| November 13-November 20, 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Uzbek pop singer Laylo's murderers are Al-Vakil soloists
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|  court in the Uzbek capital has sentenced two citizens of Uzbekistan to
death for murdering a singer and her three-year-old son. The famous pop singer and rising star, Laylo Aliyeva, "loved to buy expensive clothes and especially jewellry and never thought that her expensive gold and diamond
jewellry might be the cause of her death," says an article in a newspaper. Two young men, named as Arsen Arutyunyan, born in 1979, and Danis Sirojev, born in 1975, who were singers in a popular group, killed Aliyeva then removed her jewels worth around 20,000 dollars and ran off. "One can not believe that she was mercilessly murdered by soloists of the Al-vakil pop-group where she was a singer," the report says. As a result of measures taken by the police, the killers were detained in Moscow. Others who knew about the crime but did not tell the law enforcement agencies were punished "accordingly", it added. Laylo was murdered in May 1998.
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U.S. citizens warned to be careful in Uzbekistan
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|  he U.S. State Department Wednesday urged U.S.
citizens traveling or living in Uzbekistan to exercise caution and keep a low profile
after gunmen killed six people in two separate attacks Monday.
"Uzbek authorities have alleged the men were linked to the Islamic Movement of
Uzbekistan that recently held four Japanese citizens and many Kyrgyz hostages in
the neighboring Kyrgyz Republic," the department said in a public announcement.
Uzbek authorities were increasing security with extra police, it said. Heightened
security was likely to continue at least through the Dec. 5 parliamentary elections
and the Jan. 9 presidential elections, the State Department added.
"American citizens should expect a greater police presence and delays when
traveling," it said.
"Americans traveling or residing in Uzbekistan are urged to review their security
practices, keep a low profile, vary routes and times for all required travel and
contact the U.S. Embassy for updates on security developments," it said.
Monday's attack was the most serious security crisis in the former Soviet republic
of 24 million since a wave of bomb blasts rocked Tashkent in February killing 16
and narrowly missing President Islam Karimov. (Washington, Reuters)
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Uzbek President criticises OSCE work ahead of summit
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|  zbek President Islam Karimov on Wednesday criticised some of the work done by the
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Evaluating the organisation's work before flying to Istanbul for an OSCE summit opening on Thursday, Karimov said "the
documents signed in Helsinki cover four fundamental areas: security, humanitarian issues, the economy and the environment. But
what do we have today? Unfortunately, in its main activities the OSCE focuses only on the establishment of democracy, on the
protection of human rights and the freedom of the press. I am now questioning the importance of these issues".
"When I meet the OSCE leader from time to time, I tell him, We do not have to report to you or try to please you. And I stress that
the notions of democracy and human rights are vast. They cover spirituality and national heritage," he said. (November 17, Itar-Tass)President Islam Karimov's Statement at the OSCE Summit in Istanbul
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Uzbekistan's population exceeds 24 million
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| he population of Uzbekistan is already more than 24.1m, and
makes up more than 50 per cent of the population of Central
Asia, according to the Uzbek newspaper 'Ozbekiston Ovozi'.
Although the birth-rate has fallen slightly in the last 10
years, the mortality rate is decreasing, and experts predict
that the population may reach 28m by 2011. The following are
excerpts from the report entitled "The population in Uzbekistan
has exceeded 24m", published on 9th November.
The world population is growing from day to day, from year
to year [passage omitted: the world population will allegedly
reach nearly 10bn by the year 2050].
Well, what is the situation in Uzbekistan in this sense?
According to the UN population fund, in 1997 the country's
population numbered 23.7m (today it is more than 24.1m), making
up 50 per cent of the 55.3m population of Central Asia. This
shows that Uzbekistan is sharply different from other
neighbouring republics for its favourable climate, geographical
location, economic development and demographical opportunities.
