Severe oppression in Uzbekistan

Come up to any passer-by on a street in a Uzbek town and ask him what he really wants. He is most likely to reply: “I want to leave the country.”


Looks like another muslim country on the verge of collaspe.

www.kommersant.com...

Came across this today also.Seems that karimov has alot of friends in high places, mind you so did saddam in the early days. Trouble is how many ppl have to die before something is done.Alot of oil in Uzbekhistan i think?

Extraordinary renditions -- the kidnapping of terror suspects and their transport to countries willing to torture them for the Bush administration -- have been the rage (for the CIA) in Europe in recent years and have enraged European publics. But far less is often known about what happens to those kidnappees on the other end of the process. Craig Murray, however, knows more than most of us. He was the British Ambassador to Uzbekistan from 2002 to 2004, a time when that country's strong man, Islam Karimov, was described by Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, and Donald Rumsfeld as an "important ally" of George Bush in his war on terror. Murray was dismissed by the British government in October 2004 when he made public his findings on extraordinary renditions to Uzbekistan and the torture by Uzbek security personnel of those rendered into their hands by the CIA.
Murray describes Karimov as having longstanding ties with Bush. These seem to have begun in 1997 when Bush was still governor of Texas. He then met with Uzbek Ambassador Sadyk Safaev, a meeting (for which there is documented evidence) organized by Ken Lay, CEO of Enron, in order to enlist the governor in brokering a two billion-dollar gas deal between the corporation and that oil-rich country. Karimov, says Murray, "was a guest in the White House in 2002. It's very easy to find photos of George Bush shaking Karimov's hand." Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was, he added, "particularly chummy with Karimov" back then and, at the time, the administration was making use of the Karshi-Khanabad air base, also known as K2, in that country.
Murray is not alone in considering Karimov one of the most vicious dictators on the planet, a man personally responsible for the death of thousands. The ambassador helped uncover evidence of one detainee who "had had his fingernails extracted, he had been severely beaten, particularly about the face, and he died of immersion in boiling liquid. And it was immersion, rather than splashing, because there is a clear tide mark around the upper torso and arms, which gives you some idea of the level of brutality of this regime."

www.ukar.org...

You really do have to wonder!

Jamaat Ansarullah is banned in Tajikistan.

A few days ago Jamaat Ansarullah was finally banned by Tajik authorities - news.tj/en/news/tajikistan-bans-activity-jamaat-ansarullah. That's good news. The bad is that the organization in fact is not a self-consistent unit, but just another branch of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a militant Islamist group (which is also banned in Tajikistan). It's hard to fight against the organization because its leaders, including those ones who open branches in nearby countries hide inside Uzbekistan and get private support of Uzbek special services. Tajik and Uzbek guest workers frequently arrested for being in touch with the IMU, and every time all tracks lead to Tashkent. Many times neighboring countries asked Karimov for assistance but Uzbek leader gave no answer. It conveys the suggestion that he is well informed about the issue and his inactivity speaks for his personal involvement..