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WELCOME TO IWPR'S REPORTING CENTRAL ASIA, No. 63, August 3, 2001
KYRGYZ IMU FEARS MOUNT Two attacks in one week in the Batken region point
to a new campaign by Islamic militants. Sultan Jumagulov and Kubat Otorbaev
reports from Bishkek
PROMINENT UZBEK JOURNALIST FACES PROSECUTION Rights campaigners in
Uzbekistan say the authorities are prosecuting a fiercely independent
journalist in an attempt to silence the independent media. Galima
Bukharbaeva reports from Tashkent
CASPIAN OIL FEUD Ashgabat ups the ante in its Caspian Sea oilfield dispute
with Azerbaijan. Nazik Ataeva reports from Ashgabat
TAJIK BORDER HARDSHIP Life in the once prosperous Khatlon province is now
an exercise in surviving natural and man-made disasters. Saida Nazarova
reports from Dushanbe
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KYRGYZ IMU FEARS MOUNT
Two attacks in one week in the Batken region point to a new campaign by
Islamic militants
By Sultan Jumagulov and Kubat Otorbaev in Bishkek
The second attack in a week in Kyrgystan's Batken region has raised fears
that fighters belonging to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, IMU, are
launching a new campaign of violence in the region.
Militants attempted to break into radio transmitter station, near Chauvai,
in the Kadamjai district, on July 30. A small group of them tried to cut
through a perimeter fence, but fled after security guards opened fire.
There
were no reports of any casualties.
The IMU's spokesman , Zubair ibn Abdurahim, confirmed that the insurgents
were members of the guerrilla group. "These are our mujahidin," he said, in
an exclusive telephone interview with IWPR. He added that Islamic fighters
affiliated to the IMU were responsible for an earlier raid on a border post
in the same region on July 24.
In an interview with the BBC, the IMU's political leader, Takhir Yuldash,
said the Islamic fighters had not crossed into Kyrgyztsan, but were in fact
based in the country, a grave embarrassment for the Bishkek authorities, if
the claim turns out to be true.
Officials, however, have preferred to blame the two incidents on other
parties. "It's difficult to say at the moment who these men are," Kyrgyz
security minister Bolot Januzakov told IWPR. "But we think this might be a
group of criminals. Maybe drug-traffickers." He suggested that they may
have
been after the equipment in the station.
But Abdurahim backs up people's worst fears in the region "We are
determined
to continue our jihad (holy war) against the regimes in Uzbekistan and
Kyrgyzstan," he said, adding that while their main target is Uzbekistan,
they now treat Kyrgyzstan as an enemy because of its opposition to the IMU.
Asked for further information on the recent incidents, defence ministry
spokesman Bolot Imanaliev restricted himself to commenting that," The
situation is under control." Such mute reaction contrasts starkly with
reports that the emergency evacuation of thousands of villagers from the
mountains to Batken has commenced.
The situation, though, is not so clear-cut in Batken itself, it seems. "No
one knows what information to believe," Batken governor Mamat Aibalaev told
IWPR. He feels, as do others, that a lack of coordination between the
various ministries is leading to ambiguous and conflicting announcements.
"It's more than a week since these attacks started, and the military say
they are still finding out who is responsible," said Kyrgyz deputy Alisher
Abdimomunov. "I have a feeling that law enforcement agencies are not in
full
control, and I am more inclined to see the latest incidents as sabotage
actions."
Omurbek Tekebaev, also a deputy, is equally concern with the current
situation. "We spend a lot of money on defence, but these expenses don't
seem to be justified," he said. "The mere fact that the latest inicident
occurred 30-50 km inside Kyrgyz territory is worrying."
Another deputy Tursunbai Bakir uulu said the attacks might have been a
reaction to Kyrgyzstan's participation in the Shanghai Forum - an
organisation which has dedicated itself to combating terrorism and armed
Islamic groups in the region. "Kyrgyzstan should have abstained from
joining
this organisation," he said.
