China's Xi hails 'new era' of ties with Central Asia at summit

MSN – AFP, 18 May 2023 

Map showing Central Asia countries. China's President Xi Jinping will host a two-day
summit with the leaders of five Central Asian leaders in Xi'an starting May 18. Laurence CHU

Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed a "new era" of ties with Central Asia on Thursday, kicking off a summit Beijing hopes will deepen relations with the strategically vital region. 

Held in the ancient Chinese city of Xi'an, the historic eastern end of the Silk Road that linked China to Europe through Central Asia, Beijing has said this week's meeting is of "milestone significance".

Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting a summit with the leaders of five Central
Asian states as he seeks to build China's influence in the region. FLORENCE LO

And in a speech to the region's leaders at a welcoming banquet Thursday evening, Xi said strengthening ties was a "strategic choice". 

"I am confident that with our joint efforts, tomorrow's summit will be a full success and will herald a new era of China-Central Asia relations," Xi was quoted as saying in a readout of the speech seen by AFP. 

The leaders of five Central Asian states arrive for the welcoming ceremony of
a summit being hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping. © FLORENCE LO

"Join us in opening up a bright future of China-Central Asia cooperation," he said. 

This week's meeting is the first of its kind since the establishment of formal relations 31 years ago. 

Beijing says trade with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan reached $70 billion in 2022 and expanded 22 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023. 

Central Asia has also become key to China's trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, a defining geopolitical project for Xi, with Beijing keen to restart cooperation and fill the vacuum left in former Soviet states by Russia's war in Ukraine.

China, the world's second-largest energy consumer, has invested billions of dollars to tap natural gas reserves in Central Asia, while rail links connecting China to Europe criss-cross the region. 

Analysts told AFP this week's summit is likely to see efforts to reach agreements to further expand that vast network, including a long-stalled $6 billion China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway and an expansion of the Central Asia-to-China gas pipeline. 

'Global economic leadership' 

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev hailed the "unique scope" of that project at a meeting with Xi ahead of the summit. 

Xi also told Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov in talks on Thursday that China was "willing to work with Kyrgyzstan to build a community of good neighborliness, friendship, shared prosperity, and a shared future". 

He then met with the leaders of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, lauding the close ties between them and pledging to expand economic and cultural exchanges. 

"Your policies will ensure the development and further prosperity of a modern socialist state, the strengthening of the authority and the global economic leadership of the country in the nearest future," Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev told Xi. 

Xi and Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan greeted the heads of state at a grand welcoming ceremony in the evening, posing for a group photo in front of an old-style Chinese building lit by red lanterns. 

Dozens of dancers then performed a musical show inspired by the Tang Dynasty, when relations between China and Central Asia were considered very strong. 

A media event will be held on Friday morning, expected to be attended by all six presidents, at which a joint statement is likely to be released. 

Growing influence 

This week's summit also comes as Beijing works to replace Russia as Central Asian nations' preferred partner -- and as Xi positions himself as a global statesman keen to expand China's reach far beyond its borders. 

"Xi will position himself as a leader that can promote global development and peace," Zhiqun Zhu, a Professor of International Relations and Political Science at Bucknell University, told AFP. 

The summit also coincides with a meeting of the G7 in Hiroshima that will likely focus on efforts to "push back China's growing influence around the world", Zhu said. 

"The diplomatic and strategic significance cannot be underestimated," he said.

Uzbek strongman leader Islam Karimov dies

Yahoo – AFP, Max Delaney, September 2, 2016

Uzbek President Islam Karimov died on September 2, 2016 (AFP Photo/Maxim
Shemetov)

Moscow (AFP) - Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov died Friday, the government announced, ending over a quarter of a century of his iron-fisted rule in the Central Asian nation with no clear successor lined up.

"Dear compatriots, it is with huge grief in our hearts that we announce to you the death of our dear president," a state TV presenter said, reading an official statement.

Authorities said Karimov, 78, was pronounced dead at 20:55 local time (15:55 GMT) following days of speculation that authorities were delaying announcing his passing after he reportedly suffered a stroke over the weekend.

The strongman's funeral will be held in his home city of Samarkand on Saturday as the country begins three days of mourning, the statement said, with Uzbekistan now facing the greatest moment of uncertainty of its post-Soviet history.

Loyalist Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev is heading the organisation committee for the funeral, suggesting that he could be in line to take over long-term from Karimov.

Officially senate head Nigmatulla Yuldashev should now become acting president until early elections are held.

