| May 29-June 5, 1999 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Uzbekistan starts trial of bomb suspects
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|  wenty-two men went on trial in Uzbekistan on
Wednesday on charges of taking part in bomb attacks that killed at least 16 people
and which President Islam Karimov said was an attempt to assassinate him.
More than 120 others were hurt in the blasts in the capital Tashkent in February
which dented the poor, mostly desert state's reputation for stability in volatile
Central Asia.
Karimov, formerly Uzbekistan's Communist Party boss, narrowly escaped one of
the blasts as he drove to the government building. He blamed the bombings on
Islamic extremists.
"They (the accused) gathered fanatics around them and tried to overthrow a
legitimate government and establish an Islamic state," prosecutor Norboy Boboyev
told a courtroom packed with relatives of the dead, police, diplomats and reporters.
The defendants, aged between 23 and 43, looked on impassively from two heavily
guarded alumininium cages as senior judge Abdusamat Palvan-zade listed the
allegations.
He said the men, all Uzbeks, committed murder, violated the constitutional order,
engaged in terrorism, destroyed property, smuggled and illegally possessed
weapons and explosive devices.
It was unclear what sentences the men would receive if found guilty. But the
Uzbek authorities, who rule with a firm grip, have vowed to deal ruthlessly with
anyone involved in the attacks and signalled their hands could be cut off.
Wednesday's trial is expected to be followed by several more as security forces
round up suspects in Uzbekistan and abroad. Critics fear they will be little more
than show trials.
Prosecutors told the court that people involved in the alleged plot had fled to
neighbouring Tajikistan and Afghanistan, as well as to Turkey, Iran and Pakistan.
They read out a detailed account of what they said was a coordinated attempt to
topple Karimov and his government. The report took nearly three hours to read.
"What they are presenting is a monolithic threat which implicates foreign
countries," a Western observer told Reuters.
Karimov has embraced Islam as the state religion but is wary as people stream to
mosques in the country of about 24 million.
He has accused Tajikistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Russia's breakaway region
of Chechnya of training fanatics for attacks in Uzbekistan to create chaos. All
deny the charges.
Diplomats do not dismiss Karimov's fears outright, but say the leadership has used
the threat of a religious uprising to justify a clean-up operation aimed mainly at
religious groups.
"Recent events follow the pattern documented for the last year of arbitrary and
discriminatory arrests of people, usually on the basis of fabricated evidence," said
Acacia Shields of Human Rights Watch, who was at the trial.
"Our main concerns for this trial hold for the judiciary process in general - denial
of the presumption of innocence, the use of torture and the denial of access to an
attorney."
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Kazakh and Uzbek premiers discuss disputed border, gas sales
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|  isiting Tashkent on 27-28 May, Kazakhstan's Prime Minister
Nurlan Balghymbaev met with his Uzbek counterpart, Utkir
Sultanov, to discuss deliveries of Uzbek gas to southern
Kazakhstan and the border between the two countries, RFE/RL's
Kazakh service reported. Kazakh Foreign Minister Qasymzhomart
Toqaev told RFE/RL correspondents several days earlier that
the border demarcation issue is one of the most complicated
questions in relations between Astana and Tashkent. Minimal
progress was made toward resolving those issues. Tashkent
rejected Kazakhstan's request to buy Uzbek natural gas for
$30 per thousand cubic meters. Balghymbaev also attended a
session of the Kazakh-Uzbek inter-governmental commission and
met with Uzbek President Islam Karimov, according to ITAR-
TASS.
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Taliban still undecided on Tashkent meeting
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| he leadership of the Afghan Taliban
movement has not yet given consent to participation in a Tashkent meeting of
representatives of the countries of the "six plus two" group, Uzbek Foreign
Minister Abdulazis Kamilov has told Itar-Tass here in an exclusive interview at the
close of his two-day visit to Pakistan.
Kamilov held talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Pakistani
counterpart Sartaj Aziz. The talks focused on the problems of bringing about a
peaceful settlement of the Afghan situation and, in particular, on the determination
of conditions and time-frame for the Tashkent meeting. With this end in view,
Kamilov also visited the Afghan city of Qandahar, the headquarters of Taliban
forces.
The Uzbek Minister said Mullah Omar, Taliban's spiritual leader, "has not yet
made a final decision" whether the present Kabul regime will send its delegates to
Tashkent. Additional consultations with Taliban will be needed to fix the matter.
Nevertheless, Kamilov expressed hope that a meeting of the Group at the level of
deputy Foreign ministers of six countries, which neighbour on Afghanistan, as well
as of Russia and the United States would be held at the end of this month and
early in July with the participation of both Taliban represenatives and their
adversaries from the Northern Alliance.
It was earlier reported that the Afghan warrring groups had accepted the proposal,
made by international mediators who act under U.N. auspices, to attend the
Tashkent meeting without pre-conditions.
The Uzbek Minister emphasised that Uzbekistan "continuously and closely"
coordinates its efforts with Russia within the framework of the "six plus two"
group.
Bilateral consultations are to be continued in Moscow, where Kamilov is to meet
with his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov on June 7.
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Uzbek FM arrives in Islamabad for talks on Afghan issue
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|  oreign Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz
Kamilov arrived here Monday on a two-day visit for talks on the long-running
Afghan issue.
