May 2005 unrest in Uzbekistan
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In May 2005 unrest in Uzbekistan reached a head when Uzbek troops fired into a crowd of protesters in the eastern city of Andijan, killing an estimated 400 to 1000 people on 13 May, in what has been termed the Andijan massacre. Violent disturbances subsequently spread to a number of other cities in the region.
Protesting Uzbeks had at first demanded the release of 23 local businessmen charged with being members of a banned Islamic group, Akramiya. However, once this had been met they began to order that the Uzbek government free all those jailed on suspicion of belonging to the organisation.
President Islam Karimov "placed blame for the unrest on Islamic extremist groups, a label that he has used to describe political opponents in recent years and that his critics say is used as a pretext for maintaining a repressive state" (New York Times).
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Before May 10, 2005
Prior to May 2005, protests within the tightly-controlled authoritarian state had become increasingly regular. After years of relative calm, ordinary Uzbeks, frustrated by a number of social and economic problems, began to challenge the government's authority.
The first major demonstration occurred in November 2004. The city of Kokand in eastern Uzbekistan saw unprecedented riots, with protesters throwing stones and torching police cars. Thousands filled the main bazaar, where one eyewitness reported that the city's mayor climbed on a market stall to address the crowd but was drowned out by furious shouting. Conflicting reports spoke of between 2,000 and 20,000 participants.
The protest was sparked by a law that placed new restrictions on trade, making it illegal for traders to use intermediaries or middle-men. If traders buy goods abroad, they must sell them personally without the use of any other retailer. They must also have a special government license. The government said this legislation would keep prices down, but many feared that tens of thousands of businesses would collapse.
In March 2005, 500 angry farmers took over a police station and burned two police cars. They claimed that the authorities unfairly took possession of their profitable farm, leaving them impoverished.
On May 3, 2005, a small protest took place outside the U.S. embassy in the capital Tashkent. About 60 people forced their way through tight security where they called for justice. Nearly all those involved were women with small children. This was seen as a measure to prevent arrest. The negative publicity such an event would cause, outside the embassy of Uzbekistan's most crucial ally, far outweighed the disobedient behaviour of the protesters. They were demonstrating against similar issues which had led to the March protests.
May 10, Andijan protest
On May 10 reports from the BBC claimed yet another demonstration had occurred, this time in the city of Andijan, in the eastern part of the country, in the Fergana Valley. At least 1,000 people gathered to demand justice for a group of 23 young businessmen accused of "Islamic extremism." The protesters, mainly relatives of the defendants, videotaped the demonstration – which the police did not interrupt. Prosecutors claimed the group they were allegedly involved in, Akramiya, was similar to the banned organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir. However many critics have claimed the trial targets independent businessmen. Scores of demonstrators lined the streets around the courthouse, with women on one side and men on the other. The protesters were reportedly dressed in their best clothes, with the scene peaceful and good-humoured.
The incident was not, however, isolated. By the second day, the demonstration swelled to over 4,000 residents of the city. Prosecutors had asked for prison terms ranging from three to seven years for 20 of the accused, offering to free the remaining three. A relative of one defendant told uznews.net, "We are ready to do anything in order to free our innocent brothers."
May 12 and 13
Government loses control
On the night of 12 May, armed men stormed a military garrison and prison in the city seizing weapons and releasing around 4,000 prisoners. Nine people were reported to have died during the uprising. A representative of the rebels later told an opposition website that the attack was carried out by relatives and supporters of those charged with involvement in Akramiya. The following day, 13 May, numerous international news organisations reported that rebels, including the 23 defendants, were holding the regional administration building in Andijan. An opposition group reported that rebels had unsuccessfully tried to seize the National Security Service headquarters in the city. One of the protesters occupying the regional administration building told Radio Free Europe that their only demand was the release of all prisoners accused of involvement in Akramiya. "[The authorities] should release those guys who were imprisoned under slander, including [Akramiya founder] Akram Yuldoshev". The man went on to say that government negotiators, led by Interior Minister Zakir Almatov, refused to meet the demand, instead offering them a chance to exit the country. The press office of President Islam Karimov said that "intensive negotiations" had so far proved fruitless. "The militants, taking cover behind women and children, are refusing any compromise," the statement said.