Karimov's youngest daughter Lola wrote on Facebook that "he has left us...I am struggling for words, I can't believe it myself".

'Great loss'

Long lambasted by rights groups as one of the region's most brutal despots who ruthlessly stamped out opposition, Karimov was one of a handful of Soviet strongmen that clung to power after their homelands gained independence from Moscow in 1991.

Karimov portrayed himself as guarantor of stability and bulwark against radical Islam on the borders of Afghanistan, crushing fundamentalist groups at home.

Factfile on Uzbekistan. (AFP Photo/Vincent LEFAI, Kun TIAN)

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Karimov's death "a great loss for the people of Uzbekistan" in a telegram to interim leader Yuldashev, while Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is set to jet in for the funeral.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who appointed Karimov to head the former Socialist Republic of Uzbekistan in 1989, told Interfax news agency that Karimov was "a competent man with a strong character".

Born on January 30, 1938, Karimov was raised in an orphanage in the ancient city of Samarkand, before studying mechanical engineering and economics and rising up Communist Party ranks.

Rights groups -- which have long accused Karimov's regime of the most heinous abuses including torture and forced labour in the lucrative cotton industry -- said his time in power had been a catastrophe for Uzbekistan.

"Islam Karimov leaves a legacy of a quarter century of ruthless repression," Steve Swerdlow, Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch, said.

"Karimov ruled through fear to erect a system synonymous with the worst human rights abuses: torture, disappearances, forced labour, and the systematic crushing of dissent."

Most seriously, the authorities have been accused of killing hundreds of protesters in the eastern city of Andijan in 2005.

In the wake of international criticism over the alleged massacre, which Karimov's regime rebuffed, Tashkent shut down a US military base used to supply operations in neighbouring Afghanistan since 2001.

But the wily veteran played Russia, China and the West against each other to keep Uzbekistan from total isolation and it continues to receive limited US aid.

Despite economic growth figures of some eight percent, critics say that Uzbekistan's economy is in a dire situation with a corrupt elite in control of most of its industry.

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"Recalibration of Knowledge" – Jan 14, 2012 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Channelling, God-Creator, Benevolent Design, New Energy, Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Reincarnation, Gaia, Old Energies (Africa, Terrorists, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela ... ), Weather, Rejuvenation, Akash, Nicolas Tesla / Einstein, Cold Fusion, Magnetics, Lemuria, Atomic Structure (Electrons, Particles, Polarity, Self Balancing, Magnetism), Entanglement, "Life is necessary for a Universe to exist and not the other way around", DNA, Humans (Baby getting ready, First Breath, Stem Cells, Embryonic Stem Cells, Rejuvenation), Global Unity, ... etc.) - (Text Version)

“…  I want you to watch some countries. I don't have a clock [this statement is Kryon telling us that there is no time frame on his side of the veil, only potentials]. I'll just tell you, it's imminent [in Spirit's timing, this could mean as soon as a decade]. I want you to watch some countries carefully for changes. You're going to be seeing changes that are obvious, and some that are not obvious [covert or assumptive]. But the obvious ones you will see sooner than not - Cuba, Korea [North], Iran, of course, and Venezuela. I want you to watch what happens when they start to realize that they don't have any more allies on Earth! Even their brothers who used to support them in their hatred of some are saying, "Well, perhaps not anymore. It doesn't seem to be supporting us anymore." Watch the synchronicities that are occurring. The leaders who have either died or are going to in the next year or so will take with them the old ways. Watch what happens to those who take their place, and remember these meetings where I described these potentials to you. …”

US human trafficking report blacklists Myanmar

Yahoo – AFP, Dave Clark, June 30, 2016

Libya, Somalia and Yemen were judged special cases whose governments are in
too much chaos to be judged over the actions their governments have taken to
combat human trafficking, a US report found (AFP Photo/Mahmud Turkia)

Washington (AFP) - The United States on Thursday blacklisted eight more countries for failing to combat human trafficking, including fledgling democracy Myanmar, but was criticized for taking an easier line on Thailand.

Announcing the release of the State Department's annual human trafficking report, Secretary of State John Kerry insisted the rankings were based on objective criteria, and not political favor.

But activists, while welcoming the designation of Myanmar and Uzbekistan to the worst category of wrongdoer, complained that US allies Thailand and Malaysia got off relatively lightly.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, pictured

 here on April 13, 2016, in Washington, DC,

 insisted the report's rankings were based

 on objective criteria, and not political favor

 (AFP Photo/Paul J. Richards)

"There are some tough calls. In the end, they come down to an element of discretion, but not much, because we have a fixed set of rules that Congress had created, and we follow those rules," Kerry said.

