A few days old -- body count is a lot higher now.
Analysis: The Uzbek tinderbox By Peter Lavelle Published on May 13, 2005 This article was written for UPI - United Press International
MOSCOW, May 13 (UPI) -- The former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan was hit by violence Friday, pitting the authoritarian rule of President Islam Karimov against angry protesters who freed imprisoned Muslim businessmen accused of links to banned Islamic groups. Unlike other recent upheavals in Central Asia, however, neither side in Uzbekistan is shying away from the use of lethal force.
Angered by the imprisonment and believed political persecution of 23 Muslim businessmen by Uzbek authorities in the eastern city of Andizhan, thousands of protesters, many of them armed, seized control of a prison and freed thousands of inmates. Uzbek authorities say the businessmen belong to the banned Muslim group Akramiya, which they say is linked to the outlawed radical group Hizb-ut-Tahrir.
At least nine people were killed and scores injured in the ensuing violence.
On Wednesday, several thousand people staged a rare demonstration in Andizhan for the release of the businessman and to protest against mounting despair over alleged human rights abuses.
In the context of violence and protests in Uzbekistan over the past year, Friday's events in Andizhan are hardly surprising. In March 2004, Islamic radicals were blamed for many bomb attacks, including one that killed nearly 50 people. Explosions at the U.S. and Israeli embassies in the capital, Tashkent, killed three people in July 2004. The government says Hizb-ut-Tahrir was behind the attacks. The group, which says it is against violence, denies responsibility.
Karimov, a Soviet-era communist boss, has headed Uzbekistan as his own fiefdom since 1991. Uzbek authorities only allow a state-sponsored form of Islam and have, according to most estimates, imprisoned 6,000 political prisoners. International human rights groups have condemned the government's practices.
Uzbekistan is, however, an ally of the United States in the war against terrorism. Washington, which has a strategically located airbase in the country, has put itself in the uncomfortable position of being critical of Karimov's domestic rule without losing sight of how radical Islamic groups threaten Central Asia.
The recent violence and unrest in Uzbekistan has prompted many to ask if another "velvet revolution" is in the making, particularly because of the overthrow of the regime in neighboring Kyrgyzstan in March. If this is on the cards, it will be for different reasons than in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. Social protests, even violence, in Uzbekistan have not been ignited by fraudulent elections. Its problems run deeper.
It could be said the lack of a meaningful democracy and free elections are low priorities for most Uzbeks. The detained 23 Muslim businessmen in Andizhan head the city's struggling business community and are an important source of employment in the desperately poor Fergana Valley. Whether they have or had links to outlawed Islamic groups may never be established, but what could be said is many in Andizhan are rising to protect their livelihood.
As is often the case in Central Asia and other parts of the developing world, poverty is the most valuable recruiter of terrorism's growing army. Karimov justifies his rigid style of rule as part of the war against terrorism. Few would contest, however, that his war is also a war against anything resembling accepted democratic norms. The fact protesters have resorted to violence to defend business leaders also suggests Karimov is at war with individuals who make up an important institution of any modern civil society.
Karimov's Uzbekistan is a tinderbox. His style of fighting terrorism only appears to encourage it. By persecuting those who create job opportunities for the poor, Karimov only aggravates existing social tensions. Events in Andizhan send Karimov another very dangerous sign: protesters are not demanding free elections -- they are literally up in arms fighting for survival.
The United States should wonder if Karimov is the kind of ally it needs in the war against terrorism.
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Nu, zayats, pogodi!
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