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| Kyrzyzstan Debates With Uzbekistan About Terrorist Bases |
| 2005-09-10 |
| From Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, an article by Gulnoza Saidazimova Bishkek [Kyrgyzstan] officials are reacting to Uzbek authorities' accusations that the Andijon uprising was planned by Islamic militants at a terrorist base in southern Kyrgyzstan. Heads of the Kyrgyz Defense Ministry and the Security Council ruled out the allegations, saying no terrorists were trained in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz Prime Minister Feliks Kulov said the porous borders with Uzbekistan must be strengthened to prevent terrorist activities in future. Acting Kyrgyz Defense Minister Ismail Isakov said on 6 September that .... "Nobody was trained by any extremist groups or instructors on the territory of Kyrgyzstan (for alleged terrorist activities) and there is no such opportunity in the country. Therefore the accusations (by Uzbek prosecutors) are baseless," Isakov said. ... On 26 August, Svetlana Ortiqova, a spokeswoman of the Uzbek prosecutor-general, told RFE/RL that a group of "criminals had training in making and using explosive devices, conducting military operations, and learned martial arts with foreign instructors in a desolate military base located in the Teke village near the Kyrgyz city of Osh in January-April 2005." Their goal, Ortiqova said, was to overthrow the constitutional order in Uzbekistan. Earlier this week, investigators of the Uzbek Prosecutor-General's Office reported the same "findings" to the Uzbek parliamentary commission. They also stated that another 60 trained and armed militants composed of Kyrgyz citizens broke into Uzbekistan "by taking two border guards hostage and directly took an active part in the acts of terror on the night from 13 to 14 May." Isakov said the military training base in Teke, which belongs to the Defense Ministry, is still functioning and no strangers are allowed there. .... Ruslan Baibolsunov, an Osh-based military analyst, said some bases may exist in the country's mountainous regions that are hard to control. But he ruled out that the Teke village was a home for the Andijon terrorists. "If they would have said it (terrorist base) was based high in mountains, let's say in Alay or Nookat, it would sound little more truthful," Baibolsunov said. "But this statement of the Uzbek prosecutor's office can only be understood as an attempt to damage Kyrgyzstan's image and undermined it authority." The Teke villagers and some Andijon protesters mentioned in Ortiqova's statement as "terrorists trained in Teke" denied accusations as well. Vyacheslav Khan of Kyrgyzstan's Security Council told RFE/RL's Uzbek Service that the Uzbek authorities complained about possible terrorist activities in the past and the two countries' investigators from the prosecutor's office visited the suspicious sites. "They went there. After examining everything they found out that there was a desolate shooting range," Khan said. "They also found out that it was based on Uzbek territory. [Uzbekistan] admitted it. Therefore we are very surprised to hear that your (Uzbek) Prosecutor-General's Office stated in your Majlis (Uzbek parliament) that terrorists were trained in southern Kyrgyzstan." .... |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |