500 killed by Uzbek regime
President Bush: “All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.” (January 20, 2005)
President Bush chums with Uzbek dictator Islam Karimov in March 2002 for signing of the U.S.-Uzbek Declaration on the Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Framework.
Today the news from Uzbekistan is stark following the massacre of hundreds in the City of Andijan:
Andijan city centre and especially Babur Square were awash with the blood of men and women, young and old, who had come out, for the first time in many long years of oppression, to express their discontent with the regime’s policies. The blood of children was spilled there, too.Body parts, brains and other internal organs along with personal items and children’s shoes were scattered within a radius of two to three kilometres of the square where the shooting began.
There were still 30 dead bodies on the square itself, and near the monument to Babur – the local boy who invaded India and founded the Moghul dynasty – lay ten more which people had collected together.
Men and women cried as they surveyed the scene.
“To the government, we’re just dirt. They don’t regard us as human beings,” said one of the women.
Eyewitnesses claimed that more than 1,500 people were killed by government bullets, although the nearest thing to an accurate estimate came from a local doctor who saw 500 bodies.
There is evidence to suggest that government security forces carried out deliberate extrajudicial killings once the mass shooting was over. The initial assault by security forces began when a convoy of armoured vehicles raked the crowd, estimated at 10,000-15,000, with gunfire without even stopping to take aim.
Thanks to the excellent Ruth Group for that link. See more here.
White House spokesman McClellan receives the Outrageous Irony of the Year Lost on Most Americans Award for this:
The people of Uzbekistan want to see a more representative and democratic government, but that should come through peaceful means, not through violence.
Deep Blade Journal carried some extended comments on Uzbekistan with many links on November 10, 2003. Also see The Memory Hole for photos of an amazing array of US officials warmly greeting their Uzbek counterparts.
May 17th, 2005 at 17:49
I saw a news item on BBC World yersterday morning describing the warm relationship between Karimov and the Bush Administration. It would have been nice, however, if they had gone into a little more detail. For example, they could have outlined the grievances of the rioters (the “whys” so to speak) instead of echoing Karimov’s construction of Islamist terrorism being on the rise which, allegedly, was behind the riots. Karimov’s record on human rights abuses extend not only to muslims but a plethora of other minorities. I actually work with a former Uzbek who was persecuted for being homosexual. The first time we met he mentioned the US’s cosy relationship with Karimov and that was back in 2003. My colleague was utterly disgusted and distressed. He would laugh out loud at the claim that the US wanted democracy in the region and sometimes in the face of other colleagues who believed such nonsense. A couple of months ago he was sent back to Uzbekistan to an uncertain fate; nobody, not even his partner, has heard anything from him since then. The fact that the Swedish authorities would do such a thing is disturbing and only lends suspicion to their foreign policy agenda. Case in point, in early 2004 the now deceased Anna Lindh working with the CIA extradited two Egytptian back to Egypt who summarily tortured shortly thereafter. Could it be that Bush and co have a list of countries who, irrespective of their human rights record, have been approved by them because they have agreed to join in the “War on Terror”? I think we know the answer but my suspicions have been aroused even more in light of teh Uzbekistan matter. Could it be that Göran Persson’s government agreed to extradite people back to Uzbekisatn on the proviso of the US? The pot thickens. I think I’ll get in touch with one of Sweden’s peace groups who are often in the limelight here…
May 18th, 2005 at 01:36
Wow. Would you consider making this into a guest post for the main blog, Wallsy?
May 18th, 2005 at 18:02
With pleasure…
May 18th, 2005 at 19:41
HI DeepBlade,
I have sent you a more refined version of the above in Word. Hope you like it…
February 15th, 2007 at 01:52
[…] would have endorsed a “independent, transparent” international investigation into the Andijan massacre carried out by Uzbek forces one month ago. Evidently, the Pentagon has gone to war and prevailed over the State Department over […]