HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- Sunday, January 27, 2002 3:57 PM
1) Uzbek leader chides West, defends firm rule in vote
By Dmitry Solovyov 2) Russian radar in Azerbaijan seen as response to US ABM
withdrawal #1
Uzbek leader chides West, defends firm rule in vote By Dmitry Solovyov TASHKENT, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Uzbek President Islam Karimov, voting in a referendum to extend the presidential term of office, chided the West on Sunday for demanding too much democracy too quickly in his Central Asian state. Karimov, a 63-year-old former Communist party boss, has enthusiastically embraced the U.S.-led campaign to oust the Taliban in next-door Afghanistan and allowed the deployment of at least 1,500 U.S. troops at Uzbekistan's Khanabad airbase. But hosting U.S. troops has not spared him harsh Western criticism for cracking down on the opposition and putting on hold economic reforms in his nation of 25 million. "At a certain stage of historic change in your country, you need a strong will and a certain figure," Karimov said after casting his ballot. "And you have to use some authoritarian methods at times." "Nobody should press us into moving too quickly," he said. "We must take (from the West) only what suits us, keeping in mind thousands of years of history and our national mentality." The referendum asks voters to say "yes" or "no" to extending the president's five-year term to seven years. Though Karimov's name is not on the ballot paper, the West has criticised the poll as a ploy to prolong his stay in power. Karimov's current second term, which constitutionally must be his last, expires in 2005 but an official hinted on Friday the constitution might be amended after the vote to allow Karimov to run for a third term. Quizzed by reporters, Karimov said he would comment on a new term in office only after completing the current one. More than 13 million people are eligible to vote. A Central Election Commission spokesman said the poll was already valid as over 80 percent of voters had turned out by late afternoon. VOTERS LIKE "STABILITY" With the opposition muzzled, the free press banned and thousands of opponents in prison, many view the referendum as a political routine act similar to sham Soviet-era polls. But many voters also hailed Karimov as a source of stability. "I have just voted to prolong President Karimov's term in office by two years," retired school teacher Klara Shakarova told Reuters after voting at a station in central Tashkent. "Just look at the map of the world -- we must be the only country living in peace. Many thanks to our leader for this." Those voting in favour need only drop the papers in a ballot box, while those opposed must mark their choice in an adjacent booth in the same manner as Soviet-era elections. Officials say monitors from 32 countries would attend the vote, including many ex-Soviet states. But the United States said it would send no observers as previous votes had been "neither free nor fair." Human Rights Watch described the referendum as "a blatant grab for power." A 1995 referendum, staged when Karimov was part-way through his first five-year term, extended his mandate to 2000. Karimov, in power almost without interruption since taking over as the communist boss in 1989, overwhelmingly won a second term in January 2000 in a poll largely ignored by international observers who said there was no chance of a genuine contest. #3 Russian radar in Azerbaijan seen as response to US ABM withdrawal ITAR-TASS Moscow, 26 January, ITAR-TASS correspondent Vladislav Kuznetsov: In accordance with the agreement of 25 January 2002 at intergovernmental level, the status of the Qabala radar station in Azerbaijan has been determined as being within the framework of Russia's missile and space defence system. The ITAR-TASS correspondent was informed of this today in the Russian Defence Ministry. At the meeting of government delegations on questions of cooperation in the sphere of regional security, the Russian and Azerbaijani sides reached a joint opinion on the status of the radar, the term of its lease and payments. The term of the lease of the radar station is 10 years. Russia will pay Azerbaijan seven million dollars per year in rent for the radar station. Baku will provide air defence cover for the radar installation; Moscow will modernize the air defence system and provide new components for it. The Qabala radar station collects intelligence information about space in the western sector, tracks the launch of ballistic missiles in the Middle East and Central Asia. The information analysis centre located at the site constantly transmits data on the missile-space situation to the Russian missile attack warning system. Specialists note that the constant functioning of the station is regarded by the Russian side as one of the links in the range of measures in response to the USA's unilateral withdrawal from the 1972 ABM Treaty. --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================ |
