Blogging the democratic revolution
Senators Bill Frist and Richard Lugar have taken the initiative in Congress and presented a resolution calling for the fair treatment of Sanjar Umarov, the Uzbek opposition politician who has presented the most reasonable challenge to President Karimov so far. He was detained in late October. Here’s the text of the resolution. The resolution prompted the White House to issue a similar statement of support for Umarov and condemnation of the Karimov government. WASHINGTON, Nov 2 (Reuters) – The United States issued a sharp rebuke to the Uzbek government on Wednesday over the arrest of opposition leader Sanjar Umarov and…
In its ongoing crackdown on pro-democracy reformists, the Uzbek government has arrested Sanjar Umarov, the leader of Sunshine Uzbekistan and a potential challenger to President Karimov. The New York Times has more, though a lot of the information seems to come from the Sunshine Uzbekistan website. MOSCOW, Oct. 23 ???????? The leader of an Uzbek opposition coalition that has criticized the nation????????s authoritarian government was arrested Saturday night and accused of corruption, his family and an international human rights organization said. The office of the coalition, Sunshine Uzbekistan, was raided, and records and at least one computer were seized. The…
With the trial of the 15 Andijon “terrorists” still ongoing, the West has decided that it isn’t interested in ongoing diplomatic talks with Karimov over the massacre. It’s more interested in isolating the regime. At the meeting of the OSCE, the U.S. fully condemned the Uzbek government for the actions that it took. Uzbekistan????????s disregard for its OSCE commitments is undermining its security, the United States believes. The systemic failure to observe these basic rights has exacerbated circumstances in Uzbekistan and, we believe, is a radicalizing factor, Finley said. The United States, European Union, United Nations and OSCE have called…
The trial of the 15 Andijon “terrorists” is underway, and the results are all too predictable. The defendants are admitting complete guilt, straight down the government line. Nathan is rounding up all the coverage of the trials, and describes it as, “a parade of confessions confirming every last detail of the Uzbek government????????s paranoid fantasies.” RFE/RL digs down deep into what this all means, saying that it is just the continuation of years of well-established pattern. It’s really something completely out of 1984, a compelling article to say the least, though it shouldn’t come as any surprise. Prague, 21 September…
In the email, Elena Steiger sends this story of an activist in Uzbekistan whose very basic human rights are being breached outright by the government. Elena Urlaeva, well-known rights activist and member of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan, was detained by security agents on August 27, 2005, while distributing flyers at a peaceful protest in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Authorities forcibly committed her to a psychiatric hospital – a Soviet-era technique meant to silence dissidents that is used in present day Uzbekistan, particularly against female activists. Ms. Urlaeva has been detained in such facilities twice before. Each time, she was forced…
Samarkand may be showing itself to be the new hotbed of civil unrest after the Andijon massacre back in May. Protestors took the to streets after the government gave them only one week to clear out of their homes in preparation for a highway project. And more, the government offered them next to nothing in compensation. Another protest followed, as women demonstrated against the government’s intent to close a bazaar. There were unconfirmed protests in Samarkand back in June as well. Two public protests broke out this weekend in the Uzbek city of Samarkand. On 20 August, demonstrators from the…
While the whole world, myself included, has been focused on the withdrawal of U.S. forces from its base in Uzbekistan, something interesting has been going on in the upper hierarchy of the Uzbek government relating directly back to the Andijon massacre. If you’ll recall, President Karimov blamed the entire uprising as being organized by radical Islamist militants. This story was backed by Russia and China. But as I explained, and this is what everyone else keeping tabs on this story knows now, is that the protestors were pissed off because the government was trying 23 businessmen who made up a…
With so much talk of the return of the Great Game in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan’s maneuvers between the powers and its neighbors makes for one of the best case studies. The refugees who took flight from Andijon across the border to Kyrgyzstan following Karimov’s May massacre has been one of those issues that the new government has had to deal with carefully. At once, the new government must raise standards of respect for human rights both for itself and to please the United States, and on the other hand it must not earn the scorn its neighbors and isolation from…
A few weeks ago when the Shanghai Cooperation Organization met in Kazakhstan, it called for the quick pullout of U.S. forces from its bases in Central Asia. The U.S. has bases in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, with special flight rights in Tajikistan, which are members of the SCO. Even Kyrgyzstan at the time was making statements about a timely deadline for U.S. withdrawal. It has to be remembered, however, that this was most likely due to a large amount of pressure exerted from the SCO’s larger members, China and Russia. For a little while it looked like they would succeed in…
On July 1 I wrote about the summit between Russia and China, in which they agreed to cooperate to exert their economic and political influence in the region between them; that is, Central Asia. Here is what I said: Perhaps it isn????????t explicitly stated, but most of the concern for both countries in recent months has been in Central Asia, where we have seen an revolution in Kyrgyzstan and a massacre in Uzbekistan. This translates into increased interest by the United States in seeing liberal democracy take root, which in turn means less control by Moscow. As a huge regional…
Still breaking and unconfirmed of yet, but (via: Registan) Reuters is being told that 600 people are protesting in Samarkand. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has picked it up too. TASHKENT, June 8 (Reuters) – Hundreds of opposition supporters in eastern Uzbekistan held a rally on Wednesday in a rare protest since a bloody crackdown last month in a different part of the country, the opposition party said. The banned Free Farmers Party told Reuters 600 people were protesting on a farm in the Samarkand region which is home to a local activist who had been arrested by security forces. There…