It should be noted that in recent times Uzbekistan, like
other developed counties, has lived through a period of
population growth. Back in the 70s, there were 40 babies per
1,000 people. Since the country gained independence, much
attention has been paid to the health of mothers and their
children. Specialists carried out large-scale educational
campaigns among the population. The priority was for healthy
mothers to give birth to healthy babies. According to analysis,
as a result of measures during the last 10 years, the
birth-rate has slightly fallen both in urban areas and in the
countryside. In the 1990s, there were 700,000 babies yearly,
while at present there are 500,000 babies, contributing to a
population of 25m.
But population growth is different in different areas of
the republic. Thus, in 1990-98 the annual population growth was
0.9 per cent in Tashkent Region, 1.4 per cent in Navoi, 3.2 per
cent in Surkhandarya, 2.9 per cent in Kashkadarya, and 2.6 per
cent in the Namangan and Khorezm oases.
Most significantly, during the past seven to eight years
the mortality rate also fell slightly. In particular, there
were 140,000 deaths annually because of various diseases, old
age and other causes, while at present this figure is lower.
This relates also to children's mortality.
It should also be noted that specialists, observing a
lower death-rate, a high birth-rate and a sharp decrease in
population emigration to neighbouring countries compared to
other republics, suggest that in the year 2011 the country's
population may reach 28m.
Well, is it good or bad for society that the population is
growing yearly? One should note that at present, when there are
wars between various states, hunger and poverty, the birth of a
new person is no longer a joy. The fact that our country has
entered a stage of economic development and that our people are
confident in the future, guarantees the continuation of our
people.
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Ten die in clashes with gunmen near Tashkent
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|  unmen killed three forest workers and three policemen in two separate
attacks late on Monday, a government minister said on Tuesday.
Uzbek Interior Minister Zakirdzhon Almatov told reporters in the holiday resort town of Yangiyabad, about 75 km (50 miles)
east of the capital, that four rebels also died in the ensuing battle with security forces.
"The group of fighters consisted of between 10 and 12, maybe 14 people, and at the moment they are hiding, probably in
abandoned mines in the mountains," Almatov said, adding a search for them was underway.
The attack is the most serious security crisis in the former Soviet republic of 24 million since a wave of bomb blasts rocked
Tashkent in February killing 16 and narrowly missing President Islam Karimov.
Karimov says the blasts were an attempt to assassinate him, blaming extremists in the banned Islamic opposition movement.
Almatov said the gunmen involved in the latest attack were part of a radical Islamic group which crossed into neighbouring
Kyrgyzstan in early August from bases in northern Tajikistan.
"This is the action of those armed groups which invaded the territory of Kyrgyzstan in August," he said, referring to a small
number of gunmen who had briefly held Kyrgyz and Japanese hostages earlier this year. The hostages were freed in October.
Uzbek authorities believe the gunmen crossed into Uzbekistan, where they are hiding.
Karimov supports a theory popular in Moscow that the former Soviet empire's entire southern flank, including Central Asia and
the Caucasus, is vulnerable to attacks from religious extremists, branded as international terrorists.
Regional leaders have placed part of the blame on Afghanistan's ruling Taleban movement, which they say is providing training
facilities for fanatics bent on destabilising the region. (November 16, Reuters)
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Russia Vice-Premier Shcherbak visits Uzbekistan
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| governmental delegation of the Russian
Federation headed by Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Scherbak took part in a
session of the joint Uzbek-Russian commission on multilateral cooperation
held in Tashkent, the Uzbek capital on November 18. The two sides signed two papers: a
protocol of the session of the intergovernmental commission on economic
cooperation between Russia and the Republic of Uzbekistan and an agreement
between the governments of Uzbekistan and Russia on cooperation in the
field of governmental communications.
Prior to the session, participants in the coordinating council on the
implementation of the programme of economic cooperation between Uzbekistan
and Russia for 1998-2000 discussed 12 issues included on its agenda.
According to Scherbak, "an agreement was reached on the absolute majority
of the issues discussed and concrete measures for further cooperation were
determined.
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