Trial in Tashkent

The Khaleej Times/Editorial September 22 The trial of Uzbek political activists that opened in Tashkent on Tuesday goes against the spirit and basic principles of justice. The kangaroo court not only cannot do justice to the innocent put on trial, but also it will fail to deflect the attention of Uzbek people and the rest of the world from the real and underlying problems in Uzbekistan. The Uzbek authorities have claimed that the 15 terrorists' have pleaded guilty to the charges of inciting revolt and unrest in Andijan in May this year. But have those helpless people put in a cage like animals during their appearance in the court' been given a fair trial as we understand it? Can the Uzbek authorities convince the world that the political activists were not coerced and tortured into conceding their crime'? And pray, what was their crime? Registering their protest against the government policies in a peaceful and civilised manner? The peaceful protests by unarmed civilians were disrupted by the Uzbek forces by firing into the defenceless crowd. Up to 700 protesters were mowed down in the crackdown in May. The world still can't forget the heaps of lifeless bodies on the streets of Andijan. Tens of hundreds of political activists and civilians fled to neighbouring countries like Kyrgyzstan. While President Islam Karimov assured the world those killed were all Islamic terrorists' seeking to overthrow him, human rights groups have begged to differ. Investigation by rights groups has revealed systemic rot in the country. The Uzbek regime has been held squarely responsible for the May massacre. Contrary to the claims by the Uzbek authorities that the protesters were planning an uprising, the rights groups insist the demonstrations were completely peaceful in nature. A report by the Human Rights Watch, released just ahead of the Tashkent trial, has disclosed that following the Andijan protests in May, the government unleashed a ferocious crackdown across the country rounding up scores of political activists and those who tried to expose the government brutality. The widely respected rights agency says the crackdown included widespread arrests, persecution and harassment directed at witnesses, survivors, human rights defenders, journalists and political workers. No wonder those put on trial in Tashkent have quickly owned up their crimes'. This is a very disturbing state of affairs the world community cannot afford to ignore for far too long. The Uzbek regime needs to be reminded that the Soviet Union is long dead and the era of absolute tyranny is over. Comrade Karimov must be convinced by the international community, especially the West and big brother Russia, that he cannot run Uzbekistan like a huge, lawless gulag any more. It's not the group of activists that is on trial in Tashkent but the regime of President Karimov.