Uzbekistan
Read all about it below.
A brief history of the country
here.
Many of you may have woken up with news of an explosion or bombing in Uzbekistan. That's not exactly what happened. Let's review.
Yalaganch neighborhood of Tashkent:
Police stopped a small car and two alleged terrorists jumped out and detonated explosive-laden belts, killing themselves and three police officers and injuring five more policemen, said a National Security Service officer at the scene who declined to give his name.
At an apartment building some 100 meters (yards) away, an Associated Press reporter saw five corpses laid out on a sidewalk. Police investigators and plainclothes security officers with Kalashnikov assault rifles milled about as a white-coated medical officer put the bodies on stretchers.
There was also some kind of battle with the police outside the capital:
Uzbek police killed eight alleged terrorists who had attacked a traffic police checkpoint on the outskirts of the capital, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. The report could not immediately be confirmed.
Radio Free Europe is reporting a slightly different version of events:
Violence in Uzbekistan continued for a third day today, with Uzbek special forces reportedly engaging in a gun battle with militants.
The fight was reported to be taking place about 15 kilometers northeast of Tashkent, near the residence of Uzbek President Islam Karimov.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ilkhom Zakirov, said the gun battle was spurred by an early-morning operation by special forces attempting to "expose and exterminate" an unknown number of alleged terrorists.
Also today, a Western diplomat cited police sources as saying a man blew himself up in a car while being chased by police, and that a separate shootout had erupted at a Tashkent apartment during a police raid in which authorities were reportedly attempting to capture three suspected assailants.
From other reports:
According to Tribune-Uz report, two explosions took place Tuesday morning near police cabins situated in the area close to the TTZ plant and Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Mirzo Ulughbek district of Tashkent. Reportedly a vehicle stuffed with explosive plunged into a police cabin located near the Institute.
However there is little independent corroboration of ANY of these events.
The New York Times reports a slightly different version:
There were reports of explosions and shooting in the capital Tashkent throughout the day.
In the northern neighborhood of Yalangach, police stopped a small car and two alleged terrorists jumped out and detonated explosive-laden belts, killing themselves and three police officers and injuring five more policemen, said a National Security Service officer at the scene who declined to give his name.
Looks like they quoted the same anonymous police officer.
Let's go to a more detailed version from someone on the ground, Eurasia reporter Esmer Islamov:
A series of bombings and shootings March 29 left at least 19 people dead and dozens more wounded in Uzbekistan, according to official reports. Authorities confirmed two suicide bombings at the main bazaar in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent, but the full extent of the violence remained difficult to determine, in large measure due to the government's tight control over mass media and information gathering. Unconfirmed reports of numerous other bombings and shooting were circulating in Tashkent, including a bombing late at night on March 28 near one of President Islam Karimov's residences.
Uzbek officials quickly sought to link confirmed attacks in Tashkent and Bukhara to international terrorism. Prosecutor Rashid Kadyrov noted that the use of suicide bombers in the attacks "indicated foreign involvement." Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Sadiq Safayev said that the "hands of international terror" were behind the violence "Attempts are being made to split the international anti-terror coalition," he said.
Tashkent residents interviewed by EurasiaNet appeared to treat the government assertions skeptically. Many believed the attacks to be connected to pent-up popular frustration generated the government's ongoing crackdown on individual liberty, along with officials' reluctance to take action to improve a deteriorating economy. "Why are we so all so poor?" asked one man interviewed near the Chorsu bazaar, scene of the suicide bombings. The man blamed the government for imposing restrictions that stifled economic opportunities for most Uzbeks. The majority of vendors at markets, he added, were operating illegally because they could not afford to stay in business if they followed government regulations, including the imposition of onerous tariffs on imported goods. As a result, they were vulnerable to police shake-downs. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive] "People see no legal way to make an honest living. They are desperate," the man said.
No organization has claimed responsibility for the March 29 attacks. Kadyrov said a leading suspect was Hizb-ut-Tahrir, an underground organization that has advocated the peaceful ouster of Karimov's government and the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in Uzbekistan. Another prime suspect, in the government's view, is the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan [IMU].
