Uzbek toll rises as unrest spreads

Learned analysts have long insisted that Uzbekistan was a bastion of Islamic moderation. I have responded the way I always do: by asking how these moderates counter jihadist recruitment. The response: silence or abuse. But it looks as if the answer these learned analysts did not want to give was: they don't, and they can't -- except by force of arms. Another update on the Muslim Uzbek riots, from CNN:

ANDIJAN, Uzbekistan -- The death toll from a crackdown by Uzbekistan security forces is mounting amid reports that unrest has spread from Andijan to at least three other towns.

More than 700 people reportedly have been killed in clashes last week in the region bordering Kyrgyzstan, The Associated Press reported Monday.

The unrest, which began Thursday, is the worst since Uzbekistan gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Uzbek government, which witnesses say has fired on demonstrators in affected areas, blames Islamic extremists for inciting the violence.

Saidjahon Zaynabitdinov, head of the local Appeal human rights advocacy group, said Monday that government troops had killed about 200 demonstrators Saturday in Pakhtabad, about 20 miles northeast of Andijan, AP reported.

That violence would have come a day after about 500 people reportedly were killed in Andijan -- Uzbekistan's fourth-largest city -- when government troops put down a prison uprising by alleged Islamic militants and citizens protesting dismal economic conditions.

Andijan remained tense on Monday after gunfire continued throughout the night, AP said.

"The people now are more afraid of government troops than of any so-called militants," Zaynabitdinov told Associated Press Television News.

In a separate clash Sunday in the border town of Teshiktosh, eight soldiers and three civilians were killed and hundreds of Uzbeks fled into neighboring Kyrgyzstan, according to witnesses.

In another border community, Korasuv, an estimated 5,000 people went on a rampage Saturday and forced authorities to restore a bridge across a river that marks the border with Kyrgyzstan, AP reported.

United Nations relief experts were dispatched along the border to assess the needs of refugees, although there did not appear to be a mass exodus from the region into Kyrgyzstan.

On Saturday, a U.N. official said 528 people from Uzbekistan crossed the border into the Jalal-Abad area of Kyrgyzstan.

The roads leading from Andijan appeared to be blocked by Uzbek troops Sunday...

UPDATE: The presence of jihadists in Uzbekistan, which is still disputed by some, does not justify the brutal and bloody response of the Karimov regime. Uzbeks are between a rock and a hard place. My condolences to the victims.

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10 Comments

voletti | May 16, 2005 9:03 AM

My reluctant support is for the Karimov regime in this case. However repressive things might be (as long as they don't ever get as bad as in N Korea) people're better off in a secular state than in a totalatarian islamic one (role models would be Saudi, Iran, Sudan, Yemen etc - none of which inspire confiidence). Even so called moderate islamic states like Turkey and Pakistan are steadily drifting towards theocratic fascism and I'd wager a beer, in 15 yrs are gonna have theocratic regimes running the show.

rahel | May 16, 2005 10:48 AM

I agree with Voletti. It looks more and more obvious that Islamist movements can only be kept under control by tyrannical measures. There is a clear pattern: in non-Muslim states, non-democratic governments are challenged and eventually overthrown by bloodless revolutions and peaceful demonstrations, just look at the recent developments in Ukraine and Georgia, following the example of the rest of Christian ex-Communist world. In Muslim countries, tyrants are challenged only, or mainly, by Islamists whose alternative is a Sharia state. Not much hope for an Islamic democracy, is there?

rahel | May 16, 2005 10:56 AM

Voletti,
with Pakistan, you won't need to wait for 15 years. In the so called moderate Pakistan, police beats and arrests women for...
running with men. Cause you see, running with men is unislamic.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP145246.htm

SeenathePersian | May 16, 2005 11:18 AM

Voletti,

It would be useful to sometimes check other sources of news too.

According to all news, the protestors were not members of "Islamist movements", but local poeple who were protesting against the jailing of local businessmen that the local officials of Karimov government put in jail. The official claimed those people were members of ISlamic groups, but local people say they were wealthy businessmen who were arrested because the local officials intended to confiscate their wealth.

Considering the high level of corruption and repression in Karimov regime, the above scenario makes sense. It is one thing to crush the Islamic militants, but quite another to use that charge to advance a dictator's personal agenda. Siding with Karimov is a monumental mistake.

To Robert: You have repeated numerous times that observers claim Uzbekistan is the land of "islamic moderation". Any reference? I have never heard such claim. The Uzbekistan government and Karimov himself has always been described as anti-religious athoritarian.

jihadwatch | May 16, 2005 11:22 AM

Dear Seenathepersian:

"To Robert: You have repeated numerous times that observers claim Uzbekistan is the land of 'islamic moderation'. Any reference? I have never heard such claim. The Uzbekistan government and Karimov himself has always been described as anti-religious athoritarian."

The claim comes from the illustrious Stephen Schwartz:

http://www.frontpagemag.com/articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=14360

Cordially
Robert Spencer

SeenathePersian | May 16, 2005 11:51 AM

Thanks, Robert.

But if I understand Shcwartz' article correctly, that's mainly about the traditions of Uzbek society long before communism. What exactly has it got to do with the current situation of the country; after 70 years of communism and 20 years of Karimov's iron hand?

jihadwatch | May 16, 2005 12:31 PM

Seena,

It looks to me as if Schwartz is intending to make specific policy recommendations for today. He is not talking about history for its own sake.

Cordially
Robert Spencer

DianaC | May 16, 2005 10:36 PM

Just saw a news report on this story. A man who was an eyewitness said that the troops just opened fire, that they shot women and children 'like rabbits'.

There were plenty of bodies to support this, and some camera footage that was taken secretly, of bodies being moved out of the area.

I dont think this was any kind of fundamentalist uprising, just ordinary people demonstrating and being shot down for their trouble.

AM | May 17, 2005 6:29 AM

A piece from http://www.axisglobe.com

Uzbekistan Ambassador in Tel-Aviv: the EU Mass Media Influenced by Islamic Radicals
Author: Sami Rozen, AIA Israeli section
16.05.05
Reports about the alleged use of arms against the civilians in Andijan appeared in mass media of some European Union countries following the initiative of local supporters of the Islamic fundamentalism. This was announced today in the interview on the Israeli radio by the ambassador of Uzbekistan in Tel-Aviv Oybek Usmanov. He also accused some EU member-states in applying a double standard towards Tashkent. "When it concerns such states as Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Palestine, the European representatives treat the necessity of a gradual development of democracy with comprehension. But in case of Uzbekistan they allow unprecedented and unconstructive pressure", the ambassador said.

Øyvind, Mechelen | May 18, 2005 3:41 PM

Ah, so "Learned analysts" are in fact Stephen Schwartz and Stephen Schwartz only?

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