AI
Thursday, June 17, 2004 3:10:40 PM
Russia, China, C. Asia in security pact
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Chinese President Hu Jintao shake hands before their talks at the security summit in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Thursday, June 17, 2004.
The presidents of China, Russia and four Central Asian nations fortified their security alliance Thursday with a meeting to discuss regional threats and inaugurate an anti-terrorism center in Uzbekistan. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Thursday, June 17, 2004 · Last updated 9:56 a.m. PT
By BURT HERMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- The presidents of China, Russia and four Central Asian nations met Thursday to breathe life into a security alliance and open an anti-terrorism center, part of efforts by Beijing and Moscow to counter the U.S. military presence in the region.
The leaders were joined by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who warned terrorists have continued infiltrating Afghanistan and that eradicating terrorism is a "long-term fight."
The one-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO, marked what Russian President Vladimir Putin said was the start of its work to become a vital international institution. He acknowledged the group would help Russia exert its influence across the region, rich in under-exploited energy resources and a crossroads between Asia and Europe.
"The voice of Russia will be heard here," Putin told reporters after the summit.
To ensure China is also heard, President Hu Jintao offered $900 million in credit to alliance countries, which include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The exact terms of the loans, intended to boost economic cooperation, weren't immediately disclosed.
China and Russia have pushed the SCO, originally founded in 1996 and renamed in 2001, as a means of responding to increased U.S. regional influence since the Sept. 11 attacks.
The attacks led to American troops' historic deployment in former Soviet Central Asia for operations in neighboring Afghanistan. Hundreds of U.S. forces are based in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Ahead of Thursday's talks, Russia and China signed separate bilateral agreements with Uzbekistan, Central Asia's most populous country with its strongest military. Russia's Lukoil signed a $1 billion investment deal with Uzbekistan's state oil and gas company, and Putin said energy giant Gazprom was working on similar plans.
Karzai joined the talks as a guest, and Putin called for a contact group to be established between the alliance and Afghanistan.
"By helping Afghanistan, we are helping ourselves," said Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev.
Karzai said Afghanistan was eager to cooperate with the SCO and open its borders for regional trade. "The future of your countries is strongly linked to the future of Afghanistan," he said.
The SCO anti-terror center in Tashkent will be a think tank and information clearing house for alliance countries. In a resolution, the leaders also called for close cooperation with the United Nations to address global and regional threats.
"One nation can't stand alone with the current threats," Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov said anti-terrorism efforts shouldn't focus only on military action.
"We should destroy the many radical extremist centers that create the ideology of hatred, those who poison minds and turn youths into zombies," Karimov told the meeting.
Uzbek authorities say Islamic extremists trained by al-Qaida instructors carried out a wave of violence targeting police this year that killed at least 47 people, mostly alleged militants.
However, opposition critics have said the attacks were linked to domestic discontent over Karimov's repressive regime. Karimov himself acknowledged Thursday that poverty and social discord can also feed terrorism, but said its main cause was ideology imported from abroad.
Uzbekistan drew fresh criticism Thursday for alleged crackdowns ahead of the summit.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said at least two activists planning to stage peaceful protests were beaten by unidentified assailants, while other would-be demonstrators were detained along with their children or prevented from leaving their homes.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=Uzbekistan%20Securi....
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Chinese President Hu Jintao shake hands before their talks at the security summit in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Thursday, June 17, 2004.
The presidents of China, Russia and four Central Asian nations fortified their security alliance Thursday with a meeting to discuss regional threats and inaugurate an anti-terrorism center in Uzbekistan. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Thursday, June 17, 2004 · Last updated 9:56 a.m. PT
By BURT HERMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- The presidents of China, Russia and four Central Asian nations met Thursday to breathe life into a security alliance and open an anti-terrorism center, part of efforts by Beijing and Moscow to counter the U.S. military presence in the region.
The leaders were joined by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who warned terrorists have continued infiltrating Afghanistan and that eradicating terrorism is a "long-term fight."
The one-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO, marked what Russian President Vladimir Putin said was the start of its work to become a vital international institution. He acknowledged the group would help Russia exert its influence across the region, rich in under-exploited energy resources and a crossroads between Asia and Europe.
"The voice of Russia will be heard here," Putin told reporters after the summit.
To ensure China is also heard, President Hu Jintao offered $900 million in credit to alliance countries, which include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The exact terms of the loans, intended to boost economic cooperation, weren't immediately disclosed.
China and Russia have pushed the SCO, originally founded in 1996 and renamed in 2001, as a means of responding to increased U.S. regional influence since the Sept. 11 attacks.
The attacks led to American troops' historic deployment in former Soviet Central Asia for operations in neighboring Afghanistan. Hundreds of U.S. forces are based in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Ahead of Thursday's talks, Russia and China signed separate bilateral agreements with Uzbekistan, Central Asia's most populous country with its strongest military. Russia's Lukoil signed a $1 billion investment deal with Uzbekistan's state oil and gas company, and Putin said energy giant Gazprom was working on similar plans.
Karzai joined the talks as a guest, and Putin called for a contact group to be established between the alliance and Afghanistan.
"By helping Afghanistan, we are helping ourselves," said Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev.
Karzai said Afghanistan was eager to cooperate with the SCO and open its borders for regional trade. "The future of your countries is strongly linked to the future of Afghanistan," he said.
The SCO anti-terror center in Tashkent will be a think tank and information clearing house for alliance countries. In a resolution, the leaders also called for close cooperation with the United Nations to address global and regional threats.
"One nation can't stand alone with the current threats," Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov said anti-terrorism efforts shouldn't focus only on military action.
"We should destroy the many radical extremist centers that create the ideology of hatred, those who poison minds and turn youths into zombies," Karimov told the meeting.
Uzbek authorities say Islamic extremists trained by al-Qaida instructors carried out a wave of violence targeting police this year that killed at least 47 people, mostly alleged militants.
However, opposition critics have said the attacks were linked to domestic discontent over Karimov's repressive regime. Karimov himself acknowledged Thursday that poverty and social discord can also feed terrorism, but said its main cause was ideology imported from abroad.
Uzbekistan drew fresh criticism Thursday for alleged crackdowns ahead of the summit.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said at least two activists planning to stage peaceful protests were beaten by unidentified assailants, while other would-be demonstrators were detained along with their children or prevented from leaving their homes.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=Uzbekistan%20Securi....
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