The Uzbekistan Senate gave final approval Friday to an order evicting US military forces from the country and many lawmakers demanded financial compensation from Washington for alleged environmental damage caused by the US military presence in the country.
The eviction order was approved after two hours of debate and the decision was announced by Farrukha Mukhuddinova, deputy Senate speaker. Senate approval marked the final step needed to make the eviction notice law.
"The presence of the US airbase has become against our interests," said Nuriddin Zayniddinov, a senator representing the constituency where the US airbase at Karshi Khanabad, known as K2, is located.
"A man with two faces cannot be a friend of Uzbekistan," Zayniddinov said in a speech before the assembly.
Another senator said the government of Uzbekistan had spent 168 million dollars in building infrastructure to support the US base but had received no financial compensation for the expenditures from the United States.
"We have the right to demand not only the eviction of the US military from Uzbekistan but to demand compensation for environmental, economic and health damage" caused by the American military presence in the country, he said.
The government of the strategic Central Asian state formally notified the United States on July 29 of its decision to terminate the agreement permitting the deployment of US military forces at the base.
The eviction notice was served after the United States joined an international chorus condemning the regime of President Islam Karimov for a military crackdown in the eastern city of Andijan on May 13.
Independent human rights groups and local witnesses claimed troops opened fire on unarmed civilians in Andijan, killing several hundred people. The Uzbek government denied this, saying that 187 people were killed in the unrest, including many military and law enforcement personnel. Tashkent said the unrest in Andijan was triggered by an attempt by armed Islamist militants to overthrow the government and required an immediate and decisive response.
The US military presence in Uzbekistan was established shortly after the September 11 2001 attacks in the United States and has been used since then to support ongoing US military operations in Afghanistan. In serving the eviction notice, Uzbekistan gave the United States 180 days to clear out - the notice required under the basing agreement.
In the debate Friday, several Uzbek senators said the decision to kick US forces out of the country was not linked to criticism from Washington over the events in Andijan. Zayniddinov said that the US military presence at Karshi Khanabad had been a source of protest from local residents for several years and asserted, without providing explanation, that it had contributed to a rise in health problems in the area.