Associated Press
October 21

Uzbek President Islam Karimov angrily defended his country's human rights record Friday during a visit by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, claiming there were no specific cases of abuses that should prevent Uzbekistan from receiving international aid.

"Do you know any country in the world where human rights aren't violated?" Karimov said in response to a question to Annan on whether aid should be given to a country with Uzbekistan's poor human rights record.

This former Soviet republic has drawn repeated international condemnation for human rights abuses including torture and killings of prisoners, jailing religious Muslims in its crackdown on extremism, and elections that have been neither free nor fair. The opposition has been forced into exile, and Karimov — the country's leader since before its 1991 independence — has extended his term by referendum to 2007.

Annan said the U.N. special rapporteur for torture would be visiting Uzbekistan in the near future at Tashkent's invitation, and that he had discussed strengthening Uzbekistan's relationship with the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights during his talks with Karimov.

"We will work with this government as we have worked with others in strengthening human rights," Annan said at a news conference.

Karimov called the question of linking aid to progress on human rights "absolutely irrelevant."

"If you had any specific cases of blatant violation of human rights then you could link it to some aid to this country, then you could say that no aid should be given to Uzbekistan until these problems are solved," Karimov said, claiming that international human rights groups had noted progress in Uzbekistan.

However, on the eve of Annan's trip, New York-based Human Rights Watch called for the secretary-general to make human rights a top priority as he visits the five former Soviet republics of Central Asia, as well as China and Mongolia.

"Each of these countries is plagued by repressive governments with poor human rights records," Elizabeth Anderson, executive director of the Europe and Central Asia division of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

In Uzbekistan, Human Rights Watch said Annan should push for greater access by U.N. human rights monitors, and also to discuss the arbitrary imprisonment of several human rights activists. The group also urged Annan to press for the registration of several humanitarian organizations.

Uzbekistan's relationship with the West and in particular the United States — for years kept distant by the country's human rights record and lack of progress in liberalizing its economy — improved dramatically after Sept. 11 when the country allowed the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition to use a military base for operations in neighboring Afghanistan. U.S. aid to Uzbekistan more than tripled this year, but Western officials have insisted they continue to press for progress on human rights here.

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