From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Thu Oct 19 2000 - 11:35:29 EDT
TAJIK ISLAMIC OPPOSITION CALLS FOR PEACE TALKS IN
AFGHANISTAN
Tajikistan's Islamic Renaissance Party
has issued a statement calling on the Taliban and the government
of Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani to embark on
negotiations aimed at ending the Afghan civil war, Asia Plus-
Blitz reported on 19 October. The statement says that only a
broad-based government in which all the country's ethnic
groups are represented can end the conflict and bring peace.
Meanwhile, Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdul-Aziz Kamilov told
journalists in Tashkent on 18 October that Uzbekistan "will
do its best" to promote the start of a peace process in
Afghanistan and is ready to cooperate with those authorities
in that country that come to power legally, Interfax
reported. He again said that Tashkent has established
contacts with the Taliban, adding that "our meetings with the Taliban have been
held between border guard commissars as well as at the
ambassadorial level." Kamilov said the Uzbek authorities are
prepared to comply with a Taliban request to open a border
bridge across the Amu-Darya River "provided that peace and
stability are ensured" and that there is no longer any threat
to Uzbekistan's security from "terrorists" who have taken
refuge in Afghanistan. Guerrillas from the banned Islamic
Movement of Uzbekistan, which has vowed to overthrow the
Uzbek leadership, are believed to operate from bases in
northern Afghanistan. LF
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