largest copper and molybdenum mines, at Almalyk metallurgical plant in Tashkent Region, the newspaper said. It added that the metals would be produced at an Uzbek-Israeli joint venture in the Region's Chirchik town.

he Uzbek government issued a decree, effective from 1st July, permitting a number of authorized banks to buy and sell foreign currency in cash in a bid to put an end to the foreign currency black market but this attempt turned out to be "a disgrace", Yuriy Yegorov writes in an article entitled "Tashkent Wanted 'The Best' Too. Uzbekistan's Black Market for Foreign Exchange Continues to Feel Confident". These banks have a limit on selling foreign currency - 500 dollars per person and only if a visa or proof of travel outside the republic is presented, and moreover, they have been too sluggish to react to the changing supply and demand situation. As long as the government policy of prohibition and restraints remains in place, the black market will flourish, the article says. The following is the text of a report by the Russian newspaper 'Nezavisimaya Gazeta' on 1st August.

The latest attempt by the authorities to put an end to the black market for foreign exchange in Uzbekistan turned out to be a disgrace. According to the decree of the republic's Cabinet of Ministers, effective from 1st July this year, a number of authorized banks were permitted to buy and sell cash foreign exchange at an unregulated rate based on supply and demand. Before this, the banks had purchased foreign exchange from the populace exclusively at the official exchange rate, which obviously did not correspond to the real exchange rate - the black market was offering almost three times more. And, naturally, in spite of the threatening government decrees concerning the illegality of conducting foreign exchange operations outside the banks and in spite of the numerous police raids on foreign exchange black markets, the populace preferred to go where the rate was more attractive. Thus a considerable share of the foreign exchange bypassed state structures.

The inequality of opportunities for participants in business played a negative role as well. Certain firms were granted the right to convert money at the commercial exchange rate, which was quite close to the official one, while others were forced to take advantage of the services of the black market, literally paying three times as much for the foreign exchange. The difficulties associated with the right to a coveted position on the Central Bank list generated fertile soil for bureaucratic bribery.

This policy had a painful effect on foreign investors as well. Many of them were unable to convert and send out money they had legally earned here. As a result, some were forced either to freeze their activity in Uzbekistan or to leave the market altogether.

During the last year alone Uzbekistan has been deprived of investments from entrepreneurs from Denmark in five projects totalling more than 120m dollars. Meanwhile, Uzbek President Islam Karimov never tires of talking about the need to attract additional foreign capital into the domestic economy.

Only in the ninth year of the existence of independent Uzbekistan the country's government, having rejected the shock therapy policy, decided to take active measures that would make it possible finally to switch to domestic conversion of the national currency. According to the reformers' intention, throughout this year the official foreign currency exchange rate was to approach the market level, and to this end the growth of the official exchange rate for foreign exchange would no longer be restrained with the former vigour. But the growth of the price of the dollar in trading was such that it was possible to call every Tuesday (that is the day when foreign exchange trading takes place) in Uzbekistan "black."

It was in this situation of the "stage-by-stage provision of domestic convertibility of the national currency" that currency exchange points started operating on 1st July. And initially they were very active, attracting the populace due to the fact that the exchange of dollars for Uzbek soms began in extremely advantageous conditions there. Indeed, on the black market at that time they were giving 650 soms per dollar and at the exchange points - 674. During the first days queues formed in front of the exchange points, enticed by the possibility of making an advantageous exchange of the dollars they had. But the black market did not remain in "disarray" for more than two or three days, and then it raised the purchase price of the dollar to 710-720 soms. The banks decided not to respond adequately to this challenge, and today there are no queues in front of the exchange points in Uzbekistan.

The loss of interest in them on the part of the populace is also explained by the fact that only purchasing was free there, not selling. It was possible to buy foreign exchange only if you had a visa and a ticket showing that you intended to take a trip outside the republic. And then they would not sell you more than 500 dollars.

Many economists in Uzbekistan think the government has played more of a negative than a positive role. The fact is that in May there was an objective reduction in the price of foreign exchange on the black market and there was a tendency towards its further reduction. But the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers provoked a surge in the price of the dollar, which inevitably caused a sharp leap in Uzbekistan in prices of food shipped in from outside the republic, such as sugar, oil, flour, and so forth.