"The conclusions are based on facts and are based on a lot of analysis over the year," he said.

Djibouti, Haiti, Papua New Guinea, Sudan, Suriname and Turkmenistan were also added to the now 26-strong blacklist of governments the State Department believes are not fighting people smuggling or slavery.

Kuwait and Thailand found themselves promoted from this "Tier 3" list of worst offenders to the "Tier 2 watch list" of countries making some kind of effort to combat the trade in persons but still under scrutiny.

Libya, Somalia and Yemen were judged special cases whose governments are in too much chaos to be judged.

Last year, the State Department was criticized for not including Myanmar on its Tier 3 list, amid allegations that Washington was turning a blind eye to slavery while encouraging a slow transition to democracy.

Myanmar held contested general elections last year won by the party of veteran rights activist and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who now steers the country's first civilian government.

Persecuted minority

Suu Kyi had spent a decade fighting corrupt military rule, and Washington has been keen to support her once pariah country on the slow road to democratic reform.

But much remains to be done, and the government has been accused of backsliding, particularly as regards the fate of the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority.

This year's report on Myanmar dubs it "a source country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and for women and children subjected to sex trafficking, both in Burma and abroad."

Myanmar's democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi, who is currently visiting 

Thailand, has come under fire for failing to speak up for the Rohingya (AFP Photo/

Lillian Suwanrumpha)

People from across Myanmar are subject to abuse, but the report says "Rohingya individuals are particularly vulnerable to sex and labor trafficking in Rakhine State, including forced labor perpetrated by government authorities."

Myanmar has been on the "Tier 2 watch list" for four years -- the maximum period it can be allowed under US law to improve its practices or be relegated to the third tier -- which is what has now happened.

Washington had also been accused of taking too lenient an approach to Uzbekistan, where the government makes no attempt to hide the fact that it press-gangs civil servants into forced labor to harvest cotton.

This year report notes that "government-compelled forced labor of adults remains endemic during the annual cotton harvest" and concludes that the Uzbek government is not making any significant attempt to halt trafficking.

Human rights watchdogs welcomed the demotion of Myanmar and Uzbekistan, which they felt had been unfairly protected from scrutiny for political reasons in last year's report, but expressed regret that Thailand and Malaysia were not also being held to account.

Mass grave

"We're encouraged by the State Department's decision to downgrade Burma -- that was a country that we were paying pretty close attention to," said Kristen Abrams, acting director of anti-trafficking umbrella group ATEST.

"We're also equally encouraged by the right of last year's wrong on Uzbekistan, a country that has state orchestrated forced labor," she said.

But watchdogs remain concerned that Washington is going easy on its allies in Southeast Asia, where the fishing industry in particular is regularly accused of using forced labor in inhumane conditions at sea.

Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha (C-R) meets with Myanmar Foreign 

Minister and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi at the government house in 

Bangkok, Thailand, June 24, 2016. Reuters/Jorge Silva

"Starting with Thailand, we have seen some willingness to reform some of their laws, but it's not made any significant impact on the ground," Abrams said.

"With Malaysia, we know that they were moved up last year for political reasons. It was unjustified then and it remains unjustified today," she said, citing a failure to investigate mass graves.

The report notes that: "Discoveries of migrant camps and mass graves along the border with Thailand in 2015 generated reports some officials were complicit in facilitating migrant smuggling, which may have included trafficking crimes."

But it concludes that Malaysia is "making significant efforts" to meet minimum standards to fight the crime.

Xi and Putin driving Eurasia resurgence, says Duowei

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-07-13

Chinese president Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir
Putin in the Russian city of Ufa, July 10, 2015. (Photo/Xinhua)

Chinese president Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are actively driving the resurgence of Eurasia, reports Duowei News, a US-based Chinese political news outlet.

Xi and Putin were among the leaders who attended the "dual summit" of the BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa — and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation — China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan —in the Russian city of Ufa on July 8-10.

In his speech at the BRICS summit, Xi called for the formation of a community of responsibility and common destiny based on mutual political trust, economic integration and cultural tolerance.

The importance Xi has placed on the dual summits reflects China's growing investment in diplomacy as part of the country's continuing plan to comprehensively deepen reforms, Duowei said.

