Unrest in Uzbekistan in 2005

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In May 2005 which reached unrest in Uzbekistan a climax when on May 13 Uzbek military in the city of Andijan opened fire on a protest demonstration and killed probably 400 to 600 people. The unrest continued in numerous other cities in the region.

Uzbeks protesters initially demanded the release of 23 local businessmen who were held as members of the banned Islamist group Akramiya . After this was achieved, they requested the Uzbek government to release more detainees.

prehistory

Until May 2005 the protests against the authoritarian state system grew. After years of relative calm, the Uzbeks began to question the legitimacy of the government in the face of numerous social and economic problems.

The first major demonstration took place in November 2004 . During the riots in Qo'qon , eastern Uzbekistan, protesters threw stones and set militia cars on fire. Thousands gathered at the local bazaar . The mayor wanted to speak down to the crowds from a stall, but was silenced by the yelling of protest. The figures vary between 2,000 and 20,000 participants.

The trigger for the protest was a law with new trade restrictions. Goods purchased outside of the home should be sold personally, without an intermediary. An official license was made compulsory. The government claimed that this legislation would keep prices down. Many perceived the new law as discrimination against traders and feared the ruin of thousands of businesses and traders.

In March 2005 , 500 agitated farmers raided a militia office and set two cars on fire. They claimed the authorities were expropriating their profitable farm estates and leaving them impoverished.

On May 3, 2005, a small protest took place near the US embassy in the capital Tashkent . About 60 people - mostly women with small children - forced their way through controls and demanded more justice. They chose this method to avoid arrest. The negative image that such an event would create for the Western allies led the demonstrators to openly resist outside the Uzbek US embassy.

Protests in Andijon on May 10th

On May 10th, the BBC reported another demonstration in Andijon , east of the Ferghana Valley . At least 1,000 people gathered to demand justice for a group of 23 young business people accused of Islamism . The demonstrators, mainly relatives of the accused, filmed the demonstration, unhindered by the militia. Opponents of the group claim that they all belong to the Akramiya , which resembles the banned extremist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir . On the other hand, many critics have claimed business independence. The demonstrators surrounded the court, women on one side and men on the other. They reportedly appeared in their best clothes, in a relaxed and happy mood.

It did not stop at this isolated case. The next day the number of demonstrators rose to over 4,000 people. Initially, three out of 23 detainees were to be released. The other 20 had been sentenced to three to seven years in prison and were not to be released. A relative of one of the convicts said, "We are ready to do whatever we can to free our innocent brothers."

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May 12th and 13th

Navoi Square in Andijon, site of the massacre

The government is losing control

On the night of May 12th, gunmen stormed a barracks and prison in the city. Many of the approximately 730 prisoners fled. Nine people were killed during the uprising. A spokesman for the insurgents later stated on the Internet that the action was carried out by relatives and representatives of the Akramiya. On the following May 13th, international news agencies reported that the insurgents and the 23 convicts had occupied the local government building in Andijon. The press office of President Islom Karimov said that "intensive mediations" had not resulted in any results. Quote: "Those who were prepared to use violence seized women and children as human shields and refused any compromise".

The Andijon massacre

During the day, the Uzbek soldiers who had cordoned off the city were ordered to suppress the protests. According to eyewitnesses, they removed protesters from government offices before opening fire on protesters outside. In the general chaos, people threw themselves to the ground in the central square so as not to fall into the fire of government troops as rebels. Men, women and children - it is reported - fled in a panic. Several people were killed.

Galima Bukharbaeva spoke of "a great number of dead and injured". "First a group of armored vehicles approached the field, then a second appeared," she reported. "They opened fire and shot everyone, including the women and children, indiscriminately without mercy. The crowd began to run in all directions. We were hiding in a sewer. The insurgents had occupied the provincial government building and were returning fire. They wanted up Stand up to death! When we left the sewer, we looked for a place in the neighborhood where there was no shooting. But we heard shots everywhere ... ".

On the streets of Andijon, protesters demanded the resignation of President Karimov, who allegedly ordered the military operations from a command center at the airport near the city.

Shootings in Tashkent

On the day of the unrest, the US embassy reported the shooting of an alleged suicide bomber outside the Israeli embassy in Tashkent . The man was apparently carrying wooden objects suspected of being explosives. The victim was an unemployed Russian . He was said to be wearing a military camouflage vest that was believed to have hidden explosives. The security forces asked him to lie down on the ground. Since he did not respond, they fired and hit him with at least 10 shots. The police cordoned off the road at the embassy.

Government and international response

The government-controlled mass media only sent brief reports on the crisis. The Uzbek state television news reported that "a group of armed bandits" had attacked the security forces in Andijon: "With dozens of weapons they attacked a prison camp and freed the prisoners." The rioters are "extremists" who killed nine people and wounded 34 in the fight. The local radio stations were said not to have been on the air at the moment. The authorities also reportedly disrupted the reception of foreign TV news, including that of CNN and the BBC .

Russia expressed concern about what was going on in Central Asia , but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the unrest as an "internal affair" of Uzbekistan. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the Andijon government should show moderation. He added that the US was concerned about reports that terrorism suspects had been freed. The White House's response was noticeably subdued. The incidents put George W. Bush in a difficult situation: on the one hand, the Bush administration enjoyed the extensive support of the Uzbek president in the " war on terror " near Afghanistan , but on the other hand did not want to be seen as the pillar of an unscrupulous, violent and undemocratic regime , especially since the USA regularly complains about democratic deficits in other regimes.

Kyrgyzstan closed the border with Uzbekistan, as well as with Tajikistan . Even Kazakhstan is said to have reportedly reinforced its border guards.

consequences

May 14th

Despite the violent repression of the protests, thousands turned up for the demonstration the following day. The crowd shouted "murderer, murderer" and again called for the president to resign.

On May 14, thousands stormed the government building in the eastern border village of Karasuu , 50 km east of Andijon, intending to flee the country. They allegedly set militia offices and cars on fire before being attacked by Kyrgyz border guards. The authorities in the neighboring country are said to have displaced 6,000 Uzbeks. Circling Uzbek army helicopters have been sighted.

May 15

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said that there was a clear human rights violation in the events in Uzbekistan.

Andijon was cut off from the outside world. There is conflicting information about the number of deaths within the city.

The residents of Karasuu are reconstructing the bridges to Kyrgyzstan after they were destroyed by Uzbek troops.

May 16

On May 16, foreign news agencies estimated the number of dead in Andijon at a total of 400 to 600, according to which government troops systematically shot at the injured after the first shootings.

A press release on the government website insisted on the number of 9 dead and 34 injured.

UN resolution

On November 23, 2005 the UN General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the Uzbek government for refusing to investigate the background of the events in Andijon. 74 countries voted in favor of the resolution, while 39 countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Belarus , were against.

literature

  • Peter Böhm: Tamerlan's heirs. Central Asian Approaches. Picus Verlag, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-85452-910-4

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Andijan Massacre. BBC World Service, May 13, 2015, accessed May 13, 2015 .
  2. ↑ [1]
  3. ↑ [2]
  4. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento from January 17, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Владимир Кара-Мурза: Так ли прочна диктатура Каримова? In: RFL / RE. May 13, 2015, accessed May 2, 2020 (Russian).

Coordinates: 40 ° 46 ′ 59 ″  N , 72 ° 21 ′ 0 ″  E