"The mujahidin won't forgive us for this." Although officials are trying
not to spread panic among the public, there are signs that the Kyrgyz and
Uzbek military are taking the incidents seriously. In the last week, there
have been a number of high-level meetings between the military leadership
of
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. They apparently discussed joint
efforts to repel IMU fighters in the event of a new round of incursions.
Rapid reaction CIS forces are also said to have been mobilised.
Another indication that the IMU may have launched a new insurgency comes
from Uzbekistan. An anonymous source told IWPR that in the Surkhandaria
region - in which a dozen soldiers were killed in fighting last year -
skirmishes between Uzbek troops and gunmen claimed casualties on both
sides.
The source said the gunmen might well have been IMU members who had crossed
over from a camp in Afghanistan, fleeing areas recently attacked by the
Northern Alliance
The Uzbek defence ministry neither confirmed nor denied the reports, merely
stating that military exercises were under way in Surkhandaria.
Sultan Jumagulov is a BBC correspondent in Bishkek and Kubat Otorbaev is an
independent journalist.
PROMINENT UZBEK JOURNALIST FACES PROSECUTION
Rights campaigners in Uzbekistan say the authorities are prosecuting a
fiercely independent journalist in an attempt to silence the independent
media.
By Galima Bukharbaeva in Tashkent
One of the best-known independent journalists in Uzbekistan is to be
interrogated by the state prosecutor's office early next week in connection
with claims that he forged his application for membership of an elite
organisation in the early Nineties.
The public prosecutor claims Shukhrat Babadjanov forged a letter by the
famous Uzbek painter, Ruzi Chariev, recommending the journalist for
membership of the prestigious Union of Artists of Uzbekistan in 1991.
The criminal investigation into the affair, which began at the end of July,
has been condemned by the non-government press and human rights activists,
who say it represents an attempt by the authorities to silence the
independent media.
Babadjanov, head of a local television station and a respected painter,
admits that he wrote the application to the artists' union, but claims
Chariev signed it. "Ruzi Chariev couldn't write properly in Uzbek. That's
why he told me - 'write it yourself and I will sign it,'" said Babadjanov.
"I have ample proof that I did not falsify Chariev's signature - the
accusations are groundless. It looks like investigators forced him to say
that his signature was forged. They tried to do the same thing to another
person who endorsed my recommendation, but he refused."
Babadjanov was expelled from the artists' union at the end of May, for
alleged non-payment of membership fees, failure to turn up for exhibitions
and indecent behaviour.
The journalist suspects he will be arrested following his interrogation by
the state prosecutor next Monday, August 6. He fears he may face the same
fate as the Uigur writer Emil Usman who died in questionable circumstances
shortly after being detained earlier this year. He had been expelled from
the artists' union a month before his detention.
Analysts believe Babadjanov is being punished for his journalistic work. He
is the director of the private Urgench-based private television company ALC
TV, which was closed down two years ago and has been pressuring the
government to be allowed back on air ever since.
It's thought the government shut down the station in autumn 1999 - shortly
before the start of parliamentary and presidential elections - because of
its fiercely independent editorial policy. The station collaborated with
international media, such as Internews, rebroadcasting programmes which
aired issues the authorities felt uneasy about.
Babadjanov repeatedly took legal action to reopen ALC, without success. At
the end of June, the authorities finally refused to renew the station's
licence. Throughout his single-handed campaign to get the station back on
air, Babadjanov highlighted the plight of ALC to draw public attention to
the government's bid to pressure the independent media.
His actions provoked criticism from the authorities and pro-regime
journalists, who felt he was undermining the country's reputation abroad.
Among independent-minded people, he became the symbol of the struggle for
freedom of speech in Uzbekistan.
Independent journalists have been shocked by the authorities' decision to
bring criminal charges against someone as well known as Babadjanov.
