The Japan Times PUBDATE: 2/8/20011 PAGE: 4 C M Y K OUTPUT TIME: 18:6:53

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4 THE JAPAN TIMES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2011 (3)

Uzbekistan president’s visit

Uzbekistan: the step toward great opportunities‘‘Uzbekistan’s foreign policyhas always adhered to theprinciples of mutually benefi-cial cooperation and mutualrespect with all near and farneighbors.’’

Islam Karimov, Presidentof the Republic of Uzbekistan

Geographically, Uzbekistan islocated in the heart of CentralAsia and borders all the coun-tries of the region — Kazakh-stan, Turkmenistan, Tajiki-stan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghani-stan.

The territory of Uzbekistanoccupies more than 447,000 sq.km. It is divided into 14 admin-istrative territorial units (‘‘vi-loyats,’’ or regions).

The population is more than28 million people. The ratio ofrural to urban population is 63percent to 37 percent. In termsof population, Uzbekistanranks third among CIS (Com-monwealth of IndependentStates) countries and firstamong Central Asian coun-tries.

Uzbekistan is a multination-al country and representativesof over 100 nations and ethnicgroups live there. In terms ofreligion, the population is:Muslims 88 percent (mainlySunnis), Eastern Orthodox be-lievers 9 percent and others 3percent (Jews, Buddhists,Catholics, Protestants and oth-ers).

Uzbekistan is a democraticrepublic with a presidentialform of administration. Theform of state system is a uni-tary state.

HistoryThe territory of modern Uzbek-istan is one of the ancienthearths of world civilization.This is the region where the cul-tures and religions of East andWest met, and where the great-est scientists and philosopherslived.

Uzbekistan is a country witha rich and beautiful history.Such powerful states as Bak-tria, Sogdiana, Khorezm andthe Kushan Empire were creat-ed and prospered here.

In the fourth century B.C. Al-exander the Great invaded Cen-tral Asia and conquered Sogdi-ana and Baktria, and absorbedthe remaining traces of Hellen-ic culture here.

The Great Silk Road connect-ing East and West with its as-tounding growth in the 10th toeighth century B.C., passedthrough the territory of Uzbeki-stan. Commercial roadscrossed through the pearls ofworld civilization — the cities ofSamarkand, Bukhara and Khi-va, which are as old as Romeand Athens.

The Islamic religion andMuslim culture started its rap-id dissemination in the eighthand the following centuries inCentral Asia.

This period, known as theEastern Renaissance, wasmarked by the development ofcities, Islamic theology andsecular sciences, Muslim ar-chitecture and art.

In that epoch the followingoutstanding scholars and phi-losophers, who contributed toworld civilization development,lived:

B Al-Khorazmi, the founderof modern algebra who intro-duced the meaning ‘‘algorithm’’into the world of science;

B Abu Raykhan Beruni, a fa-mous encyclopedist and scien-tist, the author of works on min-eralogy, astronomy and natu-ral sciences;

B Abu Ali Ibn Sino (Avicen-na), the greatest scientist ofmedicine, who with Hypocriteswas considered a founder ofmodern medicine, and the au-thor of the well-known ‘‘Canonof Medicine’’;

B Ahmad Farghani (Al-Fra-ganus), astronomer, mathema-

tician and geographer, and oneof the first men to prove that theEarth has a spherical shape;

B Al-Bukhari, a significantMuslim scientist-divine, the au-thor of the collection of Had-ithes ‘‘Al-Jamif as Sakhikh.’’

The renaissance of science,architecture, town building, lit-erature and art took place dur-ing the rule of Amir Temur,well known in the West as Tam-erlane, who created a powerfulstate with its capital in Samar-kand in the 14th century.

During Temur’s governancefavorable conditions for eco-nomic development and traderoutes from China to the MiddleEast were revived and created,and the most renowned of Cen-tral Asian architectural ensem-bles were raised.

Amir Temur left his mark onthe history of Europe when itwas under threat of conquest bythe Turkish Ottoman Empire.

Temur’s grandson, Ulugbek,created the largest medievalastronomical observatory andfounded a university in Samar-kand.

