Sunday is the second anniversary of the Andijon massacre. RFE/RL already has a handful of stories on what Uzbekistan’s government has gotten away with, how Andijon effects Uzbek relations with the rest of the world, and the recollections of a refugee. Events commemorating Andijon will be held around the world. Expect them not to be like the commemoration in Andijon on May 9th.
That the anniversary comes the day before EU ministers meet to discuss dropping the Union’s sanctions against Uzbekistan probably diminishes the chance of them being rolled back. Germany is spearheading the campaign to reduce pressure on Uzbekistan’s government. With the anniversary the day before the meeting, one hopes that the ministers will reflect on the fact that Islam Karimov claims European governments were partially behind the uprising in Andijon, and ask themselves whether or not there has really been enough positive change in Uzbekistan since May of 2005. Karimov’s lack of couth is reminding at least some European governments what he really thinks of them.
EU sources say the skeptics, headed by Britain and Sweden, among others, have been particularly angered by recent comments made by Uzbek President Islam Karimov suggesting that many in the EU are finally coming around to accept that the charges against the Uzbek government over Andijon have been “fabricated.”
As useless as I believe the sanctions to be, I do not see Karimov allowing the kind of engagement that would really make a difference. He has never shown much interest in relaxing controls on the economy, and the record of the Uzbek government’s abuse of investors is quite long. I am skeptical that any changes for the better will come before Karimov is gone from Uzbekistan’s political scene. The Uzbek government does not like the sanctions, and especially wants the visa ban dropped. Effectiveness aside, this is all the more reason to not hastily drop the sanctions. But if doing so is seen as necessary, the EU ministers should judge whether or not Uzbekistan’s human rights record has improved since May of 2005, not since January of 2007.
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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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Along the same vein, I got a kick out of this quote. In response to Freedom House’s claims that media freedoms in Uzbekistan have been deteriorating over the past year, the head of the _journalists union_ came out swinging:
“Destructive forces deliberately attempting to undermine Uzbekistan’s authority in the eyes of international community provided data for this report,” the chairman of the Uzbek Journalists’ Union, Sherzod Gulyamov, said in a statement posted on a government Web site. (AP)
Is ironic the right word? Maybe not. I just find it funny that the head of the union to represent journalists is the one most vocally defending their conditions. When are union leaders anywhere ever satisfied with employees work conditions? He doesn’t seem the type of person who’d fight for you to get that better dental insurance you were hoping for.