Uzbekistan party leader accuses EU of double standards

Itar-Tass October 4 The sanctions of the European Union against Uzbekistan are a reflection of Western double standards, the chief of the central board of the Popular Democratic party, Latif Gulyamov, said On Monday, the European Union's Council of Foreign Ministers decided to announce an embargo on sales of arms to Uzbekistan and use other sanctions for Tashkent's not agreeing to an international probe into May's events in Andizhan. "Attempts of destabilising the situation in Central Asia for getting free access to raw material resources of the region are apparent," Gulyamov said. European democracy itself is in crisis, a telling indication of which has been failure of referendums on the European Union's constitution in several countries," he added. The events in Andizhan are interpreted in the West tendentiously to political ends. The fact that religious extremists who attacked representatives of authority used arms first is hushed up, Gulyamov said. "The European Union does not even want to wait until the end of the open trial in the Supreme Court of the mutineers and officials who allowed the massive riots, making the leadership of the republic guilty in advance," he said.