Another descendant of Te-mur, Zakhriddin MuhammadBabur, was governor, com-mander and founder of theGreat Mongol Empire in India.He is also known as a poet andnarrator, and author of the au-tobiographical work ‘‘Babur-Name.’’

At the end of the 19th centu-ry, due to the expansion andspread of Russian influence,Uzbekistan and the rest of Cen-tral Asia became part of theRussian Empire, and later theSoviet Union. In 1991, Uzbeki-stan gained its independenceand in March 1992 became a fullmember of the United Nations.

Uzbekistan has a huge his-torical and cultural heritage,with more than 4,000 historical-architectural monuments, 90percent of which reflect the sig-nificant history and culture ofdifferent religions, and first ofall Islam. The most famous ofthem are in Samarkand, Bu-khara, Khiva, Shakhrisabz andTashkent.

Samarkand’s monumentsare majestic and beautiful.More than 20 of them are recog-nized as among the greatestachievements of human cul-ture: the Registan CeremonialPlaza, Gur-Emir Mausoleum,Bibi-Khanum Palace and theShakhi-Zinda mausoleums. In2001 the historical center of thecity was registered on UNES-CO’s World Heritage list.

Many unique ancient monu-ments have been saved in Bu-khara, where its rich culturalheritage has impressed thewhole world with its beauty formany ages. The city’s architec-ture is perfectly preservedeven today and is of importanceto all mankind.

Khiva — one of the few citiesin the world where almost allhistoric buildings are pre-served — is an ‘‘outdoor city-museum,’’ which has at least2,500 years of history. The innerpart of the city, Ichan-Kala, is ahistorical monument of worldsignificance, where mosques,madrassas, mausoleums, min-arets and palaces are compact-ly located.

The capital of modern Uz-bekistan, Tashkent, is one ofthe largest cities in CentralAsia. Tashkent is rich with over240 archaeological monuments.In 2007 the international Islamorganization on education is-sues, sciences and culture, theOrganization of Islam Confer-ence (ISESCO), declared thecity as a capital of Islamic cul-ture. At the beginning of Sep-tember 2009, according to a de-

cision of the 34th session of theGeneral Conference of UNES-CO, the world society widelycelebrated the 2,200th anniver-sary of Tashkent.

Nowadays, Tashkent is de-servedly named a ‘‘Gate of theEast,’’ and is one of the biggestpolitical, business, cultural andscientific centers for all of theCentral Asian region. The popu-lation of Tashkent is 2.7 million.

Modern UzbekistanModern Uzbekistan, being oneof the leading industrial statesin the Central Asian region, en-sures stability and promoteseconomic development of theregion as a whole.

A national initiative formedby the President of the Repub-lic of Uzbekistan Islam Kari-mov, which is based on the fivebasic principles he developed,is the basis of political stabilityand economic prosperity:

1) the priority of economicsover politics;

2) the state — the main re-former and the guarantor of re-forms;

3) the supremacy of law;4) a strong social policy; and5) coherent and step-by-step

transfer to a market economy.The Uzbek economy has suc-

cessfully overcome the so-called transitional period. Overthe last few years, the economyof Uzbekistan has grown by ayearly rate of 7 percent to 9 per-cent.

In 2010 gross domestic prod-uct (GDP) growth in Uzbeki-stan reached 8.5 percent, mak-ing it one of the highest indica-

tors in the world. The capacityof commercial production hasincreased to 8.3 percent, agri-cultural production to 6.8 per-cent, services to 13.4 percentand construction to 9 percent.The state budget was imple-mented with a proficiency of 0.3percent of GDP.

The inflation rate has not ex-ceeded forecasted figures.

The export capacity has in-creased to 10.8 percent. In 2010capital investment develop-ment increased to 13.6 percent,and including direct invest-ments and credits, to 10.5 per-cent.

As a whole, due to a favor-able investment environmentcreated for foreign and local in-vestors, total investment in theUzbek economy has exceeded$100 billion during the years ofindependence and from the to-tal, more than $35 billion arefunds from foreign investors.

