“We request you to recognize our constitutional right to register in the Ministry of Justice of the republic of Uzbekistan in order to become fully legitimate participants in the political life of Uzbekistan de jure, since de facto we have been such for a long time.”

This statement concluded a long open letter from the recently formed “Sunshine Uzbekistan” party to Oliy Majlis – the Uzbek Parliament. Sanjar Umarov, the chairman of the party has made a very serious move by appealing to the instrument of Karimov’s power AND OPENLY CRITICIZING the actions that this government has taken both in the long-term and recently in Andijan. This letter could either be ignored by Oliy Majlis; lead to official registration of the party; or, most likely it will put a label of unconsitutionality on the party as a threat to the current “legitimate” consititutional regime.

I would note that although the letter is open, it has not yet been covered in any media, neither Russian, nor Western. The only link to it that you can find as of today is at Registan. Why is it not even published on the official website of Sunshine Uzbekistan?

Questions like these pose doubts about the authenticity of this letter of appeal to a certain degree. Let’s stay alert for any news regarding this issue.

New York, October 17, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists presented its 2005 International Press Freedom Awards to three journalists and one media lawyer. One of these journalists is Galima Bukharbaeva, former Uzbekistan correspondent for the Institute for War & Peace Reporting. One of the few journalist witnesses, she covered the events in the city of Andijan this May. Her view of what happened is to be found here.

Bukharbaeva, now in exile in the United States, faces criminal prosecution from the Uzbek side.

(For a detailed overview of what seemed like a very confusing and scattered chain of events see Human Rights Watch’s report)

I have mixed feelings about the events of this May. On one hand there is no way to clearly determine the number of victims; many of my friends in Andijan tell me stories that overstate even the reports of non-governmental organizations. On the other hand, I don’t think it is as important to know the numbers as it is to understand the implications for the people of Uzbekistan, and the rulers of Uzbekistan. Clearly, there is much more attention to the country than there was just 6-7 months ago. It seemed like the international community was waiting for something atrocious to happen before it could condemn the regime and issue direct responses to it.

I thank the people who died on the square in Andijan, for what they did has a significant impact on the historical path of this country. There are more and more people in Uzbekistan who resent the current rule and want a change. There is a new opposition party, which is not [yet] labeled outlaw by the government. This party, “Sunshine Uzbekistan” is vigorously covered by the western media. There is a lot of international attention to the events in Uzbekistan; BBC alone has posted 6 articles related to Uzbekistan in the month of October. Hopefully the western media will continue to scrutinize the situation in the country until the elections. With this kind of dynamics I expect either a new president elected by the people, or another revolt, this time supported by the international community, which will oust whoever the current dictator will attempt to put in power.

Hi. I’m Nick Walmsley, and I’ll be joining Olesya and Ali as contributors to this blog. I’m new-ish to this game, so please bear with me. Normal service will resume shortly.

The past couple of days have been a disaster for anyone driving his own car in some parts of Uzbekistan including Tashkent and the provinces up north. The gas stations there all seem to have run out of gasoline. The demand for the little that is left is such that the drivers are willing to line up their cars in rows waiting for their turn to get their tanks refilled for hours. Prices have all naturally gone up, in some places by as much as 50%. What was only 500 sums a week ago is now 1 000 sums (please check me if I am wrong).

I have observed the waiting line principle being applied in various ways and at various times/places before but seeing half a kilometer long queue in front of a gas station is something I would have hardly ventured to imagine happening in our country at this time. Well, of course, occasional shortages would occur in the past but certainly not at a national level as seems to be the case now. I can recall that Turkmen gas used to be “smuggled” across the Turkmen-Uzbek border for half our internal price. That was certainly a relief to have an alternative fuel source but after the “historical” meeting of our presidents last year things changed dramatically and the border has remained sealed off ever since.

One can only speculate as to the reasons why this mess is happening now. People being as they usually are extremely distrustful of government policies see someone’s evil design to this oil crisis plotted with the purpose of generating some extra profit at the expense of the poor people. And guess what? This will necessarily have something to do with cotton!

This in fact reminds me of the Soviet time when the only way you could get something few people had you had to either pay double+ or get it shipped yourself. I wonder if the rationing system should soon be introduced again. That seems like an entirely different lifestyle from the one we’re living now but taking into account the unexpectedly renewed friendship with Russia I should not be terribly surprised to see “food coupons” being distributed to us anytime soon.

As became clear from Karimov’s statement today, Uzbekistan wishes to see Russia not only as a strategic partner but as an ally. Last time I heard of alliances being formed the campaigning for the war on terror was in full swing.