Since coming to power in November 2012 as general secretary of the Communist Party, Xi has sought to strengthen ties with Africa and Latin America, as well as build a new type of "major powers" relationship with the US, Duowei said, though it is clear that his primary focus is firmly on Eurasia.

According to Duowei, China's main strategic emphasis now is Xi's ambitious "Belt and Road" initiative, which aims to boost connectivity and cooperation among countries in Eurasia. The two-tier project comprising the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt and the sea-based Maritime Silk Road is likely to be tied in with the newly formed, Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and New Development Bank (NDB), formerly the BRICS Development Bank, and its US$100 billion emergency reserve fund, of which China is the largest contributor with a share of 41%.

China is not the only country aiming for a Eurasia resurgence, Duowei said, adding that Russia as well as other emerging nations have also been moving towards developing stategies of regional integration.

This is not surprising given Eurasia's strong potential, Duowei said. Eurasia accounts for 75% of the world's population and holds a significant portion of the world's mineral resources. Up to 60% of the world's gross national product is attributable to Eurasia, and three-quarters of the world's known energy resources are also found on the Eurasia mainland, Duowei added, noting that proper strategies and management will reap massive benefits for every party in the long run.

The three main powers in Eurasia are the European Union, Russia and China, Duowei said. The EU is struggling with the Greek debt crisis, while Russia is reeling from the economic sanctions imposed as a result of its annexation of the Crimean penninsula from Ukraine last year, leaving China as the most important driving force of the region, Duowei added.

The unprecendented level of cooperation and integration developing across Eurasia provides cause for optimism, notwithstanding the instability caused by sluggish economies, terrorism, religious fundamentalism, environmental pollution, territorial disputes and military conflicts, Duowei said.

For Beijing, a prosperous Eurasia is not only the key to reviving China's slowing economy, it is the road to greater international credibility and authority, Duowei said. While there is still much integration to be coordinated and many obstacles to overcome, China must face these problems head on if it intends to succeed, Duowei added.

A limited attendance meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Heads

of State Council in the Russian city of Ufa, July 10, 2015. (Photo/CFP)

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Chinese President Xi Jinping poses for photos with leaders of the Shanghai 

Cooperation Organization members and observers, the Eurasian Economic Union

 leaders, leaders of invited countries and the BRICS nations, namely Brazil, Russia,

India, China and South Africa in Ufa, Russia, July 9, 2015. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

Beijing ratifies protocol for nuclear-weapon-free treaty in Central Asia

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-04-25

The 14th session of the 12th NPC Standing Committee held in the Great
Hall of the People in Beijing, April 24. (File photo/Xinhua)

China's top legislature on Friday ratified the protocol to the Treaty on Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (NWFZ) in Central Asia.

After approving the protocol, the National People's Congress Standing Committee declared that no security protocol or treaty will undermine the status of the NWFZ, and that all explanations and applications of the clauses in the protocol shall support the goal of the building of the NWFZ in Central Asia.

The protocol was signed by representatives of China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States on May 6, 2014 in New York.

The protocol provides legally-binding assurances not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against parties to the NWFZ parties.

Enacted in 2009, the treaty commits the signatories, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, to refrain from developing, acquiring or possessing nuclear weapons.

Related Article:

Nuclear Powers to Sign Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone

Putin, Xi urge stronger ties within security bloc

The BRIC Post, September 13, 2014

The SCO Council of Heads of State met in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on
12 September 2014 [PPIO]

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have said members of the Russia-China-led SCO share identical views on economic and political cooperation, including the Ukraine crisis and subsequent sanctions.

“At the meeting in narrow format we discussed some other current international affairs too, including the situation in Ukraine. We are very pleased to see that we share identical or similar views on the main areas of cooperation. This consensus of views is reflected in the Dushanbe Declaration that we are adopting,” said Putin.

As the US and EU step up pressure on Moscow with a new round of sanctions, Russia is seeking to strengthen ties with allies in the region, predominantly the SCO members.

Putin on Friday also warned against complacency regarding the global economy. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Thursday said global growth is unlikely to pick up significantly this year.

“The global economy has not yet overcome the crisis and its problems, and the current political risks and various restrictions and barriers are only worsening the situation, causing direct damage to the global business climate and undermining confidence in international trade and the financial system,” said Putin.

SCO members will improve cooperation on security in food, transport, energy and finances, asserted the Russian President.

“We see great potential in the idea of developing a common SCO transport system that would make use too of Russia’s Trans-Siberian Railway and Baikal-Amur Mainline and be tied into China’s plans for developing the Silk Road route. I am sure that big projects of this kind serve the interests of our organisation’s members and would benefit all countries in Eurasia.