The banking sector and stockmarket continue to developwith accelerated pace. Thereare 31 commercial banks in Uz-bekistan, including three statebanks, 13 joint-stock banks, 11private banks and six bankswith foreign capital.

The total capital of banks for2010 increased 1.5 times asagainst 2009 and total assetsrose 36 percent. The share ofcredits directed to investmentgoals reached 75.2 percent.

The Republic of Uzbekistancontinues to confidently carryout the reforms directed to thecreation of a strong and diversi-fied economy. Today measuresare designed to accelerate theimplementation of the anticris-is program, which was devel-

oped in November 2008, and isaimed at preventing and neu-tralizing the effects of the glob-al economic crisis to the coun-try’s economy.

The main provisions of thisprogram include:

B further accelerated mod-ernization, technical and tech-nological re-equipping of enter-prises, the widespread intro-duction of the newest

technologies in basic industriesand export-oriented branchesof the economy;

B support of the competitive-ness of exporters in foreignmarkets, creating additionalincentives for exports, in par-ticular through the stimulationof production cost reduction;

B reducing the energy inten-sity of the economy and the in-troduction of effective systemsof energy conservation;

B actively encouraging do-mestic demand.

In the high-risk conditions ofdecreasing economic and in-vestment activity due to theworld financial and e c o n o m i ccrisis, the government has tak-en measures to increase capi-talization of the banking sector.These measures will allow thevolumes and period of loans tobe increased and provide thereal sector of the economy withadditional funds.

Medium-term programs formodernization and technologi-cal re-equipment of the mainsectors of the economy for theperiod 2011- 2015, such as thechemical industry, electricalengineering, textiles, pharma-ceuticals, cotton processing, fatand oils, construction m a t e r i -als, metallurgy and others, re-cently are being developed.

The Fund for the Recon-struction and Development ofthe Republic of Uzbekistan,with generated capital of morethan $6 billion, plays an impor-tant role in the implementationof the above-mentioned pro-gram. In the near-term outlook,assets of the fund will be in-creased. The investments of thefund play a strategically impor-tant role in the structural trans-formation and modernizationof the economy, as well as in theformation of a modern produc-tion infrastructure.

Existing advantagesAmong the many advantagesoffered by the modern economyof Uzbekistan to foreign compa-nies are political and macro-economic stability, favorablenatural and climate conditions,and hospitable and hardwork-ing human resources.

From all advantages the keyfactors of business success i nUzbekistan are a rich raw ma-terials base, advantageous geo-graphical location in the centerof the largest regional markets,transport (logistics system in-tegrated into overland and air-lines of international signifi-cance), diversified industrial

base, and scientific and intel-lectual human resource poten-tial.

Access to a wide mix of rawmaterials optimizes maximal-ly the production price by re-ducing essential expenses inthe transportation of raw mate-rials and supplies, provides op-portunities of deep processing,and production of goods with ahigh value added and level of lo-

cal production of more than 30percent.

More than 2,800 deposits andprospective streaks of mineralsare exposed; the general rawmaterials potential of the coun-try is worth about $3.5 trillion.

In many positions, includingnonmetalliferous and metallif-erous, and agricultural rawmaterials, Uzbekistan holdsleading positions in the world.In particular, the country isranked 11th in copper reserves,ninth in gold production, eighthin uranium production and fifthin cotton-fiber production.

The most important advan-tage of Uzbekistan, when manycountries today face energyshortages, is the developed anddeveloping energy indepen-dence of the country’s econo-my.

The country is among the top10 in terms of oil and gas, coaland uranium reserves, and anet exporter of these resources.The total energy reserves of Uz-bekistan are sufficient to pro-vide the needs of the economyfor at least 100 years.

Electric power produced inthe country fully covers Uzbek-istan’s growing needs and costs4.5 times less than the averagecost paid by industrial consum-ers in developed countries.

The unlimited potential of al-ternative energy sources, in-cluding solar, wind, as well asfrom processing solid domesticwaste, allows the generation ofenergy in a volume of morethan 51 billion tons in oil equiva-lent annually and creates addi-tional opportunities.

