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More Fun In The "Stans"
The fight against international terrorism has taken a bizarre turn in Central Asia. Turkmenistan's President Saparmurat Niyazov was recently at the center of a murky assassination attempt, which led to mass arrests.It may have been a real attempt, it may have been staged Now Niyazov is blaming neighboring Uzbekistan. A squad from Turkmenistan's National Security Ministry forcibly entered the Uzbek Embassy in Asgabat last week, allegedly searching for "assassins granted refuge." Top of the search list was opposition leader Boris Shikhmuradov, whom Turkmen authorities believe was the mastermind behind the assassination attempt. The Uzbek authorities in Tashkent promptly cut the communications and power to the Turkmen embassy as a warning, and moved military units toward the border. The Uzbek media is beating war drums, blaming Turkmen woes on "the dictatorship of a discredited politician, who has deprived the country's citizens of their constitutional rights and hopes for a free life." All true Editorials ominously warn that the Uzbek military is at least three times stronger than Turkmenistan, and that many ethnic Uzbeks living in Turkmenistan's border provinces are badly treated. The question is, is anyone going to do anything if the Uzbek's invade Turkmenistan other than issue a strong letter of regret? Posted by: Steve 2002-12-23 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=8729 |