It is hard not to be ABK (Anybody but Karimov) regarding Uzbekistan, however, it is not likely that the “freedom” of being a US client state will enchant the Uzbek people as long or as intensely as some investors might wish.
Here are some recent articles. Maybe they tell a story that will please you, maybe not. Draw your own conclusions.
Ending an increasingly untenable silence, the US has issued a call for reform in its ally Uzbekistan, where the government violently suppressed an uprising in the restive eastern part of the country last week.
The Uzbek system was “too closed”, Condoleezza Rice, the Secretary of State, told reporters on her way back from her weekend visit to Iraq. “We have been encouraging the government to make reforms, to make it possible for people to have a political life.”
Her comments were Washington’s first implicit criticism of the repressive regime of Islam Karimov, who has ruled the central Asian republic with an iron grip since it became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
An Uzbek opposition leader said Tuesday that her party had compiled a list of 745 people allegedly killed by government troops in Uzbekistan.
Nigara Khidoyatova, the head of the Free Peasants party, said that 542 people had been killed in Andijan and 203 people in Pakhtabad, another city in the Fergana Valley. Khidoyatova said her party had arrived at the figure by speaking to relatives of those killed and that the count was continuing.
“Soldiers were roaming the streets and shooting at innocent civilians,” Khidoyatova told The Associated Press. “Many victims were shot in the back of the head.”
(Karimov says nine were killed )
Here’s some background:
The coalition for national unity “Serkuesh Uzbekistonim” (My Sunshine Uzbekistan) was organized April 9, 2005 at a meeting called by the leaders of Uzbekistan’s democratic reform movement. Participants in the meeting approved the coalition’s “Program for Reform” which outlines a fundamental shake-up of the Republic of Uzbekistan’s economy. The coalition also called on Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov to work cooperatively with Sunshine Uzbekistan in “creating an open, free market, democratic society.”
Uzbekistan is one of America’s foremost allies in the War on Terror and is host to a US Air Force base providing support to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The Government of Uzbekistan’s continuing strong, anti-terrorist stance has earned it limited support from the Bush Administration. However, the Government’s appalling human rights records, pervasive corruption and massive economic mismanagement have driven Uzbekistan’s civil society to the brink of collapse. Sunshine Uzbekistan’s Reform Program embraces respect for human rights, honesty in government, market economics and continued good relations with the United States.
Membership of the coordinating committee includes (in alphabetical order):
Ekubov, Tolib -Ph.D., Chairman, Human Rights Society Of Uzbekistan
Iskhakov, Faizulla – Ph.D., Professor
Karimov, Olim – Ph.D., Professor, Founder of Ozod Dehkonlar
Khasanov, Dadahon – Poet and popular singer
Khidoyatova, Nigara – Ph.D.,General Secretary of Ozod Dehkonlar
Khudaybergenov, Iskandar – Human rights activist
Khidoyatova, Nadira – Entrepreneur
Mirzaolimov, Alisher – Activist of Ozod Dehkonlar, Entrepreneur
Namazov, Bakhodir – Activist of Ozod Dehkonlar
Umarov, Sanjar – Ph.D., Entrepreneur
Yuldashev, Tashpulat – Ph.D.,Independent political scientist
Almost all of Uzbekistan’s economy is still subject to Soviet-style control by corrupt government bureaucracies. As a result, the citizens of Uzbekistan have never been free to develop their country’s rich agricultural and natural resources. Rather, Uzbekistan’s current economic system has driven its citizens to despair for the future. Sunshine Uzbekistan is committed to implementing liberal, free-market economic reforms…
The idea of a political party representing peasants and farmers first appeared in 2002. The idea was suggested by Muhammadbubor Malikov, ex-ambassador to the United States granted political asylum in this country. The matter was discussed by Malikov, Zafar Saidov, and Khidoyatova when the latter visited the United States that summer.
Khidoyatova returned to Uzbekistan and got down to work…