The proximity to vast mar-kets and the developed trans-port infrastructure of Uzbeki-stan, integrated into the multi-modal communications systemof Eurasia, determine promis-ing investment and trade, andeconomic cooperation. Foreigncompanies investing in Uzbeki-stan have the opportunity to en-ter the five largest and most dy-namically growing markets ofCIS countries with more than300 million people: Central andEastern Europe, South andSoutheast Asia, and the MiddleEast.

Thus, a developed multimo-dal network, which considera-bly reduces the time and costsof cargo delivery from Uzbeki-stan and by transit through itsterritory, as well as agree-ments on most favored nationstatus with 44 countries, and afree trade area between 12 CIScountries, significantly enhanc-

es the competitiveness of goodsproduced in Uzbekistan in ex-ternal markets.

The next key factor of s u c -cessful business in Uzbekistanis the 100 percent literacy of thepopulation, considerable hu-man and intellectual potential,which satisfies modern stan-dards of international educa-tion. Unique for its sense andcontent, the national education-al program for the training ofpersonnel envisages continu-ous education, permanent in-tensification, and renewing oftraining of public and profes-sional education.

Sixty-five institutions ofhigher education, including af-filiates of leading foreign uni-versities, operate in Uzbeki-stan, where 300,000 students aretrained in 850 professions andspecializations. A number offoreign universities such as theWestminster International Uni-versity in Tashkent (2002), Sin-gapore Institute of Manage-ment Development (2007),Moscow State University(2006), and the Russian Eco-nomic Academy (1995), whichis named after George Plekha-nov, have opened their affili-ates in Tashkent.

An affiliate of another for-eign institution, Turin Poly-technic University, which is aunique foreign educational in-stitution in Central Asia in thefield of mechanical engineer-ing, opened at the beginning ofSeptember 2009.

At present, the scientific po-tential of Uzbekistan is ready tooffer to foreign investors nu-

merous scientific research re-sults ready to implement in pro-duction processes in severalsectors of industry and agricul-ture.

The considerable human re-sources and intellectual poten-tial of the country, alongside itsdiversified industrial base, af-ford an opportunity to establishthe most modern and difficultmanufacturing by attractinginnovatory technologies.

Relations with JapanFor the last 20 years of mutual-ly beneficial cooperation, Uz-bekistan and Japan have man-aged to sound their relations inmany areas and lift them up tothe level of strategic partner-ship. It was scarcely possiblewithout the exchange of visitsboth of government and the pri-vate sector.

Before today, there havebeen two official visits by Presi-dent Karimov to Japan. Duringthe last one, in July 2002, lead-ers of our two countries signedthe Joint Statement on Friend-ship, Strategic Partnership andCooperation between Japanand the Republic of Uzbekistanthat opened a new milestone inour relations. As a strategicpartner, Uzbekistan emphasiz-es the development of coopera-tion with Japan, whose finan-cial and economic assistanceplays an important role in thegradual implementation of eco-nomic reforms in our country.

It is enough to say that Japanis a top-ranked investor in Uz-bekistan. The amount of grantsand long-term soft yen loansthat the Japanese governmenthas extended to Uzbekistan hasreached $2.32 billion. Japangives its priceless and impar-tial support to the developmentof infrastructure, the energysector, education, publichealth, culture and the humani-tarian sphere in Uzbekistan.

One needs to note that Uzbek-Japan and Japan-Uzbek com-mittees on economic coopera-tion are also playing great rolesin further strengthening rela-tionship between the two states.

The Central Asia plus JapanDialogue is set up as an effect ofmultilateral efforts aimed at fa-cilitating the endurance ofpeace and stability in the re-gion. The latest round of consul-tations among foreign minis-ters of participating nations inthe dialogue took place in Tash-kent on Aug. 7, 2010, where co-operation issues in political,economic, cultural and human-

itarian areas have been dis-cussed. One of the vital branch-es of bilateral relations is tradeand economic cooperation,which has steadily increased todate. So, on the outcomes of2010, commodity turnover be-tween the two countriesreached $155.1 million.

