There is a small, very small, protest in Tashkent today.
Why is this so desperately important? Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan, a U.S. ally in the War on Terror (we bombed Afghanistan from bases there) and one of the worst dictatorships in Central Asia. President Islam Karimov has ruled with an iron fist, purging dissenters and consolidating power in his own hands.
But today--right now, in fact:
A small group of demonstrators has held an angry, illegal protest in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. (
BBC story)
Here's what breaks my heart: they're holding it in front of the U.S. embassy.
Asked why the US Embassy was chosen, protesters replied that they could not count on the local authorities' goodwill or on help from Russia and nearby countries and therefore wanted to attract attention of the US Department of State, international organizations, and the media.
Our government, in which these people have obviously placed some kind of desperate hope, will no doubt look the other way. But one American, at least, won't.
May your message spread. May the world hear you. May what happened in neighboring Kyrgyzstan be your guide.
Down with President Karimov and tyrants like him!
There are pictures and a story here:
http://enews.ferghana.ru/detail.php?id=448551448551.96,639,20818660
Don't let them disappear. Please help me spread the word. I can't tell you how important this is, and how long I've waited to see something like it from either Uzbekistan or Turkmenistan. If we can bring enough attention to this protest, Karimov won't be able to make these people disappear so easily.
Contact your representatives in Congress and tell them to support those begging us for help in Uzbekistan--before it's too late.