Uzbek head calls for proof of Uzbek warlord's death in Afghanistan


Uzbek Radio
December 6

Uzbek President Islam Karimov has called for proof that the Uzbek Islamic opposition leader said to have been killed in Afghanistan fighting for the Taleban, Juma Namangoniy, is dead and buried. Speaking to reporters during an interval in the Uzbek parliament sitting on 6 December, Karimov said:

"Juma Namangoniy is, of course, not a figure like [Usamah] Bin-Laden, around whom the entire world has been turning: where, in what lair is he hiding, is he there or where is he going to move tomorrow... I want to say that, really, on the very first day some people tried to notify us that - you remember when one of Bin-Laden's aides was killed, I do not remember his name - Namangoniy happened to be sitting next to him, and allegedly he was also killed, at the same time.

"But there is neither documentary nor visual evidence of that. Therefore, if you ask me whether I believe he is dead or not, I will say: I do not believe it. Hence the conclusions which should be drawn. Until we are sure that he is really buried somewhere we will not believe it is a fact."

Namangoniy was sentenced to death for his alleged part in terrorist attacks in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, in 1998.