Kamilov will hold official talks with his Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz on
bilateral issues, focusing on the Afghan turmoil.
Kamilov is also expected to have a meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,
sources from the Foreign Office said.
The Uzbek foreign minister Tuesday will travel to Kandahar, the headquarters of
the Afghan Taliban militia, to hold talks with Taliban supreme leader Mulla M.
Omar and other senior Taliban leaders on the Afghan crisis.
The forthcoming deputy foreign minister-level conference of the "Six Plus Two"
group (Afghanistan's six immediate neighbors plus Russia and the United States)
in Tashkent, the Uzbek capital, will prominently figure in Omar-Kamilov talks.
The warring Afghan factions would also attend the "Six Plus Two" conference
under a decision taken in the group's recent meeting in New York. The group
comprises Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China plus Russia
and the Untied States.
Kamilov will be the second foreign minister from a Central Asian republic to visit
the Taliban's stronghold in three months. Turkmenistan's Foreign Minister Sheikh
Boris Muradov visited Kandahar twice before and after the peace talks between
the Taliban and the opposition Northern Alliance in Ashgabat in March this year.
Being members of the "Six Plus Two" group, Pakistan and Uzbekistan have been
deeply involved in the peaceful settlement of the Afghan problem. There had been
frequent ministerial-level visits in the recent past.
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Uzbekistan welcomes talks among Afghan factions
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| oreign Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz
Kamilov said in Islamabad Monday that his country welcomes talks among the Afghan
warring factions.
Both Pakistan and Uzbekistan have been cooperating in efforts to bring back
peace in Afghanistan, said Kamilov, adding that "peace in the region is in the
interest of all Afghanistan's neighbors."
Kamilov made these remarks upon his arrival here on a two-day visit.
Talking to reporters at the airport, the Uzbek foreign minister said that during his
stay here he will have separate talks with his Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz,
particularly on the Afghan issue.
Kamilov also said that he will deliver a special message of Uzbek President Islam
Karimov for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
To a question, Kamilov said that during his talks with the Taliban leadership he
would urge them to attend the proposed "Six Plus Two" group meeting.
"Six Plus Two," which groups Afghanistan's six immediate neighbors plus Russia
and the United States, has a role to play in restoring peace in Afghanistan, said the
foreign minister.
Kamilov on Tuesday will travel to Kandahar, the headquarters of the Afghan
Taliban militia, to hold talks with Taliban supreme leader Mulla M. Omar and other
senior Taliban leaders on the Afghan crisis.
The forthcoming deputy foreign minister-level conference of the "Six Plus Two"
group in Tashkent, the Uzbek capital, will prominently figure in Omar-Kamilov
talks.
The warring Afghan factions are also expected to attend the "Six Plus Two"
conference under a decision taken in the group's recent meeting in New York.
Kamilov will be the second foreign minister from a Central Asian republic to visit
the Taliban's stronghold in three months. Turkmenistan's Foreign Minister Sheikh
Boris Muradov visited Kandahar twice before and after the peace talks between
the Taliban and the opposition Northern Alliance in Ashgabat in March this year.
Being members of the "Six Plus Two" group, Pakistan and Uzbekistan have been
deeply involved in the peaceful settlement of the Afghan problem. There had been
frequent ministerial-level visits in the recent past.
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EBRD President meets with President Karimov
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|  orst Kohler, President of EBRD, was in Tashkent to meet President Islam Karimov Monday. Relations between Uzbekistan and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are based on a "Cooperation Strategy" renewed every two years. The latest strategy for 1999-2000 was approved by the bank December 2 last year. The bank mainly carries out its operations in the development and processing of mineral and raw resources, energy, promotion of small and medium businesses, agriculture, cotton processing, banking and finance and the development of tourism infrastructure. The cost of EBRD's all projects in Uzbekistan equals to 1.2 bln. dollars.
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Pak PM calls for collective efforts to settle Afghan issue
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|  akistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
Tuesday called for collective efforts by Afghanistan's neighboring countries for the
solution to the Afghan turmoil.
Sharif made the remarks during his talks here with visiting Uzbek Foreign Minister
Abdulaziz Kamilov.
According to a Foreign Office statement, Sharif underscored the paramount
importance of the countries bordering Afghanistan to concert their efforts to
promote the Afghan peace process.
He went on to stress the need for Pakistan and Uzbekistan to work closely to
facilitate the realization of this objective, according to the statement.
The prime minister said the entire region could be transformed to one of economic
vibrant, self-sustained growth and prosperity for which it was essential that
durable peace returns to Afghanistan.
Touching upon bilateral relations, Sharif emphasized the importance of giving
substance to the "excellent relations" between Pakistan and Uzbekistan through
enhanced economic and commercial cooperation.
He said that the two countries should fully exploit the enormous potential that
exists through the establishment of oil and gas pipelines, trade routes,
communication networks as well as transport and road links.
Kamilov fully agreed with the prime minister, said the statement.
The foreign minister also handed over a letter to Sharif from Uzbek President
Islam Karimov on the Afghanistan issue.
Kamilov arrived here on Monday and left Tuesday for southern Afghan city
Kandahar, headquarters of the Taliban militia, where he is expected to discuss
with the militia the peace process in the war-torn country.
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