Besides its color revolution, bloody suppressions of peaceful demonstrations and civil war, Fergana valley is becoming famous also for being an area that gives births to different trends within Islam religion. It is hard to find a true answer why the area that had been ruled by the super-secular Soviet government for almost seven decades, has now become a place, where suddenly Islam matters very much. Was it a religious freedom that came with the fall of Soviet Union or secular governments’ tactics to treat Islam as a scapegoat for all “bad things� happening in the region?

If you ask me, I would answer both. The fall of Soviet Union was unexpected and therefore governments of newly independent Central Asian states were not ready to implement effective (secular) policies in religious sphere during the early years of independence. Islam developed not fully controlled by the secular governments and as a result, when Islam started challenging the secular regime in all three Fergana valley countries, the governments started putting very harsh policies on Islam. However, it must be also admitted that Fergana valley governments often exaggerate the reality. Secular governments very often treat Islamic groups as a scapegoat of doing certain delinquent actions and use it to legitimize the harsh policy on them. Or, the law enforcement bodies take advantage of it and blame Islamic groups for committing some undetected crime. Violent suppression of a peaceful demonstration in Andijon in May 2005 Fergana valley and the results of investigation of Alisher Saipov’s murder are very clear examples to that. In Andijon events, the Uzbek government suppressed peaceful demonstration by means of arms and violence and later blamed so-called Akromiya religious group for that. The law enforcement bodies in Kyrgyzstan suspected Hizb ut-Tahrir, an unofficial religious party, for murder of journalist Alisher Saipov, because the latter had connections with party members.

As Fergana.ru reports, a new Islamic group emerged in Fergana valley. They call themselves qora sallalilar (black turbans), as all their members wear black turbans. The group emerged in Kokand city and reportedly has about 1000 members and its membership is widening. Fergana.ru refers to religious clerks, who deny the legitimacy of the new group and consider them as ‘an abomination in the eyes of true Islam because they divide the faithful’.

The Uzbek authorities maintain a tight grip on all alternative schools of Islam. They successfully fought the Wahhabi in the early 1990, imprisoning both the Wahhabi and innocents by the thousand. Every Moslem sporting a long beard automatically became a suspect.

If Qora sallalilar gain popularity in the region, which is very much possible, we can expect that they will meet the same fate as Hizb ut-Tahrir and Wahabiya in near future – the Uzbek government will suspect everyone, who wears dark turbans. And I am very much sure that other neighboring Fergana valley states will follow Uzbekistan.

[inspic=56,left,,200] Preparations for Navruz, one of the most popular holidays in Uzbekistan, took a lot of time, nerves and people’s manual power. However, it’s not a disturbing fact for high ranking people – Islam Karimov and his apparatus, diplomats and honored guests – who had an honor to celebrate Navruz at the Alisher Navoi square on March 21.

Navruz, just like other popular holidays in Uzbekistan, Navruz requires lots of “sacrifices”. Every year,  thousands of students are forced to clean the streets and moldy territories during Navruz eve, to wave colored flags during concert, participate in theatrical shows. It takes them so much time that they have to skip their classes at their colleges and universities. This fact also doesn’t bothers political elite.

Back to the colorful event – the concert, the whole action repeats every year: boring national dances, songs of praise to the President, panegyric from the President to the nation and “all those who makes our life beautiful�. Impressive statistics, happy faces of the youth, rejoicing expectancies would make all of us be the happiest and not to take no account of time and enjoy our life in Uzbekistan under the rule of the wisest President.

All this stuff repeats every year, but one point is especially emphasized – the quality of living standards in Uzbekistan is increasing. Does Islam Karimov believe in his own words himself?

The main mouthpiece of Presidential propaganda, UzA agency, says that

“Navruz was revitalized by the head of state, President Islam Karimov, before Uzbekistan gained the independence. During the years of independence the contents of Navruz was enriched, new sides became apparent: humanism and charity feelings became stronger.�

Honestly, I didn’t know that people of my country were less humane, less charitable, and I had no clear idea of my President’s activities while being Moscow’s communist governor-general and his underground activities on the way to the independence. Something really new for me and should be written down by annalists and propose another toast for Islam Karimov.

President, in his speech, said:

“During Navruz our ancestors rushed to help orphans, lone elderly people, provide aid and charity to them. Nowadays, their descendants demonstrate standards of good and generosity.

