EU sets sanctions on Uzbekistan

The New York Times October 4 The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on Uzbekistan, seeking to punish the Central Asian nation for its refusal to allow an international investigation into the bloody crackdown on an uprising in May in the northeastern city of Andijon. The sanctions impose an embargo on exports to Uzbekistan of arms and equipment that might be used for internal repression, and suspend meetings between the union and Uzbekistan designed to accelerate the former Soviet state's rapprochement with the West. They will also forbid the travel of Uzbek officials directly involved in the crackdown to the 25 European Union states. The decision followed months of diplomatic tension between much of the West and Uzbekistan after a prison break and antigovernment demonstration on May 13. The demonstration, which survivors said included several thousand people, was scattered by gunfire from Uzbek troops and armored vehicles. Survivors and independent organizations claim that hundreds of people were killed, almost all of them unarmed. Uzbekistan, an autocratic state that had been an ally with the Bush administration's counterterrorism efforts, has countered that the crackdown was a necessary counterterrorism operation, and said that only 187 people, principally Islamic terrorists, were killed. It has stubbornly resisted calls for a transparent investigation of the events. As criticism over the violence mounted in the spring and summer, Uzbekistan sharply shifted its foreign policy, aligning more closely with Russia and China and trimming its relations with the West. In July it ordered the United States to leave an air base that it has been using since 2001, an eviction now scheduled for early next year. Last month Uzbekistan played host to a small joint military exercise with Russian troops, signaling its new allegiances. Meeting in Luxembourg, the foreign ministers of European Union states approved the sanctions for an initial period of one year, allowing for a review in 2006 of Uzbekistan's willingness to "adhere to the principles of respect for human rights, rule of law and fundamental freedoms." The trade ban covers weapons and ammunition, as well as dozens of items that could be used in crackdowns and police work, including helmets and certain types of body armor, vehicles equipped with armor, leg irons, shackles, tear gas, water cannons, riot shields, fingerprint equipment, search lights and night-vision goggles. The sanctions also suspend scheduled meetings under the so-called Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, the blueprint that since 1999 has helped develop the European Union's political relations with Uzbekistan and guide economic relations in trade, transport, customs, postal services, telecommunications and other areas. Human Rights Watch hailed that move, saying it was the first of its kind in the Union's history.