Washington Retains Strong Ties With Uzbekistan Despite Notorious Human Rights Record

Uzbek President Islam Karimov has rejected calls for an international inquiry into a bloody crackdown on protesters in the town of Andijan last week. Human rights groups say as many as 750 people were killed, while the government claims just over 150 died.

The bloodshed took place last Friday in eastern Uzbekistan when between 60 and 100 armed men stormed the local prison to free 23 businessman believed to be unjustly accused of religious extremism. They also released some 2,000 other prisoners.

Thousands of demonstrators then assembled in Andijan's town square to protest Karimov's repressive government. Soldiers soon arrived and opened fire on the crowd, shooting indiscriminately. Even the local police begged the soldiers to stop shooting. In the end hundreds of bodies -- including those of women and children -- filled the square. A mass of survivors fled the square towards the border of Kyrgyzstan where witnesses say Uzbek troops fired on them once more. Some reports put the final death toll as high as 750.

Uzbekistan is one of the Bush administration's closet allies in Central Asia despite the country's notorious human rights record. The US has an airbase in the south of the country which provides logistical support to operations in Afghanistan.

On Thursday, the head of US Central Command - General John Abizaid - said that operations were being scaled back at the base as a "prudent move." But he said this was not intended to be a political message of disapproval to President Karimov.

Torture and police brutality are widespread in Uzbekistan. The country has no independent political parties, no free and fair elections, and no independent news media.

Uzbekistan is also believed to be one of the destination countries for what is known as "extraordinary rendition" where detainees are transferred by the US to countries known to practice torture.

Last year Human Rights Watch released a 319-page report detailing the use of torture by Uzbekistan's security services. It said the government was carrying out a campaign of torture and intimidation against Muslims that had seen 7,000 people imprisoned, and documented at least 10 deaths, including one man who was boiled to death in 2002.

* Acacia Shields, Senior Researher on Central Asia for Human Rights Watch. Read 2004 report on Uzbekistan.
* Peter Boehm, freelance journalist. He has reported from Uzbekistan for the Christian Science Monitor and the Independent of London.
* Justin Raimondo, editorial director of Antiwar.com.

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