The chairman of the Independent Organisation for Human Rights in
Uzbekistan,
Mikhail Ardzinov, believes Babadjanov is now being persecuted for battling
to save his station and attempting to draw the international community's
attention to Tashkent's repression of the independent media.
"Over the years the authorities here have managed to paralyse their
political opponents," he said. "Opposition parties, like Erk and Birlik,
and
religious organisations are strictly controlled and repressed. Now it seems
the government is taking on journalists who are not afraid to speak their
minds."
The first secretary of Erk, Atanazar Arifov, agreed with the Ardzinov. "The
authorities clipped our wings a long time ago, now they feel it's time for
the journalists."
Galima Bukharbaeva is IWPR project director in Uzbekistan
CASPIAN OIL FEUD
Ashgabat ups the ante in its Caspian Sea oilfield dispute with Azerbaijan
By Nazik Ataeva in Ashgabat
Turkmenistan is stepping up its claim on Caspian oil fields operated by
Azerbaijan, in a dispute that has been festering ever since the break-up of
the Soviet Union a decade ago.
Ashgabat is flexing its military muscle to pressure Baku into handing over
two disputed fields. It has issued dark warnings of 'unexpected
consequnces'
if the Azeri leadership refuses to agree to its demands.
During the communist era, the Caspian was governed by Moscow and Tehran.
But
since the demise of the USSR, five littoral states - Russia, Azerbaijan,
Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakstan - have periodically clashed over the
division of the mineral rich waters.
Latest talks on the dispute between Baku and Ashgabat broke up on July 31
when the Azeri deputy prime minister, Abbas Abbasov, came away from
meetings
in the Turkmen capital, saying negotiations had been fruitless.
Turkmenistan has pursued a highly individualist path since it gained
independence from Moscow in 1991. It declared itself a neutral state
building 'new and different relations' with other nations of the old Soviet
Union.
The oil dispute has blown up over two fields - called the Khazar and Osman
in Turkmen, and the Azeri and Chirag in Azeri. Baku operates both with the
general approval of the international community.
The quarrel took a new and curious twist in June when Turkmenistan withdrew
its embassy from Baku, relocating the mission in Ashgabat. The move caused
bewilderment around the region.
The transfer was attributed by Turkmen officials to "temporary financial
difficulties", an excuse hard to accept from a nation which by Central
Asian
standards enjoys relative prosperity.
More worryingly, Turkmenstan later sent a diplomatic note to Azerbaijan,
complaining about 'illegal' activities in the Caspian Sea. The foreign
relations committee of the Azeri parliament suggested that all
disagreements
between the two Turkish-speaking countries could be resolved with
"dialogue,
exchange of opinions and constructive collaboration".
The oil dispute first flared in May, 1997, when President Saparmurat Niazov
met Azeri president Heidar Aliev in Ashgabat declared that the two disputed
fields clearly belonged to Turkmenistan. At that time, Baku had already
signed contracts with foreign companies to begin exploiting them.
On July 4 that same year Moscow and Baku signed another such deal. The next
day, the Turkmen foreign ministry issued a strong protest and Moscow -
among
the foreign nations which recognises Azeri rights to the oil - backed out
of
the agreement.
Bad feelings continued to fester between Baku and Ashgabat. Recently,
Turkmenistan suggested international mediation to resolve the problem but
Baku brushed the idea aside. Turkmenistan remained determined to get its
own
way.
A source in the Turkmen leadership told Interfax news agency that harsh
measures would be taken by Ashgabat if agreement failed to materialise. By
that time, Turkmenistan was already buying naval craft saying it wanted to
deter infiltrators across its sea borders.
A declaration by the Turkmen foreign ministry said that while dialogue on
the status of the Caspian oil fields continues, any continued exploitation
of them would lead to a bad political climate and even 'unexpected
consequences'.
Few commentators think Turkmenistan would seize the fields by military
force
even though recent reports suggest it has purchased 20 naval vessels of the
'Grif' and 'Kalkan' class.
