Bottoms up?…!
Politics and Society, UzbekistanNo Comment
While the current focus of media sources is on the failed attempt at a democratic election in Uzbekistan, I am troubled by something else. In short-term, Karimov will cease his leadership through resignation or death. I don’t think too many people will disagree that it’s likely to happen in the next 6-10 years. However, by example of Turkmenistan, which has recently received very extensive coverage on Ferghana.ru, I am convinced that such an event would not solve any of Uzbekistan’s problems.
In fact, Uzbekistan is located in an area where Islamic extremism is brewing at a fast pace, and any weakening of podshoh’s (’king’ in uzbek) power may lead to a civil war, which would get ugly very quickly. If we take for granted then that no steps will be taken towards democracy in Karimov’s new presidential term , should the focus be shifted away from the government’s loathsomeness into other aspects of Uzbekistan’s life that are much closer to people living there? Could the majority of Uzbeks be content living under despotic rule if their needs, such as access to food, healthcare, job opportunities, are satisfied?
The difficult part is that nobody knows if any of these areas can be developed successfully under an oppressive rule. However, I think that not messing in politics, at least, in the short-term, would be a smart choice for western NGO’s. For instance, the benefits that the Soros Foundation brought to Uzbekistan, sponsoring the Open Society Institute, were truly great, but it was forced into closure a few years ago, precisely due to its political involvement. Many young bright students benefited immensely from the debate program that was established by the OSI network, and now this opportunity is lost for the hundreds of others. The philosophical question here is whether we should focus on improving individual well-being, or on some values that we believe in (democracy, free speech, etc)? The practical one is, which battle should be fought now and which one should be left for later…
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