From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Thu Oct 05 2000 - 11:51:28 EDT
UZBEKISTAN MINES BORDER WITH TAJIKISTAN
Newly appointed Uzbek Defense Minister Kadyr Gulomov said in Tashkent on 4
October that Uzbekistan has begun mining part of its border
with Tajikistan to prevent further incursions by Islamic
Movement of Uzbekistan militants, ITAR-TASS reported. The
previous day, Uzbekistan's National Security Minister
Mirakbar Rakhmonkulov presented Gulomov, who is a physicist
and former academician, to the Uzbek leadership and assessed
the ongoing reform of the country's armed forces.
Rakhmonkulov explained that operative command functions are
the prerogative of the new Combined Armed Forces Staff which
comprises Defense Ministry, Interior Ministry, and border
guard personnel. That force will also draft a national
military strategy and be responsible for developing the armed
forces. The Defense Ministry will be "an executive branch in
charge of subordinate troops" and will liase between its own
troops and the parliament, local authorities, and public
organizations, Rakhmonkulov said. LF
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