During the years of independence these beautiful qualities came out of and are spread among our people… One of the principles of “Uzbek model� [of market economy], recognized all over the world, is providing strong social policy. In 2007 53,8 % of the sate budget was aimed at social sphere, in 2008 this indicator will achieve 54,6 %. Such figures are rare for other countries.�

My indignation and misunderstanding is raising! Does Mr.President compares these statistics to the African states or other Third World countries? Or I don’t know something that others are able to see and feel?!

I don’t want to continue rubbing salt into your wound and become another mouthpiece of Presidential propaganda. That’s why I call you to analyze and to demonstrate skepticism when listening and reading President’s speeches. Maybe after that our people will take off rose-colored spectacles and think more realistic and will be taught to be the change they want to see Uzbekistan…

The Uzbek regime’s violent suppression of the uprising in Andijan in May 2005 was a turning point in the country’s foreign policy. The government did not allow EU to investigate the case and then, after the U.S. administration’s strong opposition to “non-observation of basic human rights”, Tashkent forced American airbase in Khanabad to shut down.

However, there have been some positive changes in fragile relations between Uzbekistan and the West recently. The consent to let the United States and NATO use airbase in Termez was an expected result of Tashkent’s current foreign policy, aimed at rapprochement with the West. As reported, now Uzbekistan allows certain NATO countries, including U.S., to use the airbase in Termez (which has been used by Germany since 2001), although they all can fly to Termez only aboard German aircraft.

Registan was the first in the Uzbek blogosphere to write about this. Read the full story »

A group of Gypsy women attacked human rights activists during their demonstration in front of the Prosecutor General’s office in Tashkent, reports News Agency Ferghana.ru. According to the information that we got from an eyewitness in Tashkent, the attack looked like a very well organized act, as a group of Gypsy women ‘suddenly appeared from no-where and started shouting at demonstrators’ supposedly asking them to use their services of palmist. According to the information at Uzmetronom, Gypsy women were attacked by human rights activists (RUS), when the former started begging the latter grasping their hands. First, demonstrators began shouting at a group of Gypsy women, later on their squabble developed into a real fight, reports Uzmetronom.

Both sources reports that a people were seriously injured during the brawl. Referring to an anonymous eyewitness, Uzmetronom claims that during the ‘fight’, human rights activists inflicted serious bodily injuries to a young Gypsy woman. Fergana.ru refers to a human rights activist Akhtam Shaimardanov and reports that Gypsy woman badly scratched one demonstrator. The injuries were so serious that ambulance was summoned.

Akhtam Shaimardanov told to Ferghana.ru that during the brawl one of the Gypsies stretched on the asphalt and was carried away by others. The eyewitness, whom Uzmetronom cites, could refer to this incident. However, Ferghana.ru has suspicions on the validity of the information.

Uzmetronom referred to eyewitness reports but did not say whether the eyewitnesses had been the police or plainclothesmen.

Akhtam Shaimardanov thinks ‘sending women against protesters and journalists is secret services’ traditional practice’.

This incident reminds me pre-revolutionary days in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The Akaev’s (former president) regime often used so-called “women’s service� to disperse small demonstrations that were frequently held in Bishkek in pre-revolutionary days. It must be noted that in Bishkek demonstrations this service proved itself to be very effective.

I, your devoted “cyber-akhbari,” remain hard at work going through the archives for the best material. So far the most challenging subject country has been Uzbekistan, about which the neweurasia community has produced a wealth of incisive coverage. One result is that my methodology has necessarily grown in sophistication. Another result is that I have realized, with horror, how much I may be missing from the untranslated Russian posts. Ben and I are working on a solution to this problem.

You will probably be surprised that I am using a very antiquated device to jot down and collate the selections — a notebook. Hey, even in our wired age, good old fashioned pen, ink, and paper can be mighty useful. (White-out, by the way, is a most fortuitous invention for notebook-users.) The creative process behind this book has a physical underlay: the lists in the previous post and below are refinements of that which I have physically written down and arranged “offline.”

