U.S. lawmakers target leaders of Uzbekistan

International Herald Tribune May 9 A year after hundreds of Uzbeks are thought to have been killed in a government crackdown on political opponents, two influential Republican legislators said here that they would introduce legislation calling for sanctions that would personally affect the family and governing circle of President Islam Karimov. The bill, said Senator John McCain of Arizona and Representative Christopher Smith of New Jersey, would call for limitations on U.S. funding to Uzbekistan unless the secretary of state established that Tashkent had permitted a credible investigation of the killings in the city of Andijon on May 13, 2005, and had improved human rights. Those killings, which came a day after government opponents attacked official buildings and police stations and freed several prisoners in a still- murky series of events, claimed 187 lives by Tashkent's count. But McCain noted that eyewitnesses and outsiders who have studied the events believe 500 to 1,000 people died. The bill would also call for a ban on travel visas for certain Uzbek officials, including Karimov, and on U.S. munition exports to the country, bringing the United States closer to the European Union position. McCain, speaking to a conference on Uzbekistan that was co-sponsored by pro-democracy and human rights groups, said that a year ago Uzbekistan lacked true opposition parties and the government's human rights record was "appalling." "Now, one year later," he said, "things have gotten even worse." McCain, who is believed to be seeking his party's 2008 presidential nomination, said that the Bush administration, and in particular the Pentagon, had been too accommodating to Uzbekistan for too long. He appeared vexed that after legislation was introduced last year to bar the Defense Department from sending terror-coalition funds to Uzbekistan, the Pentagon had wired the $23 million to Tashkent before a vote could be held. The former Soviet republic had for a time pursued closer cooperation with the United States, particularly since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But after Washington denounced the Andijon killings and demanded an independent outside investigation, Karimov ordered U.S. troops out of a southern military base. Karimov, Smith said, had expected greater benefits and less pressure from the relationship; Washington had hoped for greater democratization. "It was just a matter of time before the arrangement collapsed," Smith said. The conference drew a number of Uzbek opposition spokesmen, including Arslanbek Umarov, whose father, Sanjar Umarov, is the jailed leader of Sunshine Uzbekistan, the main secular opposition movement. Arslanbek Umarov thanked Smith and McCain for the legislation. An administration spokesman, Michael Kozak of the National Security Council, had been invited to the conference but declined. The Uzbek government was not invited, but Bakhtier Ibragimov, the deputy chief of mission, was in the audience. He repeated his government's contention that the events of last May had been misrepresented, and said that outside groups interested in investigating the killings should have participated in an Uzbek parliamentary inquiry. "We invited the embassies to join the team," he said. McCain and every analyst at the conference said that the human rights situation in Uzbekistan had deteriorated over the past year. After the Andijon killings, Uzbekistan blamed U.S. and other foreign groups, governmental and private, for fomenting the rebellion. Karimov accused Washington of sending Islamic terrorists to destabilize the country. Independent organizations have been evicted, journalists beaten, and opposition figures arrested, jailed or subjected to what McCain called "Stalinist show trials." Links to the West remain in disarray. The past year, said Mark Schneider of the International Crisis Group, "has seen the trend lines harden in every area." A new law, said Nozima Kamalova, an Uzbek lawyer, imposes a heavy fine on those who offer a venue for unsanctioned meetings, but does not define such meetings, so that security forces can apply it even to a "tea party." Smith said he was intent on keeping attention on "the Andijon slaughter." "Karimov is hoping to ride this out, hoping that given enough time, people will forget," Smith said. Analysts at the conference said that while Karimov appeared to have a firm grip on matters now, the situation could change dramatically with little notice.