DUSHANBE, October 12, Asia-Plus –The OSCE Center-supported destruction of obsolete rocket boosters began at demolition ground in Lohour, some 30 kilometers south of Dushanbe, on October 12.
Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Center in Dushanbe, addressing a ceremony marking the destruction of the first boosters said, “The destruction of the rocket boosters is an important contribution to conflict prevention and overall security in Tajikistan.”
Lieutenant-General Ramil Nadyrov, the First Deputy Defense Minister and Chief of General Staff of the Tajik Armed Force, who also attended the ceremony, expressed gratitude to the OSCE Center for assistance and cooperation and said, “Destruction of the rocket boosters of the type CA-75 is the result of the fruitful cooperation of staff and experts of the defense ministries of Tajikistan, Russia and the OSCE.” Russian experts, in particular, trained Tajik Army’s explosive ordnances disposal team for this task, the deputy minister said.
According to Russian military expert Andrey Kouts, a power one rocket booster is equivalent to 300 kilograms of TNT.
According to the OSCE Center in Dushanbe, the project was initiated by Deputy Foreign Minister Erkin Qosimov, when he was head of the Tajik delegation to the OSCE.
Some 108 rocket boosters of the type CA-75 will be destroyed by the end of November, press release issued by the OSCE Center said. The explosive ordnances disposal team of the Tajik Army were trained by Russian experts for the task.
Earlier this month, OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut visited the booster destruction site while in Tajikistan to attend the CSTO summit.
Andorra and Slovenia are supporting the booster disposal, which is part of the Center”s efforts to contain the security and environmental threat that the deterioration of such ordinance poses in Tajikistan.
The Small Arms Light Weapon (SALW) and Conventional Ammunition Program of the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe is supported by Andorra, Belgium, Finland, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and USA.