In addition, the Turkmen security forces have received a patrol vessel of
the well-known 'Point Jackson' type following cooperation with the United
States defence ministry. Its crew underwent training in Florida. President
Niazov recently conducted a conspicuous military review of his newly
bolstered forces
Despite all this, Ashgabat is still trying to show a friendly face towards
Baku. The shift of the Turkmen embassy was described in mild,
non-belligerent terms. But it seems Turkmenistan is clearly hoping that
exhibition of military muscle will impel Azerbaijan to back down.
A new round of talks is expected to take place in October but international
energy experts hold out little hope for a resolution if the Caspian states
maintain current bargaining postures.
Nazik Ataeva is a pseudonym of a journalist from Turkmenistan
TAJIK BORDER HARDSHIP
Life in the once prosperous Khatlon province is now an exercise in
surviving
natural and man-made disasters
By Saida Nazarova in Dushanbe
Izzatullo Khalikov's home is a few miles from the centre of Tajikistan's
Khatlon region - a border area littered with ruins, dilapidated farms and
abandoned shops. Before the civil war, this was a prosperous place. Back
then, Izzatullo worked for a local collective farm, while his wife was a
nurse in the district hospital. But, since the end of the conflict, life in
this southern part of the country has gone from bad to worse. Industry has
folded, harvests have failed, workers have fled and drug barons have
tightened their grip over a ruined economy.
Izzatullo didn't take sides during the war, yet his house in Kurgan-Tyube
was burned down and his father and elder brother were killed. Today, his
wife and three children live in a small house, which they share with his
elder brother's widow, their four children, and Izzatullo's mother.
Because unemployment is rife in Khatlon, Izzatullo has been forced to
relocate to Russia where he has been working for the past six years. He is
one of around quarter of a million full time and seasonal workers in
Russia.
Visits home are rare and the money Izzatullo sends back is barely enough to
feed his wife and three children.
The family's plight encapsulates the tragedy that has befallen the Khatlon
region over the past decade. Izzatullo's older children can barely read or
write, as there is no money to buy books. Women and children now spend
their
time collecting firewood, tending cattle and helping out on the farms of
their neighbours, richer for having successfully hidden their possessions
during the war.
Natural disasters are driving even more families from the region. Drought
struck again this year, as did fires, which destroyed 126,000 hectares of
wheat and cotton worth an estimated 3.3 million US dollars.
The industrial base has also been scuppered. Just around a third of the
region's once prosperous state enterprises are operational. Those still
running do so at just a quarter of capacity, employing half the staff they
used to. Although the region has rich mineral wealth with 53 gold,
strontium
and coal mines, only 16 of these are working. Lack of equipment, qualified
labour and roads have made the deposits of little interest to investors.
Such is the level of poverty here that the 635,000 civil war refugees are
cold-shouldered because of the humanitarian aid they receive. The average
family of five or six individuals has to get by on five and a half dollars
a
month. Unsurprisingly, many suffer from malnourishment and the
proliferation
of poverty-related diseases, such as TB and abdominal typhoid. One in ten
people Tajiks on the Afghan borders has malaria.
With few employment prospects, drug-trafficking from neighbouring
Afghanistan - clearly aided by elements in the military on both sides of
the
border - has spread its tentacles. In the first six months of this year
alone, Russian border guards seized more than 3.6 tons of drugs, including
one ton of heroin.
As if all this weren't enough, those unlucky enough to live in the border
villages find themselves caught in the crossfire between Taleban and
Northern Alliance forces. Shells intended for two airstrips frequently fall
short of their mark. The sad irony is that while the Taleban claim the
strips are used to deliver military supplies to their enemies, they are in
fact used to bring in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
Saida Nazarova is a pseudonym of a journalist in Tajikistan
Copyright (c) IWPR 2001
IWPR'S REPORTING CENTRAL ASIA, No. 63
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