Time for a little more in-depth Soj-style historical review:
1990 - Uzbekistan becomes independent country after Soviet Union breaks up. Islam Karimov becomes President.
1992 - Karimov outlaws Birlik and Erk opposition parties - crackdown on all stripes of dissidents begins in earnest. Political opposition to Karimov virtually non-existent after this point.
1999 - Tashkent rocked by bombs and gunfire - Karimov blames IMU group for trying to assasinate him but so far no link has beem produced
2001 - Uzbekistan becomes ally and partner of "coalition of the willing" by providing USA with military base
March 2004 - Gun battles with police plus two explosions, one in Tashkent one in Bukhara
Meanwhile Uzbekistan has marked itself as one of the most repressive dictatorships around.
An excerpt from Human Rights Watch:
"The scale and brutality of the operations against independent Muslims make it clear that these are part of a concerted and tightly-orchestrated campaign of religious persecution."
Just last month, a 62-year-old woman, Fatima Mukhadirova, was convicted on charges of religious extremism after she had spoken out about the torture and death of her son in custody. Her son, imprisoned for "religious extremism," died in prison in August 2002 after he was apparently submerged in boiling water. Mukhadirova was released following international outcry. But police raids and arrests continue unabated and at least 26 independent Muslims have been convicted since January.
Do you want to see what her son looked like after they finished boiling him alive? Click here. Warning: is EXTREMELY graphic
Human Rights Watch's entire 319 page report on torture and repression in Uzbekistan can be found here. If you want to read how badly Uzbekistan has treated this poor guy's mother, click here.
Back to more recent events:
The Uzbek government is blaming Hizb ut-Tahrir for the bombings and shootings, despite the fact they're a peaceful group. Yet that never stopped America's buddy and bestest pal Karimov from cracking down on them.
In recent weeks, the Uzbek government has mounted an intense information campaign against Hizb. Uzbek Youth Radio has led the charge, airing a series of scathing commentaries aimed at discouraging Uzbeks from joining the underground movement. "The wicked Hizb-ut-Tahrir, after entering our country, has been brainwashing our young people and hatching various plots to seize power by force," said a March 8 commentary. An editorial aired three days earlier said: "Hizb-ut-Tahrir members claim they are going to come to power by peaceful means. However, their leaflets call on their supporters to wage the holy war, jihad."
So what do Hizb ut-Tahrir have to say for themselves?
Hizb ut-Tahrir, the well known non-violent Islamic political party, denies any involvement whatsoever in today's explosions in Tashkent. Hizb ut-Tahrir does not engage in terrorism, violence or armed struggle and is an Islamic intellectual and political entity that seeks to change people's thoughts through intelligent discussion and debate.
So what does the Karimov-loving State Department say about Uzbekistan?
QUESTION: Two bombings in Uzbekistan, you know, suggestions that it may be terror -- you know --
MR. BOUCHER: Yeah, let me tell you what we know. First, let me make clear that we strongly condemn the senseless act of violence that occurred in Uzbekistan. We'd like to extend our condolences to the Government of Uzbekistan and the Uzbek people for the injuries and the loss of life caused by these terrorist attacks.
The attacks are yet another example of the importance of continued cooperation against those who would stop at nothing to achieve their misguided goals.
We have seen reports of 19 deaths and 26 injured. There have been no reports of any injuries or deaths of U.S. citizens. At this point, no one has claimed responsibility, but we understand that Uzbek authorities have detained several suspects.
QUESTION: Any request for help, any offer of help?
MR. BOUCHER: At this point, we don't have any requests for assistance. We'd be, obviously, willing to entertain any request, but nothing particular at this point.
Get that Mr. Karimov? Just say the word and US Rangers are on the way! In other words, more Americans putting their lives on the line to help repressive dictators. Business as usual.
