popular Uzbek FM radio station, Sezam, has gone back on the air after a "technical break", the 'Pravda Vostoka' newspaper reported on 4th November.

The paper quoted Igor Fedorenko, director-general of the Rubicon Radio Systems joint venture, the radio station's founder, as telling a news conference on the occasion, that the station was now going to give more time to promoting national ideology.

"We are well aware of the fact that radio is not a means of entertainment, but above all is a mouthpiece for promoting national ideology," the paper quoted him as saying.

"In this connection, it is radio Sezam's priority to promote constantly the republic's achievements over the years of independence, healthy life style, our ancestors' cultural heritage and secular education," went on Fedorenko.

The paper said that 60 per cent of the station's programmes and 70 per cent of its news and analytical programmes would be in Uzbek.

[Editors note: Several years ago, shortly before closing two of the three then operating FM stations, Evropa Plyus (Europa Plus) and Moy Gorod (My City), - the third was called Grand - the official press criticized the FM stations for their lack of patriotism and for advocating "foreign" music. It was said that up to 80 per cent of the stations' airtime were taken by Russian and foreign music. Currently there are five round-the-clock FM radio stations in the country, four of which - Grand, Ekho Doliny (The Echo of the Valley), Uzbegim Taronasi (The Uzbek Tune) and Sezam - are private and one - Yoshlar (Youth) - is state-owned. Yoshlar is the only station having own correspondents and airing various political programmes.

The others mainly play music and commercials and air hourly news summaries. Yoshlar has the biggest audience, broadcasting to the whole country. Ekho Doliny comes next, covering the Fergana Valley, Tashkent, and Tashkent and Syrdarya Regions, then Sezam, covering Tashkent and Tashkent and Syrdarya Regions, followed by Uzbegim Taronasi, broadcasting to Tashkent and Tashkent Region, and Grand, also covering Tashkent and Tashkent Region. Sezam was not broadcasting from June to October 2000. The radio said that they were moving to a new building.]

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resident of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov signed two decrees on Wednesday: one appointing former minister of finance and deputy prime minister Rustam Azimov deputy prime minister and minister of macroeconomics and statistics and the second appointing Mamarizo Normurodov finance minister.

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he Uzbek Supreme Court today continued to hear the case of 12 alleged terrorists, Uzbek TV reported.

The TV showed a young man behind bars, identified as Jaloliddin Turghunov, who had been convicted by the Supreme Court in 1998 for involvement in armed robberies, giving evidence against Juma Namangoniy, a leader of the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, who, like another eight defendants, is being tried in absentia.

He said: "I underwent training at a special school in Tavildara [District in central Tajikistan] three times. The first [course] was on light weapons, the second on heavy weapons, and the third was on explosions, that is making mines and handling them. After finishing the training, we were taken back to Jumaboy [Namangoniy], to the camp. There we asked for permission to go back [ to Uzbekistan]. They gave us their permission and on our way home we were seized in Kadamdzhay District of Kyrgyzstan's [southern Osh] Region. On our way back we had with us 10 kg of trotyl charge, about 300- 400 m. of fuse and, I can't exactly remember how many, but we had some detonators on us."

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azakhstan has decided to resume from Wednesday [8th November] the movement through its territory of Uzbek passenger trains from Tashkent to Moscow, a press release by the Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (Kazakh railways) republican state enterprise today said.

Having allowed the transit of Uzbek passenger trains, the Kazakh railways management will resolutely fight illegal passengers and cargo and violations of sanitary norms," the press release said. (Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency, November 8)

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new special group of police paratroopers has started operating at the Directorate of Internal Affairs of Khorezm Region [in northern Uzbekistan]. Now there is an opportunity for using aircraft and helicopters to rapidly neutralize criminals at those places on the Uzbek-Turkmen border which are difficult of access for motor vehicles. The republic's Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Defence and the Vatanparvar [auxiliary defence support] society have greatly contributed to boosting the group's personnel and its material basis.

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omiljon Yusupov has been elected new chairman of the Kamolot youth foundation of Uzbekistan, Uzbek TV reported on 7th November. It said that under its previous leadership the foundation had failed to establish contact with politically passive young Uzbeks.

"The foundation has failed to resolutely reach all groups of young people, especially those who have been interested only in everyday life issues, who have narrow world outlook, stay aloof from enlightenment and spiritual education and do not actively join sports and health centres," the TV said.

"This is why the composition of the board of the Kamolot foundation has been changed. Komiljon Yusupov has been elected chairman of the foundation's board," the report said.

The Kamolot foundation was founded in April 1996 under Uzbek President Islam Karimov's decree. It is designed to help make the young generation highly educated and conscientious and developing patriotic feelings in the young people, the TV said.