In 2009 this indicator madeup $139 million. At the presenttime there are 10 joint venturesestablished with the contribu-tion of Japanese investment op-erated in Uzbekistan. These en-terprises are specialized insuch areas as transport and lo-gistics, tourism and healthcare, engineering and metal-working, as well as light indus-try. The Uzbek-Japanese Busi-ness Forum has regularly beencarried out since November2006.

Japan has been one of Uzbek-istan’s oldest and time-testedpartners. The 2009 Intergovern-mental Agreement on Liberal-ization, Mutual Protection andPromotion of Investments hasproved a new impetus for boost-ing Japanese big capital’s busi-ness dynamism in the Uzbekmarket. For instance, Mitsubi-shi Corp. participates in therenovation of a range of enter-prises in chemical industry,while specialists of the Uzavto-sanoat automotive associationhave been introducing newmodels of cars at the SamAutoplant in partnership with Ito-chu, a Japanese automotivegroup. In addition, joint pro-jects in high-tech areas havebeen under way with Sumito-mo.

While attending the 43rd an-nual meeting of the Board ofGovernors of the Asian Devel-opment Bank, the leadership ofthe Japan International Coop-eration Agency (JICA) signed anew deal with the governmentof Uzbekistan worth $300 mil-lion to modernize Talimarjonheat power plant in the Kashka-darya region. It has been a tes-tament to the robustness of mu-tual relations built between Ja-pan and Uzbekistan.

The total volume of financialmeans granted by Japan to Uz-bekistan during the past periodreached about $2.32 billion, in-cluding $1.248 billion withinstate preferential credits of theOfficial Development Assis-tance (ODA) program, about$721 million for the develop-ment of the fuel and energycomplex by commercial cred-its of the Japan Bank for Inter-national Cooperation (JBIC)and over $350 million within theframework of granted techni-cal assistance. Cooperation oneducational and culturalspheres is also a significantbranch of bilateral relations.So, for the past 10 years, withinthe framework of grants of theJapanese government, 192young Uzbek people have beensent to leading universities inJapan to study. Moreover, the

representative office of NagoyaUniversity opened in Tashkentin March 2010, which is the onlysuch structure in Central Asia.It will choose students for studyat the Japanese university. TheUzbekistan-Japan Center forHuman Development, whichwas established in October2010, is also contributing to thepreparation of highly qualifiedspecialists. The purpose of thispublic organization is to trainspecialists for facilitating busi-ness development in Uzbeki-stan, to enhance mutual under-standing and strengthen friend-ly relations between the twocountries through communi-cating various information andintroducing the culture and lan-guage of Japan to the people inUzbekistan. Over 7,000 peopleattended special training pro-grams, based on the economicprogress experience of Japan,as well as courses on entrepre-neurship, information technolo-gy and the Japanese language.About 490,000 people visited thiscenter and its cultural ex-change programs.

In 2001 in Tashkent was builta Japanese garden organicallyintegrated with the natural andclimatic environment of thecity. Like all Japanese gar-dens, it contains a philosophi-cal-ethical concept of the uni-verse in miniature, and has anennobling effect upon the worldof the human soul via the beau-ty of nature. Here, naturalbeauty is skillfully emphasizedby the artistic-expressivemeans of Japanese landscapeart.

The Japanese garden is asymbol of Uzbek-Japanesefriendship. This is a comfort-able and peaceful park whereevery visitor can get wonderfulrest and become acquaintedwith Japanese culture.

One should note that despitethe successful activity of suchJapanese corporations as Isuzuand Itochu (automobile produc-tion), Sumitomo (telecommu-nications) and Mitsubishi(chemical industry) in the Uz-bek market, both countrieshave potentials not in use yet.

Today, cooperation on jointexploring and developing of oil,gas, shale oil and rare metalsdeposits, enlarging of industri-al and transport infrastructure,producing power energy out-fits, developing power efficienttechnology and alternative en-ergy supply, IT and telecom-munication fields, constructingautomobiles and producinghousehold appliances are themost prospective trends of Uz-bek-Japan relations.

