Col. Stanislav Lunev
Monday, March 11, 2002

"The presidents' discussion will reflect the new relationship that is evolving between the U.S. and Uzbekistan," a White House official said last week. "The country's unprecedented level of cooperation first became evident in the fight against terrorists in Afghanistan."

Uzbekistan, a predominantly Muslim nation of 25 million people whose territory is slightly larger than that of California, allowed U.S. troops to use its airstrips near the border with Afghanistan, winning high praise from the Bush administration for its cooperation.

President Karimov's government is also brushing aside Russian opposition and has proposed to extend the U.S. presence in Uzbekistan far beyond the time frame of the military campaign in Afghanistan, which began on Oct. 7.

According to press reports, Karimov will urge the U.S. to maintain its military presence in Central Asia, because it guarantees regional stability and serves America's transportation and energy needs.

He will also point to the hardships that his former Soviet republic, which borders Afghanistan, has endured as a result of being on the front lines of the war on terror.

The Uzbek president will ask for no monetary compensation for his country's participation in the anti-terrorist coalition, but will ask the Bush administration to encourage American investors to venture into Uzbekistan's economy.

According to the State Department, the U.S. will provide $60 million in assistance to Uzbekistan this year, plus a one-time contribution of $100 million.

We welcome Karimov's government's cooperation with the U.S.-led anti-terrorism coalition and his intention to keep the American presence in his country. We must keep in mind, however, Karimov's autocratic methods of governing his country, which declared its independence from the former Soviet Union on Sept. 1, 1991.

There is no democracy in Uzbekistan, which has never had a tradition of democracy. Moreover, there is nothing that could pass as a free-market economy in this country, whose population lives in a semi-feudal condition under the totalitarian control of government officials.

Karimov, whose monuments and large-size portraits decorate Uzbek cities and villages, has a very bad record in respect to human rights in his country, and the U.S. has criticized Uzbekistan for restricting the religious freedom of Muslims.

Although it is an Islamic state, the government allows its citizens to pray only in officially sanctioned mosques.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom says the Uzbek government "substantially violates the religious freedom of its people." In its recent report, the commission urged the Bush administration to withhold financial assistance until Uzbek authorities guarantee religious rights.

There is no doubt that we need to support Karimov's intention to cooperate with the U.S. during the war on international terrorism and beyond.

At the same time, however, we must continue to demand democratic and economic reforms, freedom of speech and respect for human rights in his country, which could be extremely helpful for our future.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Bush Administration
George W. Bush
Russia
War on Terrorism

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