OSCE chairman to visit Tashkent and Bukhara

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy has expressed shock and horror at the terrorist attacks in Uzbekistan and voiced his plans to visit Uzbekistan during the first week of April, KZ-today has learned from an OSCE press release.

Passy said he was horrified by news of the slaughter of women and children when a bomb exploded at a shopping centre and at the latest reports of a bomb explosion at a police checkpoint and gun battles on the edge of the capital which have killed several policemen.

S. Passy is sure that this only renews the determination of the OSCE "to try and fight the spread of this plague by whatever means are at our disposal." "We shall not allow these misguided people to hinder the growth of democracy, which seems to be part of their aim." - he added.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office shall be visiting Uzbekistan next week and he is going "to take that opportunity to personally convey my feelings to the Government and people of that country."