Modern Uzbekistan proposesto Japan qualitatively new ap-proaches to economic invest-ment cooperation by means ofimplementing Japanese m o d -ern and high technologicalequipment and techniques invarious industrial fields of therepublic. The upcoming officialvisit of President Karimov t oJapan, at the invitation of H.E.Prime Minister Naoto Kan, willundoubtedly open a new age ofboth countries’ mutual relation-ship.

World Heritage: The Sherdor Madrassa is part of the Registancomplex in Samarkand.

Local production: A Uzbekistani factory makes Isuzu busesfor the country.

Islam Karimov, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Modernity: Downtown Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan

‘Uzbekistan’s foreign policy has always adhered to theprinciples of mutually beneficial cooperation and mutualrespect with all near and far neighbors . . .’ — Islam Karimov,President of the Republic of Uzbekistan

The Japan Times PUBDATE: 2/8/20011 PAGE: 5 C M Y K OUTPUT TIME: 22:25:30

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(4) THE JAPAN TIMES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2011 5

asia-pacific

Uzbekistan president’s visit

Fires gut homesin west AustraliaBlazes sweep throughat least 59 residencesin fourth-largest city

Perth AustraliaAFP-JIJI

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Wildfires destroyed at least 59homes in Perth, Australia’sfourth-largest city, officialssaid Monday, as soldiersfanned out for massive clean-up operations across the cy-clone-hit northeast.

A natural disaster was de-clared in areas of Perth on thecountry’s west coast, wheretwo major blazes raged out ofcontrol for a second day, trig-gered by heat and high windsbrought by last week’s fero-cious Cyclone Yasi.

Fast and unpredictableflames swept through ruggedterrain at Roleystone, onPerth’s southern fringes, andalong its northern outskirts atRed Hill, leveling 59 homesand scorching hundreds ofhectares of forest.

‘‘Fifty-nine structures havebeen damaged or destroyed,’’the Fire and Emergency Ser-vices Authority said. ‘‘An addi-tional 28 structures have sus-tained partial damage of vary-ing degrees.’’

A bridge over the CanningRiver collapsed in the flamesand would be impassable for atleast three weeks, FESA added.

Emergency chief CraigHynes said there had been no se-rious injuries or fatalities, withofficials prepared for the ‘‘re-markable’’ winds, but he cau-tioned that authorities were yet

to bring the fires under control.Both were burning in areas

of heavy vegetation on thecity’s outskirts, in rugged ter-rain that was difficult to ac-cess except by air.

‘‘We’re still calling bothfires uncontrolled and wewon’t be able to let people backinto the areas due to safetyreasons,’’ he said.

‘‘We are very concernedabout the safety of the firegrounds and we are doing ourbest to make sure that there areno injuries. Life is our priority.’’

The emergency came ex-actly two years after the dead-ly ‘‘Black Saturday’’ firestormthat claimed 173 lives in south-eastern Victoria state, an an-niversary marked Mondaywith memorial services in theworst-hit towns.

‘‘It’s a reminder to all of usjust how long and painful thejourney back from natural di-saster can be,’’ Prime Minis-ter Julia Gillard said.

‘‘It’s going to strike . . . . asperhaps a very cruel irony thaton the day they mark the two-year anniversary of the Victori-an bush fires so many Victoriancommunities are actually bat-tling floodwaters,’’ she added.

A top-category storm whenit tore across Australia’snortheast tourist coast Thurs-day, Yasi trashed hundreds ofhomes and decimated cropsworth at least 500 million Aus-tralian dollars ($507 million).

Soldiers led recovery ef-forts in devastated townsalong the cyclone’s path Mon-day, bringing bulldozers,cranes and tanks to help movemountains of debris.

IN BRIEF-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Refugees send $10 million to NorthSeoul AFP-JIJI

North Koreans who have fled to capitalist South Korea send anestimated $10 million a year to families left behind in theimpoverished communist state, a report said Monday.

South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper, citing Seoul officialsand refugees, said the money has become a major part of theNorth’s underground economy in border areas.