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he Russian Federation, which after the collapse and disintegration of the red social imperialism empire became the heir to the former Soviet Union, made plans to exploit the enormous natural wealth and the important and strategic position of the newly established republics of Central Asia and other neighbouring countries. This is despite the fact that Russia is well aware of the results of exploitation of and aggression against other nations. On the one hand, with the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States and by using its position in this union, the Russian Federation was tying to hold its oppressive monopolistic control over all economic resources of the member state and, on the other hand, by instilling fear of "threats and attacks" from neighbouring countries was trying to force the countries of Central Asia to join the Russian Federation in a joint defence and security treaty to pave the way for the deployment of the Russian red army in the region.

In this way the Russians for a while managed to usurp the enormous economic resources such as oil, gas, cotton, and precious mines of Central Asia and of the other member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and prevented free economic ties between these countries and the rest of the world. The Russians were also able to deploy more than 25,000 of its soldiers on the border between Tajikistan and our country, Afghanistan, and to impose the huge burden of the upkeep of these forces on the government of [Tajik President] Emomali Rakhmanov under the pretext that the above mentioned forces are defending the territorial integrity of Tajikistan.

The Russian Federation was planning that through the deployment of its forces in the southern regions of Tajikistan it would control and keep under its military influence the Governments of Tajikistan and the other neighbouring countries and to deprive them of their relations with the outside world. In addition, it was also aiming to build a logistic and military centre for its agents in the northeast of Afghanistan in order to be able to prolong the flames of war in a part of Afghanistan for a long time to come, and as a result deprive the mojahed Afghan nation of the opportunity to breathe a sigh of relief and of setting up a strong central government, which would demand war reparations from the Russian Federation - this cunning heir to the former Soviet Union.

In accordance with a comprehensive analysis, the Russians implemented the above-mentioned plans one after another and were hoping that one day Central Asia with its unprecedented natural wealth would become part of the Russian Federation. But fortunately, it should be mentioned with much pride that as a result of the blessings of the righteous jihad of our mojahed nation the spirit of freedom has reached the absolute majority of the oppressed nations of the world who one after another, by organizing national and popular uprisings, overthrew their alien and puppet regimes and took control of their own destiny.

However, after the establishment of independent governments in Central Asia, the Russians, by distorting facts and realities, managed to somehow keep control over and exploit the independent countries of Central Asia. But, thanks to God, finally this colonialist plot and conspiracy of Russia's in Central Asia has been exposed, and after Turkmenistan now the patriotic nation of Uzbekistan too, by realizing the facts and recognizing their true interests, has risen against the aggressive desires of Russia and has hoisted the banner of independence in a true manner.

Although by waging false propaganda concerning the threat and danger of terrorism, aggression, and trafficking of narcotic substances, the Russians for a while managed to keep the independent Republic of Uzbekistan from consolidating relations with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which has historic, religious, cultural, economic, ethnic, and linguistic ties with the freedom-loving people of Uzbekistan. However, the passage of time made the wise rulers of Uzbekistan fully aware of the fact that the neighbouring and fraternal nations of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan have been friends throughout history and it was the enemies, headed by the former Soviet Union and now by the Russian federation, who are trying to portray the situation in the region as dangerous in order to fulfil their interests.

It was in the light of this realism and sense of differentiating between friend and foe, that the leadership of Uzbekistan has recently responded positively to the friendly and fraternal requests of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to follow the path to talks and understanding, conciliation and friendship with its Afghan brothers in order to strengthen relations with a well meaning neighbour and regional friend and with the hope of surviving the conspiracies and exploitation of Russia.

The fact that the Republic of Uzbekistan has announced that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan does not pose any danger to Uzbekistan or the fact that the Government of Uzbekistan has refrained from joining the so-called joint treaty of security and defence in Central Asia with the Russians and instead is trying to establish independent economic relations with the Republic of Ukraine - which is also fed up with Russia's sinister aims and interference - and finally the fact that Mr Islam Karimov has announced that Uzbekistan will consider recognizing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, all in all are reasons and evidence that the Muslim and independent countries of Central Asia have now realized the existing realities in the region, know their friend from enemy, and really want to be free and independent, live with pride and no longer fall in the trap of deception of the aggressive Russians, who for more than a century have used and exploited the Muslims of Central Asia. It is hoped that following the footsteps of the independent Republic of Uzbekistan, the other neighbouring countries such as Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan will realize the facts as soon as possible and by expelling Russia from the region will achieve a free and independent life, bring true stability and peace to the region of Central Asia and South Asia, and in this way serve their nations. (Afghan Taleban weekly newspaper 'Shari'at', October 21)

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