With the Central Asian thugs in cahoots with the CIA to harsh on their own people as if they were Bin Laden in the flesh, I can't say I blame them for raiding a high-security prison and springing 2000 inmates, mostly political prisoners.
From
El Mundo (Madrid): Human Rights Watch has harshly criticized the Karimov régime, which has accused the the various NGOs operating within the country of engaging in "subversive activities" in violation of "Uzbek laws with the aim of spreading subversive ideas." There are thousands of political prisoners says HRW, which also denounces the widespread use of torture. Tashkent is believed to be cooperating with the CIA in receiving prisoners for interrogation. It also receives millions of dollars from Washington for its security forces. Since 9-11, the US installed a military base in Janabad to support its military operations in Afghanistan.
The Karimov régime, also involved in border disputes with Tajikistan and Kirgyzstan, has placed land mines along its frontiers to prevent armed incursion by Hizb i Tahrir as happened in 1999 and 2001. It strictly controls the media to shut off dissent. With the opposition in prison or in exile, radical Islamist movements are gaining influence among the population as an alternative to the corrupt régime.
Last night armed rebel commandos attacked a military garrison and a police barracks, seizing dozens of weapons and three armored vehicles. They then sprung 2,000 prisoners from the local high-security prison, including the leaders of the various Islamist movements. Protestors also occupied secret police headquarters.
Russian on-line paper gazeta.ru is reporting that police and snipers had opened fire on the crowds but have since been "neutralized" and taken hostage. Near the site of demonstrations, the local theatre is ablaze and fire crews have stayed away. A local resident told RIA-Novosti by telephone that there are thousands of protesters in the main square of the city. The demonstrators have asked Russia's Vladimir Putin to personally to mediate the crisis to prevent more bloodshed.
The government of Kirgyzstan has closed its border with Uzbekistan due to the unrest. On the Uzbek side of the border, there is a media blackout and foreign camera crews from BBC, CNN and Russian televison have been prohibited from broadcasting images from the disturbances. The president of the country, Islam Karimov, is on the scene.
Meanwhile in Tashkent, Israeli embassy guards have shot dead a presumed suicide bomber.