More than 20,000 refugees have come south since the end ofthe 1950-53 war, half of them in the past five years.

There are no official ways for individuals to transfer moneyfrom South to North. Seoul bans all unauthorized contacts.

The remittances are arranged by brokers in China and in theNorth, who use their own bank accounts and cash reserves totransfer money with a commission of 30 percent, the report said.

Chinese divorce rate skyrocketsBeijing AFP-JIJI

The number of people who divorced in China shot up in 2010 — atrend on the rise in the world’s most populous nation as men andwomen earn better money and become more independent.

A total of 1.96 million couples applied for divorce last year, a14.5 percent increase from 2009, according to figures publishedon the website of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

A previous state media report had erroneously said 1.2 millioncouples tied the knot in 2010, while the ministry figures put thenumber at 12.1 million.

China’s divorce rate has risen gradually at an average of 7.65percent a year since 2003 when the law regulating marriage wasamended, simplifying both marriage and divorce procedures,according to the state-run Legal Evening News.

Wife kills self after U.S. shootingLahorePakistan AP

The wife of a Pakistani man shot and killed by a U.S. officialcommitted suicide by eating rat poison Sunday, explainingbefore she died that she was driven to act by fears the Americanwould be freed without trial, a doctor said.

The U.S. has demanded Pakistani authorities release theAmerican, saying he shot and killed two armed men inself-defense when they attempted to rob him as he drove his carin the eastern city of Lahore. He was arrested on Jan. 27, and theU.S. has said he has diplomatic immunity and is being illegallydetained.

‘‘I do not expect any justice from this government,’’ the wife,Shumaila Kanwal, said a statement recorded by the doctorbefore she died. ‘‘That is why I want to kill myself.’’

Kanwal also spoke to reporters after arriving at the hospital,saying ‘‘I want blood for blood.’’

‘‘The way my husband was shot, his killer should be shot in thesame fashion,’’ she said.

Thai, Cambodian clashes resume at borderPhnom PenhAP

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Cambodia called for U.N. peace-keepers to help end the fightingalong its border with Thailand,where artillery fire echoed for afourth day Monday near an 11th-century temple classified as aWorld Heritage Site.

The crumbling stone temple,several hundred meters fromThailand’s eastern border withCambodia, has fueled national-ism on both sides of the disput-ed frontier for decades and con-flict over it has sparked sporad-ic, brief battles in recent years.

However, sustained fightinghas been rare.

A one-hour clash Mondaymorning stopped after bothsides agreed to an unofficialceasefire. Fighting has erupteddaily since Friday, leaving fivedead and two dozen wounded.

Cambodian officials say aThai artillery barrage Sundaycollapsed part of ‘‘a wing’’ atthe Preah Vihear temple, aU.N. World Heritage site, butThai officials have dismissedthat account as propaganda.

Both sides blame the otherfor instigating each day’s clash-es, which have shattered a se-

ries of ceasefire agreements.Cambodian Prime Minister

Hun Sen has warned that thefighting poses a threat to re-gional stability. He said thelatest clash was sparked afterThai soldiers crossed the bor-der in search of a slain com-rade, and Cambodians openedfire to repel them. ‘‘We needthe United Nations to sendforces here and create a bufferzone to guarantee that there isno more fighting,’’ he said.

Hun Sen sent a letter to theU.N. Security Council on Sun-day calling for an emergencymeeting to help end the fight-

ing. Thailand’s Foreign Minis-try sent its own letter to the Se-curity Council on Monday toformally protest the ‘‘repeatedand unprovoked armed at-tacks by Cambodian troops.’’

‘‘We have responded withdignity and we did not invadeanybody first,’’ Thai Armyspokesman Col. SansernKaewkamnerd said Monday.

He dismissed claims thefighting constituted ‘‘a war’’ butacknowledged a Thai soldierwho ‘‘unintentionally entered’’Cambodian territory Saturdaywould under military rules beheld as a prisoner of war.

Big guns: Cambodian soldiers are dispatched to the Preah Vihear Temple, some 500 km northwest of Phnom Penh, onSunday. AFP-JIJI