Meanwhile, in Dushanbe, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called for joint efforts to fight extremism and internet terrorism among the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

“Currently, (we) should focus on combating religion-involved extremism and internet terrorism,” said Xi when delivering a speech at the 14th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe.

He suggested the SCO members launch consultations on an anti-extremism convention and initiate studies on “a mechanism for actions against internet terrorism”.

“(We) should take it as our own responsibility to safeguard regional security and stability, enhance our ability to maintain stability, continue to boost cooperation on law enforcement and security, and improve the existing cooperation mechanisms,” said Xi.

The president also called on the SCO members — China, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — to urgently grant the group’s Regional Counter-Terrorism Structure (RCTS) new functions to combat drug trafficking.

“(We) should make concerted efforts to crack down on the ‘three evil forces’ of terrorism, extremism and separatism,” Xi said.

The presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and China signed a package of agreements following the summit. The documents signed include the Dushanbe Declaration.

Russia takes over as acting chair of the organization and will host the next SCO leaders summit in 2015 in Ufa.

TBP and Agencies

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China signs protocol to nuclear-free treaty in Central Asia

Want China Times, Xinhua 2014-05-07

Liu Jieyi, second left, and representatives of Russia, the United States,
France and Britain at the signing ceremony in New York, May 6. (Photo/Xinhua)

China on Wednesday signed a protocol to the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia.

"China supports the efforts of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia, which serves the purposes of strengthening the international non-proliferation regime, advancing the nuclear disarmament process, and promoting peace and security in the region and beyond," Chinese permanent envoy to the UN Liu Jieyi said in a statement.

China has made a solemn commitment of no-first-use of nuclear weapons at any time or under any circumstances, and promised that under no circumstances will it use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states and nuclear-weapon-free zones, the statement said.

"China is committed to strictly complying with the obligations of this protocol after signing and ratification," it said. "At the same time, China believes that any security agreement or treaty will not affect the position of the nuclear-weapon-free zone, and interpretation and application of all the provisions of this protocol must comply with its aim and purpose of establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia."

China hopes the protocol will enter into force at an early date and is willing to make joint efforts with the Central Asian countries to achieve the goal of the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons in the world, said the statement.

China signed the protocol with the five Central Asian countries at the UN headquarters together with Russia, the United States, France and Britain.

Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, where a 15-megaton device equivalent to a thousand

Hiroshima blasts, detonated in 1954. Photograph: US Air Force - digital version

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Vietnam Suspends Four Officials Over Japan Aid Graft Allegations

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Mar 25, 2014

Motorcyclists ride past a large propaganda poster in downtown Hanoi
on March 24, 2014. (AFP Photo)

Hanoi. Vietnam on Tuesday said it had suspended four railway officials following allegations a Japanese firm paid bribes to win a contract linked to a rail project for Hanoi.

Japan’s leading Yomiuri newspaper reported that the head of Japan Transportation Consultants (JTC) admitted his company had paid kickbacks of 130 million yen ($1.3 million) to civil servants in Vietnam, Indonesia and Uzbekistan to win work tied to projects funded by Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA).

The report said Tamio Kakinuma, 65, told prosecutors in Tokyo last week that among the illicit payments were 80 million yen paid to officials at Vietnam Railways for a project worth 4.2 billion yen.

The scheme was for part of an overground rail link across Hanoi, partially financed by the ODA.

Prosecutors were preparing to launch a criminal probe, the newspaper added, while JTC said it had set up an internal committee to look into the claims.

In response Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong told AFP Tuesday the four senior railway officials “are temporarily suspended from their daily work to concentrate on clarifying their involvement in the project” in Hanoi.

Vietnam and Japan “have agreed to… cooperate in our actions to quickly solve the case,” Dong said.

Late Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also urged “serious punishment” for anyone found guilty, the government’s website said.

Japan is Vietnam’s largest ODA donor with a pledge of $2.6 billion last year.

In December 2008, Japan suspended ODA to Vietnam for four months during a similar scandal that led to a 20-year jail term for Ho Chi Minh City’s transport department’s deputy head Huynh Ngoc Sy.

Sy was accused of taking up to $262,000 in 2003 from Tokyo-based Pacific Consultants International company in connection with a major infrastructure project — a highway linking the east and west of the city — backed by Japanese aid money.

Vietnam is rated one of the world’s most corrupt nations and graft is a top concern for many ordinary Vietnamese.

