Reuters and MosNews both report that Uzbekistan’s Interior Minister, Zakirjon Almatov, a member of the EU travel ban list, is in Germany receiving cancer treatment. Germany said they issued the visa in October, and though aware of Almatov’s inclusion on the forthcoming ban list, issued it on humanitarian grounds.
Der Spiegel magazine said the minister was already receiving treatment for spinal cancer at the International Neuroscience Institute in Hanover, where a spokeswoman declined to confirm or deny the report.
The Uzbek embassy also declined comment, saying its media spokesman was unavailable.
The EU Council, which groups the 25 member states’ governments, said on Monday its visa ban was “aimed at those individuals who are directly responsible for the indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force” to crush the May 13 protests in the town of Andizhan.But it allowed for certain exemptions, including on humanitarian grounds.
According to MosNews, Germany refused the visa but relented after Uzbekistan threatened to close down their base at Termez.
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Nathan Hamm – author of 2974 posts on Registan.net.
Nathan is the Founding Editor and Publisher of Registan.net, which he launched 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 private and government clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural and political factors shape risks and opportunities and how organizations can adjust their strategic and operational plans to account for these variables. Nathan is currently seeking research, analysis, and consulting opportunities. He can be contacted via Twitter or email.
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I can understand not kicking him out right away, but if he’s allowed to come back then that seems like a stupid loophole. How hard would it be to get a doctor to write a note saying that he badly needs treatment? Plus, if they’re complicit in a massacre, then they’re complicit in a massacre. No sense keeping these jerks healthy.
I don’t know about the doctor’s note idea. I mean, what is he going to do, get the visa and then run off? Odds are, he’s got to show up at the hospital, where it’ll be fairly apparent whether or not he’s sick.
He’s a bastard to be sure, but this is one of those times I’ll agree with Human Rights Watch. He should be able to receive medical treatment and then be sent home.
Why is it that all dictators prefer German doctors? From Turkmenbashi to Saddam Hussein, they’ve always preferred German clinics. Perhaps some reworking of the hippocratic oath is needed. Stopping treatment for aging brutal dictators could be Germany’s first contribution to political change in Central Asia.