The promised increase in the wages of civil servants, pensions, and allowances (by an average of 50 per cent) effective from 1st August could barely compensate for the additional costs to Uzbekistan's population related to the unceasing growth of inflation and prices of goods and services. As for the wheeler-dealers on the black market for foreign exchange, with the policy of prohibition and restraints pursued by the government, they will be prospering for a long time to come.

t should be noted that Uzbekistan Railways was formed as an independent railway company on 7th October 1994. [passage omitted: the company has two departments and seven directorates in various Uzbek Regions] In terms of figures, the length of track is 3,644.9 km, double tracks stretch 636 km and 618.7 km of line is electrified.

The company currently owns 625 diesel locomotives, 77 electric locomotives, 1,363 passenger carriages, 30,979 freight cars and 243 stations and employs 60,972 railway staff.

The company is currently implementing several projects involving foreign funds, such as a passenger carriage repair plant in cooperation with Japan, upgrading 320km of the stretch of railway linking Chingeldi and Bukhara [southwest of capital, Tashkent] using an Asian Development Bank credit, renovation of a locomotive depot and electrification of track.

When the construction of the Navoi-Uchkuduk-Nukus [central - northeast Uzbekistan] and the Guzar-Baysun-Kumkurgan [southern Uzbekistan - existing lines go through Turkmen territory] tracks is completed, the company will make 415m soms profit each year. The construction will also create 370 new jobs, increase the republic's annual hard currency receipts by 9.9m dollars and cut currency expendure by 20m dollars.

There are also plans to electrify the Tashkent-Angren [east of Tashkent] track. In all 27.35bn som were received in profit in the first six months of this year, and this figure is expected to reach 57.17bn soms by the end of 2000. A total of 9.8 per cent of the profit received this year comes from exports.

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nemployment leads to crime. Along with achievements, there are shortcomings, too. One of them is that reform is being carried out very slowly in some places.

A recent inspection by the republic's Prosecutor's Office showed that local administration and other responsible institutions in some Regions and Districts are still neglecting the issue of social security. In particular, no serious attention is being paid to the employment issue, whereas the republic's Cabinet of Ministers on 1st December, 1998, issued a decree approving regulations on providing employment to people in need of social protection and setting the minimum wage.

Though the decree reached all Regions and Districts a long time ago, the officials responsible are not fulfilling the document. It would be no mistake to say that it has been gathering dust in their desk drawers.

Which is why, it is above all indifference on the part of some senior officials sitting in local administrations that serves as another reason for some of the negative phenomena that are to be observed. For many of us know today that a lack of sports grounds for people's leisure activities and of facilities to satisfy people's cultural and everyday needs, added to the fact that none of the necessary steps are taken to enable citizens, especially young people, to enjoy their spare time, leads them to commit various offences, and, in some cases, to serious crimes.

The fact that 1,410 crimes were committed by 1,586 minors in the republic in the first half of the year 2000 is clear evidence of this. Of the young people who committed crimes, 24 did so under the influence of the religious sects which are most dangerous today.

Of 58,713 people live in Yangiyol town in Tashkent Region, 14,096 are young people, there are 3,200 unemployed in the town; 111 people, mostly young people, fell under the influence of "extremist religious sects".

There are no sports grounds at all in 25 of the 65 towns, settlements and villages that were scrutinized in the republic. This is evidence that the heads of the local institutions responsible there do not understand today's demands correctly and that they are indifferent to the events which are happening around them.

zbekistan's national airline, Uzbekistan Airways, has initialled an agreement on international air communications with Air France, updating the previous temporary agreement signed in 1997. The draft agreement provides for four flights a week between the two countries, though an Air France spokesman told newsmen in Tashkent that it was hoped the frequency of flights would be increased soon. Speaking after talks between the delegations from the two companies, the Air France spokesman added: "We discussed expanding cooperation between our countries and specified the details of technical and customs services, import of special materials and spare parts and the issue of visas to service personnel."