Uzbekistan votes to evict U.S. troops from military base

[Roland99]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/08/26/uzbekEviction20050826.html?ref=rss

The Uzbek State on Friday endorsed the government's decision to evict U.S. troops near a military base. The 93 senators voted unanimously to support the July order from President Islam Karimov, giving the United States six months to vacate the airbase at Karshi-Khanabad, in the southern Kashkadarya region.

The United States and other western countries harshly criticized Uzbekistan for using force against mostly unarmed civilians in an uprising in Andijan on May 13. While rights groups said up to 750 people died in the crackdown, the government put the death toll at 187.

Karimov, who has governed the Central Asian country for 16 years, blamed the violence on Islamic militants, and has rejected the demands for an outside inquiry. Strong support has come from Russia and China, both wary of the U.S. military presence in the strategic and resource-rich region.

"We know that fundamentalist moods arise wherever U.S. bases appear," Kashkadarya governor Nuritdin Zainiyev said before the vote. "Enemies of the United States appear wherever there is a U.S. military presence, and we don't want to be caught in-between."

[Moderator]

1. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1729000