From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Thu Oct 19 2000 - 11:29:25 EDT
KAZAKHSTAN STOPS RAIL TRANSIT FROM TAJIKISTAN
The head of Kazakhstan's state railway company issued a statement in
Almaty on 18 October saying that, at Moscow's request,
Kazakhstan has halted rail transit traffic from Tajikistan
across Kazakhstan to the Russian Federation, Reuters
reported. That move is intended to counter illegal
immigration and drug smuggling, the statement said. It added
that Tajik trains are dirty, overloaded, and a fire hazard
and that Tajikistan owes Kazakh railways some $1.6 million in
transit fees. Mahmudjon Nuraliev, who is deputy chairman of
Tajik railways, told Asia Plus-Blitz on 19 October that the
Kazakh ban has left 810 Tajiks stranded in Russia. LF
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