06/09/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-09934

KYRGYZSTAN FIGHTS I-M-U TERRORISM

Sheraly Akbotoyev (PRON: SHARE-A-LEE AK-BOT-O-YEFF), a leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, or I-M-U, was arrested in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek after being lured out of Afghanistan. He will face trial for participating in terrorist attacks on Kyrgyzstan’s territory.

The I-M-U is allied with the al-Qaida terrorist network headed by Osama bin Laden. Like al-Qaida, the I-M-U received protection from the former Taleban regime in Afghanistan. In the 1990s, the I-M-U launched terror attacks inside Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in an attempt to establish an extremist Islamic regime modeled on that of the Taleban.

The I-M-U’s top leader, Juma Namangani (PRON: JOO-MA NAH-MAHN-GAE-NEE), was reported killed in Afghanistan late in 2001 while fighting for the Taleban. The trial of Akbotoyev is expected to reveal new information about Namangani and supporters of I-M-U terrorists.

Kyrgyzstan is a valuable ally in the U.S.-led global antiterror coalition. The U.S. appreciates the concrete ways President Askar Akayev’s (PRON: AHS-KAR AHK-EYE-EV) government is acting to help eliminate the international terrorist threat.

The vast majority of the populations of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and the other republics of Central Asia reject the I-M-U and other radical groups that seek to destabilize their countries. The peoples of the region have shown their desire for freedom over extremism.