Now, onto the main event. Chapter ideas that are rapidly emerging as top contenders for the book are:

- “Leadership in Central Asia” (the political apparatuses of the states with emphasis on the executive branches);

- “Information in Central Asia” (including journalism and the phenomenon of the World Wide Web);

- “Society in Central Asia” (which could go in any number of directions and will probably be subdivided: civil society, democracy, and NGOs; social issues, e.g., alcohol, gender, women’s rights; and human-interest items with a focus on everyday community, e.g., mahalla, chaikhana, the expenses of daily living, and fun posts, such as the latest one by Asel, “From Santamania to ‘Subbotnik’” http://www.neweurasia.net/2008/03/04/kyrgyzstan-from-santamania-to-subbotnik/).- “Religion and Politics in Central Asia” (obviously this will end up dealing with Hizb ut-Tahrir, IMU, and so on).

I am pushing toward a cross-regional angle for all the selections. Due to the fact that Uzbekistan provides so many “hot button” issues that touch on several of these topics at once, it will be a challenge to keep a balance in coverage of all the Central Asian states (the recent energy crisis in Tajikistan, which precipitated into a regional catastrophe, could be useful in this regard).

Again, keep these items in mind:

• The list is arranged non-chronologically by broad topics, and occassionally by chapter ideas or focus points.
• With an exception here and there, I do not list the posts that I have ear-marked for their photographic content. Photographs for use in the book interior will be chosen near the end of the editorial process.
• Some of these posts were selected with their comments sections in mind. In the final book, the comments would also be published.
• Some of these posts may work in a broad topic or chapter idea other than that which it is currently categorized under.
• Ben and I have agreed that in the final book, posts by a single author will be no more than three in number.

In the selections below I include the URLs of some websites beyond neweurasia, notably Registan.net and Thinking-East.net. Nostalgia is not my motivation: there is some very good material in the archives of both websites that merit a consideration for inclusion, even if they are dated. Be assured that the wider Central Asian blogosphere will be thoroughly scanned for contributions in one of our next steps.

Which leads me to the next matter: when it was still operational Thinking-East had made a small name for itself with its coverage of the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan. The Andjijon crisis occurred shortly after that event, and was also covered by the website. While I would prefer to avoid event-specific chapters, even a chapter dealing with as broad a subject as “Democracy in Central Asia” really should deal with these two events. Since Thinking-East was not a proper weblog, I would prefer to cull photographs and coverage from other areas of the Central Asian blogosphere. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Again, a wider look at what’s out there is high on our to-do list. Read the full story »

The Uzbek government that has been rejecting to celebrate all communist holidays today is celebrating the International Women’s Day, a holiday that was introduced in the region during the Soviet period. Today, already in the morning all state TV channels officially congratulated a female part of population. Tashkent looks like a big flower shop, as people are selling and buying flowers everywhere.

[inspic=55,left,,250]

Why does not the government want to give up this holiday, like all other comie holidays that are not celebrated anymore? I guess it is due to the fact that March 8 has already become a part of Soviet Uzbek culture. Even now in kindergartens and junior school teachers hold special celebrations dedicated to this day. Kids learn by heart poems and songs. It all begins from young age, just like during the Soviet times.

Comie or not, it is still a special day for us. Therefore, Uzbekistani team of Neweurasia congratulates all women of the World with the International Women’s Day!

[inspic=54,left,,125] The president of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov signed a decree to free state company Uzavtoprom’s joint venture with US car maker General Motors Corp. from taxes for five years. The joint venture was planned last year and is based on existing car plant in Asaka, Uzbekistan, and it is planned to annually produce 250,000 Chevrolet cars.

Uzavtorpom has been looking for a potential partner since the South Korean Daewoo Motor, established in Asaka in 1996, went bankrupt in late 90s and left Uzbekistan. The car kept functioning even after the South Korean company left it. It has been producing a diverse range of cars – Damas, Nexia, Tico, Matiz, Lacetti.

For a great part of population of the country a car is still considered to be an unattainable luxury. The reason is that the cars produced in Uzbekistan are more expensive inside the country then the same ones exported abroad. In neighboring Kyrgyzstan, one can buy a used Nexia in a very good condition for about 5,000 USD. Whereas in Uzbekistan the same car is sold for no less then 10,000 USD. You may ask a question – why not to buy a car in Kyrgyzstan and get it into Uzbekistan? The problem is that in Uzbekistan the custom taxes for imported cars is very high, almost 100% of the car price. Therefore, if you travel to Uzbekistan, you rarely see imported Western or Japanese cars. All you see is either very old Soviet made Volga, Lada or Moskvich or unreasonably expensive cars made in local (!) Asaka car plant.