Andijan massacre
Later that day Uzbek soldiers, who had sealed off the city, moved in to quash the protests. Eyewitnesses claim they cleared protesters from government offices before opening fire on demonstrators outside. Amid chaotic scenes people in the main square threw themselves to the ground to avoid being shot, as rebels and government forces exchanged fire. Men, women and children were also reported to be attempting to flee the area in panic. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, were massacred when interior ministry troops and soldiers opened fire with AK-47 and armoured personnel carrier-mounted heavy machine guns but, during the subsequent news blackout, the bodies of the dead were effectively concealed.
Galima Bukharbaeva, [1] an IWPR reporter who was an eyewitness to the massacre spoke of "a mass of dead and wounded". "At first, one group of armoured-personnel carriers approached the [city] square, and then another group appeared," she said. "They opened fire without mercy on everyone indiscriminately, including women and children. The crowd began to run in all directions. We dove into a ditch and lay there for a while. I saw at least five bloody corpses. The rebels who are holding the provincial administration opened fire in response. They intend to stand to the end! When we got out of the ditch, we ran along the streets into the neighbourhood and now we're looking for a place where there's no shooting. But shots can be heard everywhere..."
On the streets of Andijan, some protesters called for the resignation of President Karimov, who was reportedly overseeing troop operations at a command centre close to the city's airport.
Tashkent shooting
On the same day as the unrest, the US embassy reported that a would-be suicide bomber was shot outside the Israeli embassy in Tashkent. The man was apparently carrying wooden objects that appeared to be explosives, according to a police official who wished to remain unnamed. The victim was identified as an unemployed ethnic Russian, who had a history of mental illness and had served time in prison. The man was allegedly wearing a military camouflage vest fitted with mock-ups of explosives. As he approached the embassy, he began shouting. Security guards ordered him to lie down, but when he refused, opened fire, hitting him with at least 10 shots. Police then sealed off the street where the embassy is situated.
Government and international response
The government-controlled media within the country broadcast only brief statements regarding the crisis. In its news bulletins, Uzbek State TV said "an armed group of criminals" had attacked the security forces in Andijan: "The bandits seized dozens of weapons and moved on to attack a correctional colony, setting some convicts free." Describing the rebels as "extremists", they claimed that nine people had been killed and 34 wounded during the clashes. The local radio station had reportedly been taken off air. Authorities also blocked foreign TV news channels, including CNN and the BBC.
Russia expressed concern about events in the Central Asian republic, but the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the unrest was an "internal affair". United States government spokesman Scott McClellan said the authorities should show restraint in Andijan.
The White House response was at first noticeably muted. It was a delicate situation for George W. Bush: the Bush administration had received much support from the Uzbek president in the "war against terror" in nearby Afghanistan, but did not want to be seen as supporting a ruthless and highly repressive regime. In the weeks to follow, the U.S. joined a chorus of nations calling for an independent, international investigation of the Andijan events and, along with several European nations, refused to participate in a highly-suspect, Uzbekistan-sponsored "international" investigation that included CIS states, China, Iran, India and Pakistan. Apparently in response to U.S. calls for a truly independent international investigation, the Government of Uzbekistan placed restrictions on the operation of the U.S. base in Karshi-Khanabad. After the U.S. participated in the international effort to relocate over 400 Andijan refugees from neighboring Kyrgyzstan, where they were constantly under threat of illegal extradition to Uzbekistan, to third countries (initially Romania), the Government of Uzbekistan ordered the Karshi-Khanabad base in the country's South to be closed within six months.
Kyrgyzstan, the scene of a recent uprising against the government, closed its border with Uzbekistan, as did Tajikistan. Kazakhstan has also reportedly increased border security. The border with Turkmenistan had been closed already.
Aftermath
May 14
Despite the violent crushing of the protests, the following day thousands reappeared to demonstrate. Huge crowds shouted "killers, murderers", and again demanded the president step down. One spoke of the previous days' events to the Associated Press: "People were raising their hands up in the air showing they were without arms but soldiers were still shooting at them."
Additionally on May 14, thousands seeking to flee the country stormed government buildings in the eastern frontier village of Korasuv, 50 km east of Andijan. They reportedly torched police offices and cars, before attacking guards on the Kyrgyz border. Authorities in the neighbouring republic are said to have turned 6000 Uzbeks away. Uzbek army helicopters were seen circling overhead.
