| June 12-June 19, 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Second Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan gas pipeline to commence operation
| |
|  second Uzbekistan-
Kazakhstan gas pipeline 1,324 kilometers long was commissioned on
Wednesday. Its construction took over nine years.
The last seam along the pipeline was welded near Almaty on Tuesday.
The capacity of the new pipeline is twice that of the old one.
The second line will keep Kazakh cities reliably supplied in
winter, Krim Abdyrrazak, director general of Intergas-Central Asia, a
subsidiary of the Belgian Tractebel, told Interfax on Tuesday. It will
also supply fuel to Almaty's 'TETs-1' heating and power plant, which
"will significantly improve the ecology" of the city, he said.
The new pipeline can also be used as a gas reservoir, Abdyrrazak
said, noting that its storage capabilities are sufficient to keep Almaty
supplied for 36 hours.
|
|
Russia seeks equal, mutually-beneficial ties with Uzbekistan
| |
|  ussian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said: "We had intensive and active talks. Russia is
interested in development of relations with Uzbekistan on an equal and
mutually-advantageous basis."
Speaking at a press conference after his talks with Uzbek Foreign Minister
Abdulaziz Kamilov on Saturday, Ivanov said "we are interested in the practical
implementation of the principles of strategic partnership. This is in the interests of
our two countries, the CIS and regional stability."
Ivanov and Kamilov discussed bilateral relations and international issues, including
the situation in Afghanistan and Kosovo.
At the first, the ministers met for a one-to-one talk and then they were joined by
delegations.
The two sides signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field
of information, a programme of cultural exchanges and a programme of relations
between the foreign ministries of Russia and Uzbekistan.
Kamilov is in Moscow on a working visit. The Uzbek Foreign Ministry said the
two sides had a "very frank and useful conversation. The signed documents will
strengthen the legal basis of bilateral relations. The most important thing now is
implement them."
One of the key issues discussed at the talks was Afghanistan. Kamilov said
practically all Afghan parties have accepted the proposal to hold a meeting of the
"six plus two" group in Tashkent.
"This question is now being discussed both at a multilateral and bilateral basis
between Uzbekistan and members of the group," the minister said.
"There are plans to invite representatives of the two main warring factions -- the
United Islamic Front led by Ahmad Shah Masood and the Taleban movement," he
added.
Kamilov expressed satisfaction with the fact that Uzbekistan's proposals for
Afghanistan have been supported by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
"We have agreed to continue active cooperation these days, not only on
Afghanistan, but also on regional problems in general," he said.
|
|
Uzbekistan says copper privatisation not cancelled
| |
|  zbekistan said on Wednesday that the
privatisation of a major copper plant had not been cancelled despite suggestions
last week that the key sale had failed.
"The tender has not been cancelled," said Abdulla Abdukadyrov, first deputy
chairman of the State Privatisation Committee. "The deadline for tender
proposals has just ended," he told Reuters.
Abdukadyrov clarified his earlier comments, saying that they had been
misinterpreted. He said last week:
"Prices of copper and gold are falling, people are not interested in investing in
such projects."
The sale of a 46.5 percent stake in the Almalyk metals plant, which produces
mainly copper and zinc, was originally forecast to raise $478 million, money the
impoverished Central Asian state desperately needs.
It was also seen as the backbone of Uzbekistan's privatisation programme,
involving 269 more projects to be offered to foreign investors by 2001.
Abdukadyrov said last week that these sales may also have to be put back.
The Almalyk sale has been put off three times already, reflecting the slump in
base metal prices and low interest among investors for emerging market risk,
Western economists in the former Soviet republic said.
Abdukadyrov said on Wednesday that in spite of the confusion over the sale,
companies had made offers.
"At the moment the tender commission is looking at the proposals received from
separate investors," he said. "As is expected, the results of the tender should be
announced at the beginning of autumn."
He said that the tender commission had been given greater powers to allow it to
lower the starting prices for state selloffs in order to speed up the process.
"This year the bureau for case-by-case privatisation plans to announce tenders
for 11 major enterprises, including companies in the telecommunications, gold,
base metals and chemicals sectors," Abdukadyrov said.
Last year the Almalyk metals plant produced around 90,000 tonnes of refined
copper and 52,000 tonnes of zinc.
|
|
Terrorists' trial resumes before Uzbek Supreme Court
| |
|  he Supreme Court of Uzbekistan on
Wednesday resumed the trial of 22 militants accused of committing a terrorist
act in Tashkent on February 16.
As a result of the terrorist act, 16 people were killed and more than 100 injured.
The militants also have been accused of another 12 murders.
Prosecutors have demanded that 10 defendants be given death sentences, four
imprisoned for 20 years, another four for 18 years, and the remaining four for 14
years.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court began hearing speeches by the defendants'
20 lawyers.
|
|
Uzbek prosecutor seeks death sentence for 10
| |
| n Uzbek state prosecutor on Wednesday
demanded the death penalty for 10 of 22 men on trial for alleged involvement in
a series of bomb attacks on February 16 in the capital Tashkent which killed at
least 16 people.
President Islam Karimov, who narrowly escaped one of the blasts, declared that
the attacks were an attempt by religious fanatics to assassinate him.
State prosecutor Bakhodyr Zakhidov, addressing the Supreme Court where the
suspects sat in two metal cages, said the remaining suspects should be charged
with prison sentences ranging from 14 to 20 years.
The sentences are the toughest yet called for by an Uzbek court in a series of
show trials which began last year, and reflect the authorities' concern over the
threat to internal stability posed by the powerful explosions.
They came as a nasty shock to Karimov, who has ruled the impoverished desert
state of 24 million people since Soviet times and who has taken pride in his
country's relative political stability in a region which also includes turbulent
Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
He has promised to deal ruthlessly with the culprits and to crack down on
extremist Islamic activity in general.
Among the suspects, all Uzbek citizens aged between 23 and 43, Mukhammad
Abdurakhmanov, 31, was accused by Zakhidov of preparing the explosive
devices. Zakir Khasanov, also 31, was accused of leaving a bomb outside the
Interior Ministry hidden in a car.
Zakhidov told the court Kazym Zakirov, 43, was allegedly among the organisers
of the group which carried out the attacks, in which more than 120 people were
injured.
He also said some of the defendants were involved in a series of murders carried
out between 1992 and 1997 in the densely populated Fergana region in eastern
Uzbekistan.
The authorities suspect that the Fergana Valley killings, while not directly linked
with the Tashkent bombings, are part of a wider plot by hardline Islamic militants
to sow internal chaos and even overthrow the government.
The defendants have yet to be given an opportunity to answer the charges
leveled against them.
The death sentences, if confirmed by the Supreme Court, would be the first in
the Central Asian state since last June, when a 31-year-old man was condemned
to death for his part in the Fergana killings, which he said were religiously
motivated.
Karimov has embraced Islam as the state religion since independence from
Moscow in 1991, but is increasingly uncomfortable at the sight of people
streaming to the mosques.
He has accused Tajikistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Russia's breakaway region
of Chechnya of training Islamic extremists for attacks on Uzbekistan. They deny
the charges.
Western diplomats and human rights groups in Tashkent do not dismiss his fears
outright, but say the leadership has used the danger of a religious uprising to
justify a clean-up operation aimed mainly at religious groups but which also goes
much wider.
|
|
Kyrgyz Premier's visit to Uzbekistan postponed
| |
| visit to
Tashkent by Amangeldy Muraliev scheduled for 12 June has been
postponed indefinitely, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported on
12 June. No explanation has been given for the postponement.
| E-mail me on: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||