Reading Jizzakh Hokim and Senator in the Oliy Majlis Ubaidulla Yamankulov’s statements at a recent press conference, one could be forgiven if they confused his rant with the kind found in such charming fora as Antiwar.com, Democratic Undergound, or an ANSWER rally.
“Take a look at what they are doing in Iraq,” Yamankulov said. “There are no principles of democracy there. It’s what I call policy of a world gendarme. The Americans call what happened in Iraq a democratic election. That’s a lie. How can you organize a free and fair election in the country after 50 years of dictatorship?”
In fact, a larger part of Yamankulov’s speech was centered around the policy of Washington in international affairs. According to the Uzbek senator, prominent international organizations likes the International Monetary Fund, OSCE, World Trade Organization, and European Bank of Reconstruction and Development are but instruments of American foreign policy.
“Who are the upper echelons of the UN working for? What money does the UN itself exist on?” Yamankulov asked and answered his own question. “It exists on American contributions. The Americans have occupied all commanding heights in the global financial infrastructure. They control financial aid to Central Asia and specifically to Uzbekistan.”
Yamankulov used the press conference to accuse Dzhizak human rights community of assistance to the Western “so called human rights organizations that have done their best to revile the recent free and fair election in Uzbekistan.”
By the Senator’s own standard, one would wonder how you can organize a free and fair in the election after 75 years of dictatorship.
Anyway, I’ll stick to my personal policy not to argue with raving conspiracy theorists, and get on to the more important question of how much this does or does not reflect the actual opinions and policies of the Uzbek government. Quoth Ferghana.ru:
Local experts say, however, that Yamankulov’s speech was anything but spontaneous. Eurasia Center of Information and Analysis had posted a draft resolution on human rights in Central Asia on its website in early February. The resolution was presented to the US Congress.
The part of the document dedicated to Uzbekistan includes a reference to the opinion of the US State Secretary who is convinced that “Uzbekistan does not meet the requirements entitling it to US financial aid.”
It leads to the conclusion that Tashkent is changing its policy with regard to the United States. Moreover, decision-makers in Tashkent may have come up with a new directive for the local authorities and media outlets to follow.
I think it is safe to assume that Yamankulov did not feel like he had an unbearable weight to get off his chest and that someone higher up wanted someone lower down to unload a Soviet-style screed against the United States. Why? Perhaps to see what kind of response there might be. Perhaps to signal a change in policy. It’s tough to say for sure. I certainly don’t like it though and the more and more I hear this kind of trash, the more and more convinced I become that someone at the Pentagon or the State Department should engage in public navel-gazing about where exactly the best place for a US airbase in Central Asia is. Maybe it’s in Afghanistan. They certainly could use the loads of money that it would bring.
Another worry is that Central Asian governments are running rings around the West while our attention is (understandably) elsewhere. It’s a pretty sad state of affairs when strongest criticism of the paranoia and hostility of Central Asian leaders to democracy and NGOs comes from the OSCE.
This post was written by...
Nathan Hamm – author of 2040 posts on Registan.net.
Nathan founded Registan.net in 2003. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan 2000-2001 and received his MA in Central Asian Studies from the University of Washington in 2007. Since 2007, he has worked full-time as an analyst, consulting with clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural factors shape risks and opportunities. Follow him on Twitter or drop him a line.