To defuse public anger over the issue the nation’s leadership is desperate to show it is tackling graft.

The one-party state has been rocked by a number of high-profile corruption scandals in recent years, with graft and huge debts at giant state-run companies accused of fueling the country’s economic woes.

Agence France-Presse

Report: Forced Sterilization Of Women Widespread In Uzbekistan

Radio Free Europe, December 13, 2013

The sterilizations -- through removal of the uterus or cutting of the fallopian tubes --
 happen without the patient's knowledge and often is not learned of until much later,
for example when the woman fails to get pregnant again.

A new report on forced sterilization of women in Uzbekistan at government clinics says the practice remains widespread across the country.

BBC Central Asia correspondent Natalia Antelava, the author of the report by the U.S.-based Open Society Foundations, says medical professionals throughout the country are under government pressure to perform sterilizations as a means to combat population growth.

Presenting the report to the press in Washington on December 13 and earlier this week in New York, she said all women of reproductive age who had delivered two or more children were potential targets for forced sterilization.

"The sterilization campaign by the government is still carrying on, it's happening everywhere, across Uzbekistan," Antelava told reporters on December 11 in New York. "So, it is not that individual regions are targeted, rather across the country clinics and hospitals are performing the procedures. It hasn't shown any sign of slowing down in the last five years."

She said that women with lower socioeconomic status and representatives of ethnic minorities were the most likely to be sterilized.

The sterilizations -- through removal of the uterus or cutting of the fallopian tubes -- happen without the patient's knowledge and often is not learned of until much later.

"The typical story is that the woman gives birth, then tries to get pregnant again, fails to get pregnant, then goes to a doctor and finds out that she has been sterilized," Antelava explained.

Antelava also said that local health administrators attempted to outperform one another in order to please the central authorities.

"It's very clear that there are certain quotas on the number of sterilizations that doctors perform but it is very difficult to trace these quotas up to Tashkent," she said.

"So, while the country is extremely centralized, there is also a real sense of competition between lower down the chain of command, between the local bureaucrats, local hospitals, and local doctors to outperform each other."

Since 1999, Uzbekistan's ongoing and systematic forced-sterilization program has affected tens of thousands of women, Antelava added.

More countries and regions send players to Asian Tennis Championship 2009

www.chinaview.cn, 2009-03-20 21:24:32

JAKARTA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- More countries and regions sent players to attend the Asian Tennis Championship 2009 after the International Tennis Federation (ITF) rearranged the division system for the championship.

The new members entering for the competition, such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyszstan, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Cambodia and Malaysia, increased the number of participating countries and regions to 20.

Just a few days before Friday's opening ceremony of the event in Jakarta, the organizing committee only received nine applicants, namely China, the Philippines, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and Indonesia, ITF's official August Ferry Raturandang told Xinhua.

He said some countries from Central Asia and West Asia finally decided to attend the championship when the ITF arranged the new division system.

Sixty-five athletes from 20 countries and regions showed up at the Championship opening ceremony. The host Indonesia sent the largest team with five players.

Editor: Zhang Xiang

RI discussing anti-terror cooperation with six countries

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia and six other countries, namely Poland, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Uzbekistan, Sudan and Venezuela, are now discussing a plan to  cooperate in the fight against terrorism, a senior minister said. 

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs widodo AS told a working meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission I (defense affairs) that Indonesia had already concluded anti-terrorism cooperation agreements with seven countries, namely Australia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Romania, Russia and Egypt. 

"Besides that, we have also established cooperation in the same field with European Union nations, the United States, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and countries grouped in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)," Widodo said adding, however, the cooperation with those countries had not been formalized in  memorandums of understanding. 

The activities carried out so far under the international anti-terrorism cooperation agreemtns included  training in  crisis-handling capabilities, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) management, intelligence, police, military, mutual legal assistance, legal enforcement and institutional capacity and human resources building. 

Within the framework of ASEAN, Indonesia signed an ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism on January 17, 2007 as the legal basis for cooperation to crack down on terrorism in the ASEAN region, the  minister said. 

"Cooperation with other countries is very important because terrorism is a very complex transnational crime which has to be faced together based on UN' Security Council Resolution 1566/2004 which calls for member countries to fully cooperate in fighting terrorism," he said. 

On the potential threat of terrorism in Indonesia in 2009, Widodo said the matter should continue to be given careful attention by all sides because not all of the terrorist networks, such as the one led by Noordin M Top, had been crushed.