Lets hope that with tax breaks and the world famous GMC the policy of Uzavtoprom will change to a more customer oriented marketing.

Recently in YouTube, there was a series of videos uploaded about Uzbekistan. All of the videos are very interesting and it made me do some research on the origins of the files.

What I found out is very interesting. The videos are actually results of the OneMinutesJr workshop what was held in Uzbekistan in October 5, 2005. OneMinutesJr is ‘project that involved young people between the age 12 and 20 from Europe and Central Asia who participated in the experimental world of one –minute movie making’. It was set up in 2002 with the support of European Cultural Foundation, The Sandberg Institute, and UNICEF. The videos that were made by project participants are very interesting and each of them carry certain vital message.

This is a video that was made by Malokhat Tohtaeva, a participant of the workshop.

We will keep posting other videos too.

Recently, we have observed a significant shift in Uzbekistan’s foreign policy, as Uzbek officials started showing their sympathy to the West by making moves that were welcomed by EU and US. The recent amnesties of prominent human rights activists and receiving EU and US high ranking officials in Tashkent are proofs to my words. The relationship between Uzbekistan and western world that was heavily shaken after the Andijan events in 2005, when the government troops opened fire at demonstrators in the main city square, now seems to gain strength again.

The latest move of Uzbekistan that pleased the West very much was allowing US to use the airbase in its territory. Several sources have already reported that Uzbekistan is going to allow US to use the airbase in Termez, currently being used by Germany, only as part of wider NATO operations in Afghanistan. Meaning that “individual Americans attached to the NATO International Staff can use the German air-bridge from Termez to Afghanistan on a case-by-case basis�, Reuters quotes US Embassy in Tashkent.

Due to its geographical location, Uzbekistan plays a very crucial role in the region. And therefore, it has the best conditions for NATO and US troops to use Uzbek airbase for their operations in Afghanistan. The United States originally set up a camp, known as K2, in Uzbekistan back in 2001 (right after the 9/11 attacks) to fight against Taliban forces in Afghanistan. However, after the Andijan events, when the West condemned the Uzbek government for suppressing the demonstration by violent means leaving several hundred civilians dead, the US troops were ordered by Uzbek government to leave the country. It was only Germany that was allowed to stay in the country and use the airbase.

After the Andijan events, when the Uzbek officials blamed the radical Islamic Groups (Akramiya) for being the causes for the conflict, the Uzbek government actually looked for a help from western world. However, instead of support in “fighting against terrorism� Uzbekistan got several harsh international sanctions for violating the human rights. Now, after almost three years, people started forgetting about the past (or at least pretending to), and the Uzbek government is successfully re-building a bridge between west and Uzbekistan that existed before.

Today, Uzbekistan very much needs the West in its territory. First, having western bases in its territory, Uzbekistan will secure itself from emergence of any kind of “religious ideologies� in its territory, or at least importing it from outside (Taliban). Second, supporting the fight against Taliban the Uzbek government also fights back its opposition IMU that is now mainly centralized in Afghanistan supporting Taliban. Third, close ally and friend of Islam Karimov Vladimir Putin is not “officially� in high position any more, and therefore Uzbekistan may need backup from the West. Fourth, Uzbekistan will gain more authority in Central Asian region, as the Kyrgyz government has verbally and non-systematically been trying to withdraw US troops from Manas International Airport – if Kyrgyzstan withdraws US troops, Uzbekistan will be the only country with German and US airbases in its territory.

Recently, on 22 February, president of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov participated in informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States that was held in Moscow. As UzA Uzbekistan National Information Agency informs:

The main issue on the summit agenda was implementation of the Concept of development of the CIS adopted at the October 2007 summit in Dushanbe. The heads of states exchanged views on the important issues of CIS development and improvement of the activity of the CIS executive bodies and development of integration processes.

[inspic=53,left,,80] During the informal summit, Islam Karimov presented to president of Russian Federation Vlidimir Putin the highest award in Uzbekistan Buyuk Khizmatlari Uchun (For Great Achievements). The award was given for a great contribution to development of cooperation and strengthening friendship between the two countries, UzA reports.

Before Putin, the Uzbek boxer Ruslan Chagaev was honored the same award after he became a champion beating Russian boxer Nikolai Valuev.

Yet another effective step towards Russia. I will not be surprised if some of US or EU officials will get Uzbek awards soon…