From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Thu Aug 31 2000 - 10:02:12 EDT
Uzbek leader calls for jont efforts to remove security threats to Central
Asia
The Uzbek president has called for joint efforts to remove security threats
to the Central Asian region. Speaking to journalists at the ceremony of
opening a section of the Tashkent-Andizhan-Osh-Kashgar road at the Kamchik
pass, Islam Karimov said international forces with "big money" were behind
the recent outbreak of violence on Uzbek and Kyrgyz borders. He also said
the Tajik authorities should stop denying that their territory was being
used by militants to get training and cross to Uzbekistan. Karimov also
said the new road was important from the security point of view as it would
help stop militants from infiltrating the country. The following are
excerpts from a special Uzbek TV programme on 29th August:
[Presenter] Respected television viewers, the ceremony of opening the
Kamchik and Rezak tunnels, which are the main connecting part of the
Tashkent-Andizhan-Osh-Kashgar road, took place today. Here is our report on
the ceremony.
[Passage omitted: over video of a mountain pass, tunnels, President Karimov
coming out of a helicopter, talking to officials, shaking hands with
participants; correspondent on the history of the Kamchik pass, which
connects the capital, Tashkent, with the most densely populated Fergana
Valley]
[Correspondent] Foreign and Uzbek journalists were impressed with the
opening ceremony of the Kamchik and Rezak tunnels. President Islam Karimov
answered many questions from journalists.
[Passage omitted: Karimov thanks builders, highlights the significance of
the route for Uzbekistan, says that the old route from Tashkent to the
Fergana Valley was going through Tajik Soghd (former Leninobod) Region;
highlights the international importance of the route which leads to China
through southern Kyrgyzstan]
[Karimov in Uzbek] This route is very important for Uzbekistan from the
security point of view. We can talk about this. People understand this.
Those who want to understand will understand it, and those who do not want
to understand, they will not [chuckles].
I want to say that there are certain rats gawking at and attempting to cross
our borders. Their patrons - rascals with ill intentions and and big money
and their international centres - want to turn Uzbekistan into an area
under their influence. Many events show this. For example, take the events
taking place in Saryassiya [District in southern Surkhandarya Region] and
in mountainous areas in Tashkent Region. We have many new opportunities to
destroy them [militants] in mountainous areas of Tashkent Region. It
[presumably an operation] started yesterday and is continuing today. No
doubt that they will bite the dust very soon.
This route plays a great role in putting obstacles in the way of the
rascals, rats and poisonous snakes attempting to penetrate into our
country, in sealing our borders. It will be a kind of a fortress against
any mean forces, which are easily entering the valley from outside, and
will serve to strengthen our borders. This route plays a great role from
the security point of view, too. We should never forget about this.
[Passage omitted: Karimov more on the significance of the road in general,
thanks builders; a Reuters reporter asks how the construction of the Kyrgyz
section of the road is going; Karimov says the road is being built under an
agreement signed two years ago between Uzbekistan, China and Kyrgyzstan to
build a road linking the three countries; the hostage crisis in Kyrgyz
Batken Region last year forced to stop the construction work for security
reasons; a similar crisis took place a year later, now, and the work cannot
be carried out as planned]
[Unidentified correspondent] How do you assess the security of Uzbekistan's
borders? Do you think that this year's events are more serious than those
last year?
[Karimov in Russian] [Passage omitted: recalls the Batken events in
Kyrgyzstan in 1999]
Their [militants'] bases are located in mountainous areas in eastern
Tajikistan - these are the Tavildara, Jirgatol, Hoit, Gharm and Qarotegin
areas. The Mastchoh area, called old Mastchoh, has now been added to those.
However, Tajikistan's leaders deny this. I repeat again that we have a
large amount of evidence. If they continue to say that they do not know
where they [militants] have crossed from, we will be forced to publish
testimonies of prisoners, the testimonies of the bandits taken prisoner
both by us and the Kyrgyz and the Tajik themselves. The evidence will be
made public and then I do not know what other reasons or grounds will they
find to say that Tajikistan, or Tajikistan's leadership, or Tajik territory
have nothing to do with this. But this is not serious. This the assessment
of the events happening this year.
I must say that impunity always brings the consequences we see today. I will
reiterate that impunity always leads to the most grievous results. I mean
the ransoms these bandits have received, I will not specify how much, you
know very well about this. This has given them the opportunity to build up
their forces once again, buy new weapons and train new bandits with
vigorous backing from international extremist centres, camps and bases in
Afghanistan and Pakistan.
I met, Mr [Gen Pervez] Musharraf, the Pakistani leader [Chief Executive] at
the ECO [Economic Cooperation Organization] member countries summit in
Teheran, quite recently, about two months ago. I handed him the addresses
of all the camps for training bandits, saboteurs and terrorists not only in
Afghanistan, not only around Kabul or Mazar-e Sharif, so to speak, in the
north, but also on the territory of Pakistan itself - the Peshawar area in
the north of Pakistan, the Karachi area and so on. We know about these
bases, they had been put on a map and I personally handed over the list of
these bases and camps to Mr Musharraf in the presence of his foreign
minister. He promised to look into all these incidents and take relevant
measures, as it were.
I will not tell you about our talks, I will not say what we agreed on. But,
answering this question, I want to say that in the person of Mr Musharraf I
see a man who is seeking to bring order in his country, a man who sincerely
wants to put an end to that chaos in Afghanistan, a man who wants to
establish normal, I would say, friendly relations with the Central Asian
countries, including Uzbekistan. I want your newspapers or radio stations
tell about my attitude to this man. I hope that all his plans will be
realized. However, I understand quite well what powerful forces are there
in Islamabad and what powerful forces are setting the tone there today. We
know this. But at the same time I must admit that Mr Musharraf is trying do
something, he is striving and we can see this.
I must say that we have been carrying out all this preparatory work for a
year. I am reiterating, such work is being carried out both on the
Uzbek-Tajik and the Tajik-Kyrgyz borders. Thus we have enough evidence,
including radio interceptions. We are analysing other data as well as
information from prisoners.
[Passage omitted: evidence shows that the attacks were made from Tajik
territory; prisoners say they were trained in Tajikistan]
What other evidence the Tajik leadership needs to start paying attention and
acknowledge that not the whole of Tajik territory is controlled by
government troops? Such acknowledgement, I think, would give us the
opportunity to neutralize these forces. But it [Tajikistan] has stubbornly
tried to deny that these forces have been trained on Tajik territory - what
is more, they were helped and were escorted by Kamaz lorries. These
incidents are well known and attempts to deny them, I reiterate, sound
unconvincing and this will do no good. This danger must be eliminated
jointly by all those who are interested in putting an end to this
aggression and incursion by gang formations.
[Passage to end omitted: Karimov says he is sorry for those soldiers who
died during the clashes; under the CIS security treaty help is provided
following a member country's appeal for such; the road is important for
Uzbek-Chinese cooperation; the tunnels are of international importance;
about newly constructed sites during the nine years of independence;
correspondent on historic significance of the route]
Source: Uzbek Television first channel, Tashkent, in Uzbek 1610 gmt 29 Aug
00
BBC Mon CAU 300800/** bb/ka/am
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