Lecturer in Central Asian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, Dr Shirin Akiner has been condemned by human rights groups, liberty campaigners and Craig Murray (ex-UK Ambassador in Tashkent) as an apologist for brutal Uzbek dictator President Karimov. This short report on the Andijan massacre concludes with an interview with Dr Akiner in which she attempts to downplay and justify the horrific murders by Karimov’s regime.

Watch the video and read the report and please complain to her boss!
http://www.craigmurray.co.uk/archives/2005/11/reputation_of_s_1.html

Channel 4 News Report on the Andijan massacre and a subsequent interview with Dr Shirin Akiner:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgUnTjNQ-44

Her boss:

Professor Paul Webley, Director and Principal of SOAS

Email Address: pw2@soas.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 207 898 4014
Fax: +44 207 898 4019

The key question should not be if such currents exist, but what their actual organisational and military capacity is, and how much influence they have among the former Soviet Muslims. I think the latter is marginal and the the Islamist threat has not been invented but certainly grossly inflated and instrumenalised by the regimes and gullible Western analysts.

To make matters clear: there is no Central Asian GIA or Hamas.

I also think that the theory that the Akramiyya is an Uzbek SNB creation is bollocks, just like the group should not be dismissed as ‘terrorist’ because its members were prepared to use violence in Andijan. They had the full right to do so, sicne there is not other way to fight an utterly depraved regime that only understands the logics of violence and state terror.

Another ineteresting think in teh paper is, that MBO quotes former IMU members who she interviewed, and who confirm that IMU guerrillas got paid/promised severel hundreds of US$/month to fight. One thing I ask myself is, how she got in contact with ex-IMU members in the first place.

I know that in 2002, a number of IMU fighters returned to Uzbekistan and were amnestied if they rependted and confessed that they had been misled and brainwashed. It could be one of these blokes, or (suspected) IMU of HT members serving time in prison camps? If so, how credible is that as a source? Of course they will be intimidated and threatened in saying everything the regime wants them to say to media, researchers etc.

I do agree with MBO when she says that in practice, ’secular’, for the Uzbek and other CAsian regimes, means ‘atheism’ and anti-religious in the way it was understood in the Soviet Union. IMO, it also means the active propagation and even imposing a depraved lifestyle (incl. massive alcoholism, drug abuse, …) as an antidote for dissent.

For instance, David, if you would like to send us a thoughtful, reasoned article in response to the interview with Dr. Olcott that amounts to something more than name calling, I would be happy to publish it as a guest post.

Neweurasia has published its second interview with Martha Brill Olcott - probably one of the best known Central Asia scholars in America today.
The interview is wide-ranging, and covers many of the major issues facing Central Asia today.  Watch out, i…