This statement thus looks like an official invitation to Russia to join UZB-led information war against the West. It seems like Russians never actually needed one anyway. They’ve been consistent throughout, from the very moment Andijon events were named a massacre up until the point the EU imposed sanctions, in that they have always considered the US and EU to use Andijon as an excuse to unfairly press the Uzbek government for democratic reforms.

To take some quotes by Russian government officials and “experts” on Central Asia:

Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov (RIA Novosti):

“We are convinced that the existing problems are better to be resolved not through the language of sanctions but by way of dialogue”

Head of the Council of Federation Foreign Affairs Committee Mikhail Margelov (RIA Novosti):

“I do not consider the introduction of sanctions against Uzbekistan by the EU and the cutback in US aid to be either timely or appropriate”

Leading expert of the Center for Current Politics Anatoly Belyayev (RIA Novosti):

“If democracy is established in Uzbekistan under the Western scenario, the effect is very likely to be the opposite: radical Islamization extending far beyond the boundaries of the republic”

Has there ever been a Russian scenario of democratization for Uzbekistan? Or any other alternative scenario, for that matter? I’ve never heard of one. Russia strikes me as having absolutely no coherent policy formulated for their former and the now regained domain. They don’t have much to offer except for the dubious prospect of “Eurasian integration”, a concept way too frequently abused and unlikely to be properly implemented under the existing circumstances.

Meanwhile, national newspapers like Narodnoe Slovo and Pravda Vostoka hastily fill the vacuum created by the absence of fake democratization news with articles praising the excellent service cotton has done in rendering our economy prosperous and independent from the evil Western countries. Local radio commentators keep stressing the fact that Uzbekistan is the second largest exporter of cotton in the world.

It will be quite natural then for Russians and Uzbeks to progress further yet from the present stage of “allied relations” and form a solid strategic alliance.

(There is a great post on that over at Registan.Net)

UN World Youth Report 2005 has been released. There is little information on individual countries but there are some terrible indicators for the whole of Central Asian region:

… in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, it is estimated that up to 25 per cent of those who inject drugs are below the age of 20 (UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team on Young People, 2004).

In some Central Asian countries, the proportion of the population engaged in injecting drug use is estimated to be up to ten times that in many Western European countries.

There is also a related article over at Vzglyad (in Russian) citing recent statistics by the Russian Academy of Sciences on youth and education in fSU countries:

In the year 2002, 10 secondary schools were closed in Azerbaijan, 55 in Belarus, 26 in Georgia, 230 in Russia, and 11 in Ukraine. On average, the number of schools in these countries has decreased by 0,1-1,2%. But in Armenia, for example, the number of daily schools has gone up by 21, in Kazakhstan – by 99, in Kyrgyzstan – by 43, in Moldova – by 11, and in Tajikistan – by 92.

Not a single word about Uzbekistan though. I guess compiling accurate statistics is something virtually impossible to accomplish in this country.

On the same note: I wonder if the Uzbek government ever reviews its commitments under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and related rights instruments especially when it comes to sending poor students to pick cotton in the fields. This year’s harvesting has been particularly hard for those who have neither money nor connections necessary to get around the sacred obligation “to contribute to the development of our Motherland”. I heard that a bribe to a ministry of education official was at around $ 100 while a special medical certificate of disability cost $ 50 on average. (For comparison, the official minimal wage in Uzbekistan is only $ 45). Entire university departments would suspend classes for up to two months because most of the students and teachers were gone for cotton-picking.

University students throughout the country now have to seek permission from university administration before participating in international conferences or getting involved in projects/initiatives funded by foreign NGOs. Given that there are only a handful of those left, Tashkent offices of OSCE, UNDP and ABA are definitely at the very top of the blacklist.

To bring a simple example: ABA was set to conduct a student moot court competition in August. The first days of training went just fine when suddenly the rector of Tashkent State Institute of Law showed up and commanded that his students withdraw their teams from the competition. The students naturally obeyed for fear of being expelled from the institute. He has consequently passed an internal memo spelling out orders to impose “serious disciplinary measures” on those who dare participate in similar events without informing the administration in the first place.

In some cases students of certain universities are still allowed to go. However, they have to closely watch their words and actions and are never to criticize the regime. Instead they are expected to emphasize the positive aspects of economic, social and political reforms taken by the Uzbek government and give out favourable answers when asked about their personal opinion on post-Andijon situation.

From all I know it seems like the government will eventually succeed in generating public accord with regards to the said events. Now that it has become equally problematic to get in or out of the country or access foreign media the majority of Uzbeks are likely to give in to the mounting government pressure exerted through propaganda and pathetic patriotic slogans like “Uzbekistan is a country with great future” or “The Uzbek people shall not depend on anyone”. I have noticed quite a few people already show signs of approval for gov’t actions by blaming some external forces for all the problems. At least that’s the impression I get when listening to people discuss the Andijon crisis and the trial these days.