There is some information that on May 14 nearly 200 people (possibly armed people, who tried to flee to Kyrgyzstan) were killed in Pahtaabad, 30 km north-west of Andijan.
May 15
British Foreign Minister Jack Straw said on May 15 that "there had been a clear abuse of human rights" in Uzbekistan.
Andijan has been blocked off from the outside world. There is disagreement about the number of dead within the city.
The local inhabitants of Korasuv are rebuilding the bridges to Kyrgyzstan after their destruction by Karimov's forces.
May 16
On May 16, several foreign news sources estimated the dead in Andijan as numbering between 400 to 600, with civilians accounting for almost all the victims. [2],[3] One report stated that troops had systematically shot the wounded after the first shootings. [4] A press release on the same day on the official government website continued to maintain that "As a result of the clashes, 9 people dies [sic] and 34 were injured". [5]
On the same day, there were reports that troops had sealed off the town of Korasuv on the Uzbek border with Kyrgyzstan. [6]
According to the New York Times, "[T]here were reports of skirmishes in or near Andijon and of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of refugees making their way to Kyrgyzstan. There were indications that the Uzbek government, which normally maintains strict order, did not have full control of a portion of the valley." [7]
May 18
Two days later the situation began to change beyond what had originally been seen as a popular uprising. In Korasuv, a town then under rebel control, the leader, Bakhtiyor Rakhimov stated that he would take control of local government and aimed to create an Islamic state. He said his supporters were prepared to fight for their cause, and that they could no longer tolerate Karimov. The town was recaptured the night of May 18 and Rakhimov was arrested.
June 7
In a 60-page report [8] based on 50 interviews with victims and witnesses of the Andijan crackdown, Human Rights Watch said the killing of unarmed protesters by the Uzbek government on May 13 was so extensive and unjustified that it amounted to a massacre. The report is the most comprehensive investigation to date of the tragic events in eastern Uzbekistan.
Quotations
- "The people have risen up" – Valijon Atakhonjonov, the brother of a defendant involved with the trial, May 13, 2005.
- "We are believers, nothing more" – Unnamed man describing himself as one of the rebel leaders, denying links to Islamic extremism.
- "In Uzbekistan, nobody fights against women, children or the elderly," – President Karimov denying that he had given any orders for the army to shoot unarmed protesters.
- "He said: 'We don't care if 200, 300 or 400 people die. We have force and we will chuck you out of there anyway,'" – Kabuljon Parpiyev, referring to comments allegedly made by Uzbek Interior Minister Almatov during negotiations.
- "To accept their terms would mean that we are setting a precedent that no other country in the world would accept" – Karimov referring to alleged demands by rebels that all followers be released from jails in the Fergana Valley.
- Aksam Turgunov, a member of Erk, a small opposition party, vented his disgust at Mr. Karimov. "He lied brazenly to his people. He will go down in history as a bloodthirsty tyrant. It's clear now, he shot at civilians. So the police are out to defend his actions. They are looking for criminals, but the worst criminal sits undisturbed." [9]
- "We will be building an Islamic state here in accordance with the Quran" - Bakhtior Rakhimov, rebel leader, outlining his prospective policy for governing Uzbekistan.
Andijan Massacre Link click here- article in the Muslimuzbekistan
See also
- History of Uzbekistan
- Politics of Uzbekistan
- Islam in Uzbekistan
- Colour revolution
- Freenet (Central Asia) – USAID supported internet in Uzbekistan
External links and references
- After Non – Franchised Andijan Uprising, East Closes Ranks Written by K. Gajendra Singh, India's former ambassador to Turkey and Azerbaijan in 1992 -1996.
- Muslimuzbekistan Information Center
- Hizb ut-Tahrir: 'This is how the butcher of Andijan executed his crime'
- Aftermath article in The Kansas City Star
- The Registan – on-the-ground news and analysis
- Ferghana – Opposition Website
- Uzbekistan government
- Media Coverage of Protests: IFEX
- Independent news story: Hundreds of civilians killed after protests turn to massacre
- The Scotsman news story: 'They shot us like rabbits'
- The Guardian news story: Death in Bobur Square
- Uzbekistan: Waiting for the other shoe to drop, a followup by The Economist