Meanwhile let's not forget Donald Rumsfeld was in Tashkent less than a month ago to chat with his buddy Karimov. Were there any human rights condemnations from him while he was there? What do you think?
And at the same time, it seems that events on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border might have some link to the unrest in Uzbekistan:
Pakistani troops began to pull out of tribal areas near the Afghan border on Sunday, declaring a successful end to a 12-day offensive to capture Al Qaeda militants and their local supporters.
The Army has arrested 163 suspected militants and killed 60. None of those killed or captured, however, were considered to be high-ranking Al Qaeda militants.
A senior Al Qaeda leader, Tahir Yuldashev, was badly wounded but escaped, officials said on Sunday. Yuldashev, leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, was accused of a series of bomb blasts in Tashkent in 1999. "He is in our tribal area," said [Pakistani Army spokesperson Mehmood] Shah. "We are hunting him."
Best wrap-up summary of recent events here:
Regardless of who was behind the March 29 attacks, it appears that the primary target was Uzbekistan's security apparatus. Unconfirmed reports suggested that the Chorsu market bombings were
specifically designed to inflict significant police casualties. The first suicide bomber detonated at approximately 8:20 am not far from the bazaar's bus terminal. It came at a time when two police shifts were overlapping. Approximately 50 minutes elapsed between the first and second suicide blasts, indicating that the bombers wanted to give police time to sweep the area of bystanders, thus presenting a clearer, more concentrated target. Both suicide bombers were believed to be women. According to the Muslim Uzbekistan web site, there was a third, unconfirmed, bombing at the Chorsu market, in which a man jumped out of a vehicle and "plunged into [a group of] policemen and blew himself [up]." Officials say three police officers and one child were killed during the two confirmed suicide bombings.
A EurasiaNet correspondent arrived at the site of the Chorsu explosions at 9.30 am The bazaar was closed and cordoned off by the police. Out of about 15 policemen approached for an explanation, only one admitted that there had been explosions. Others claimed that "the market is closed for a sanitary inspection" or that they did not know anything. Despite the havoc, some Chorsu vendors continued to sell their wares, mostly food products, near the central entrance to the market. The rest of the city appeared relatively calm.
A palpable hostility for the police could be felt among onlookers at the Chorsu bazaar following the blasts. Many complained about arbitrary behavior by law-enforcement officers. Some mentioned an incident the day before the blasts occurred, in which a vendor had been beaten to death by police. The circumstances surrounding the incident could not be immediately verified.
In addition to the Chorsu bombings, state television provided information about two separate attacks against police officers during the night of March 28-29 in Tashkent. One shooting incident near the city's Textile Institute left two police officers dead. Another police officer was killed and one wounded in a shootout near the TTZ Tractor Plant. Unconfirmed reports said an explosion occurred near Karimov's Durmen residence, which is located in the same area as the TTZ plant. Shortly after the shooting incident at TTZ, police foot patrols flooded the area.
In addition, state-controlled media reported that an explosion in the city of Bukhara killed 10 people and 26 injured. Official accounts said the blast occurred in an apartment being used by "terrorists" as a bomb-making factory. At least two other bombs went off in Bukhara, Uzbek authorities said. The Itar-Tass news agency quoted Uzbek Foreign Ministry spokesman Elkhom Zakirov as saying no casualty reports had been received from Bukhara. The Interfax news agency, citing a source within the Uzbek Interior Ministry, said it was possible that bombings "were planned in other regions" across the country.
So, what's the final analysis?
Repression against the people has resulted in someone or some group making several coordinated attacks against Uzbek security personnel and police.
Could the Pakistani Army offensive in the tribal regions be the motive? I don't know. It's certainly a possibility. But I also know Uzbekistan is filled with a lot of people who are deeply unhappy and impoverished. The US will prop up Karimov as long as possible because he serves American purposes by cracking down on "Muslim radicals", which is the new codeword for "Communists". Karimov himself was nearly killed on February 16, 1999. Again, bombs and a shootout with the police featured.
Excellent map of Uzbekistan can be found here.
Peace