Thousands of people crowd the city square, moving as a singular mass. It stared upward, demanding liberalization and an end to corrupt governance. Looking back downward, with scorn, was another mass; armed with machine guns and a stake in using them if the situation out-stepped its bounds. And then they used them. Hundreds dead, multiples more wounded, and thousands behind bars. A complete news blackout. Is this Tiananmen Square or Andijon, Uzbekistan? If we’re talking about renegade totalitarianism obstructing the liberties of its own citizenry by use of force, then they are one in the same. But this is about…
I can understand why the U.S. government has been hesitant to call shots on the events unfolding in Uzbekistan. Good information has been rare, and they are obviously waiting to see what political and strategic maneuvers to make. But come on, enough it enough. With every report indicating massive deaths in the hundreds, this is certainly a situation meriting unflinching pressure from powerful nations. It looks that Britain is on the case and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw will be flying to Washington to meet with Secretary Rice and other U.S. officials in order to reach a plan of action. Foreign…
Before anything, make sure to read Nathan’s evening updates. Jim over at Gateway Pundit also has a great roundup with links to BBC video footage available. Earlier Saturday, people gathered in the same square that yesterday saw the bloody crackdown of Karimov’s regime. While the violence in Andijan appeared to have calmed Saturday, disturbances flared in the village of Korasuv, 30 miles to the east, when 6,000 Uzbeks trying to flee into Kyrgyzstan were blocked at the border. Some in the group set fire to a police station, vandalized police cars and attacked border personnel, a Kyrgyz official said. Uzbek…
This is extremely rare for Uzbekistan, where Islam Karimov really puts the boot down. It seems that 4000 people have taken to the streets to protest the trials of several loca businessmen accused of “extremist activities.” More than 4,000 residents of Andijon demonstrated for a second consecutive day in a row on 11 May (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” 11 May 2005) to protest the trial of 23 local businessmen for alleged extremist activity in the so-called Akramiy organization, uznews.net reported. Prosecutors have asked for prison terms ranging from three to seven years for 20 of the defendants, saying that the remaining…
Earlier this week, Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky announced that he had offered 10 CDs of the Melnychenko recordings to Viktor Yushchenko. Now, the Parliament has denied Berezovsky an entry visa: KIEV, April 22 (Itar-Tass) – The Supreme Rada (parliament) of Ukraine has refused to support the request of MP Alexander Volkov to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on issuing an entry visa to political refugee Platon Yelenin (Boris Berezovsky), who has been invited to Ukraine by a group of MPs. Only 19 MPs voted in support for the request, while the needed number of votes is 226. I have this this…
Nathan’s weekend edition is up, and PORA is tranforming itself into a permanent think-tank. Vladyslav Kaskiv is one of the leaders of the Pora movement, whose demonstrations ???????? often laced with biting humor ???????? became a memorable feature of those exuberant winter days. Pora drew its inspiration from pro-democracy youth movements in Serbia and Georgia that also helped topple authoritarian regimes. Kaskiv told RFE/RL he and his colleagues planned to institutionalize their experience by setting up an international center in Kyiv to offer assistance and practical advice to democracy advocates throughout the region. ???????We are now in a very active…
Nathan has got today’s update up with what’s going on there. And apparently Uzbekistan is developing a parliamentary opposition: Asliddin Rustamov, leader of the parliamentary faction of the People????????s Democratic Party, said at a press conference here on Wednesday that their faction regarded itself as the left wing of the political forces, represented in parliament, which has a different opinion on some aspects of the reforms implemented in Uzbekistan. Specifically, it believes that their social effectiveness should be improved. The faction ???????will consistently express and defend the interests of working people and of the vulnerable sections of the population. It…
I noticed a trackback on one of my posts by Winds of Change and followed the link. Apparently, Nathan from The Argus does a monthly roundup of all the news from the Caucasus over there. Make sure to check that out. As I have noted before, love stuff like this.
I never thought that I’d see it on Instapundit before checking my blogroll, but Nathan has some pictures of demonstrators showing orange at protests in their respective countries. Alright, back to the game. I couldn’t wait to post that, but no more for today!
Nathan has posted a roundup of news concerning Central Asia. I’m such a whore for these kinds of things.
Nathan posts about the “not-so-veiled threats against NGOs” in Uzbekistan. I guess that is because they do engage in some pro-democracy, er, activities; but I’m obviously against blocking them out for that very reason. But it always makes me come to the conclusion that doing this will only further speed up the current regime’s downfall. Also posted is an interview with “President” Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan
Nathan from The Argus has got some great commentary regarding the Bush inauguration speech. I don????????t know how to say it other than to once again say that democratization isn????????t new. Talking about it is. Doing it is bipartisan. Publicly supporting it seems to be something the right is much more concerned about. And why do I don the ideologue????????s gloves, something I rarely do here? Because praktike points to this Senate plan as an alternative to Bush????????s foreign policy vision. All I can really say in praise is that it is gloriously imprecise, tells a wonderful fairy-tale in the…
Transitions online has an interview with Islam Karimov, “President” of Uzbekistan entitled Not In My Country. Man, even the title describes the authoritarian attitude. Nezavisimaya Gazeta: But in theory “velvet” turnovers may be too mild and the country will find itself in the grips of a civil war… Islam Karimov: Everything depends on the preparations. Take Ukraine, for example, where preparations for the recent election began in 1995. Consider how many non-governmental organizations exist there and on whose money they exist, and everything will become instantly clear. By the way, we are tracking all funds and grants nowadays. We want…
A very rare occassion, The Argus notes, that President Karimov of Uzbekistan will give an interview. Apparently, however, the leader holds a firm grasp of the potential for democracy and what it will do to his government if the people are unsatisfied. This is a good thing for the people of a nation to realize, but… The Argus notes correctly: At the same time, his firm grasp on the situation is problematic. He has appraised the situation, come to the conclusion that people force governments out of office when extremely dissatisfied, and looked for ways to stave off such a…