One year after Andijan: US lawmakers take action to punish Uzbekistan

Joshua Kucera 5/11/06

Almost a year after Uzbek security forces gunned down hundreds of civilian protesters in Andijan, several US lawmakers are taking steps, in the face of opposition from Bush administration officials, to punish Uzbekistan for the atrocity.

Sen. John McCain, Republican of Arizona and widely seen as a presidential contender in 2008, unveiled the Andijan Accountability Act during a May 9 forum in Washington, DC, that focused on the tragic events in the Ferghana Valley nearly a year ago. McCain indicated that he'd press for congress to quickly consider the bill.

The McCain-sponsored measure would impose "smart sanctions" against Uzbekistan in an attempt to compel President Islam Karimov's administration to improve its human rights practices. The bill would prohibit Uzbek political and military leaders from traveling to the United States, as well as freeze assets of "officials of the Government of Uzbekistan, including any current or former officials of the security services and judicial institutions, who played a direct and substantial role in the repression of peaceful political dissent and ... any other individuals who provide substantial economic and political support for the present leadership in Uzbekistan." The European Union last year introduced similar sanctions against Uzbekistan. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Rep. Christopher Smith, a New Jersey Republican and another featured speaker at the forum, also announced that he is reintroducing the Central Asia Democracy and Human Rights Promotion Act. The bill – which failed to win passage previously – calls for the potential imposition of sanctions similar to those contained in McCain's bill. Smith's bill covers all Central Asian nations, while singling out Uzbekistan for sanctions. It goes a step further than McCain's measure by providing for additional funding for democracy promotion and US broadcasting across the region. "The United States should use every peaceful means at its disposal to encourage the countries of Central Asia to provide greater respect for democracy, the rule of law and human rights, thereby promoting the long-term stability and security of the Central Asian region," the bill states.

The Andijan events of May 13, 2005, remain a source of international friction. Fact finders from international human rights groups concluded that Uzbek troops carried out a "wanton slaughter" of unarmed civilians demonstrating against deteriorating economic conditions. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Uzbek authorities claim that the unrest was stoked by Islamic militants. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

In the year since Andijan, Uzbek leaders have gone to great lengths to eliminate most elements of civil society in the country. Government attention has focused in part on stamping out all sources of independent information, muzzling the media and closing down foreign non-governmental organizations. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. One of the first NGOs targeted was the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation-Uzbekistan. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. EurasiaNet operates under the auspices of the Open Society Institute (OSI) in New York.

Both Smith's and McCain's bills would lift sanctions if Uzbekistan allowed an independent investigation of the Andijan events – something Tashkent has refused to do. The fallout from Andijan caused Uzbekistan to break its strategic alliance with the United States, resulting in the closure of a US airbase at Karshi-Khanabad. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

During the forum, McCain said Uzbekistan's actions undermined US interests, indicating that White House needed to send a stronger message to Tashkent that is consistent with the Bush administration's much-stated goal of promoting global democratization. "Often, in the name of battling Islamic terrorism, the [Uzbek] government frequently rounded up those opposed to its rule, sometimes subjecting prisoners to torture. Now, one year later [after Andijan] things have gotten worse," McCain said. "Tashkent's actions are clearly inimical to our security interests, and they fly in the face of our efforts to promote freedom and democracy abroad.

"As Americans, we cannot stand silent in the face of such abuses as we have seen in Uzbekistan," McCain continued, going on to refer to EU moves to punish Karimov's government. "The European Union has not remained silent."

Both Smith and McCain acknowledged they face opposition from many administration officials who want to keep the channels of communication open with Uzbekistan, apparently in the belief that Uzbekistan might once again become a US collaborator in the US-led anti-terrorism campaign.

"There's a great game going on in that part of the world," McCain said. "The oil supplies and how the oil is transported have had an impact on some of the administration's policies. I think that's well known with some of these countries whose names end with – stan."

On May 4, Vice President Dick Cheney gave a speech in Vilnius, Lithuania, in which he strongly reiterated the Bush administration's commitment to promoting democratization in the countries of the former Soviet Union. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. However, the administration's inaction toward Uzbekistan belies the desire expressed by Cheney to "open a new era of democracy." In addition, the Bush administration's silence amid the approach of the Andijan massacre anniversary sharply contrasts with British government actions. On May 10, British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that his government would seek to strengthen punitive measures already in place against Uzbekistan.

McCain singled out the Donald Rumsfeld-led Department of Defense for criticism. McCain accused the Defense Department of flouting legislative action adopted in 2005 that sought to delay a $23 million payment for US use of the Karshi-Khanabad base until Uzbekistan permitted an independent Andijan investigation. Before the congressional measure could be enacted, however, the Defense Department wired the $23 million payment to Tashkent. "This act debased the very meaning of the term ‘coalition.' Uzbekistan is not part of our coalition, nor is it a partner of the United States, and our policy toward that country must recognize this reality," McCain said.

Michael Kozak, the National Security Council's Senior Director for Democracy, Human Rights and International Organizations had been slated as a featured participant of the May 9 forum, along with McCain and Smith. But Kozak withdrew at the last minute, reportedly because he could not speak at an on-the-record event.

Tom Malinowski, Washington Advocacy Director of Human Rights Watch and a discussant at the forum, assailed Cheney's visit to Kazakhstan following his Vilnius speech. "When we criticize, rightly, Russia for its human rights progress and criticize Uzbekistan, rightly, for its human rights progress, but then extol Kazakhstan in the same breath, it feeds cynicism in the region about what America really stands for and what our interests really are, they begin to say ‘Americans don't really care about democracy, they have more cynical calculations,'" he said.

Smith's and McCain's bills could have a positive effect on Uzbekistan, Malinowski added. "Could sanctions make a difference? I think the answer is perhaps yes," he said. "We know how to do sanctions well when we get serious. Significant financial sanctions of the sort that the senator and congressman proposed can make life very, very difficult for the targets."

The government of Uzbekistan was not formally represented at the conference, but an official from the Uzbek Embassy, Deputy Chief of Mission Bakhtier Ibragimov, spoke during the question-and-answer period. He said that those outside Uzbekistan have focused too much on what happened as a result of Andijan, and too little on the uprising itself, and defended the results of Uzbekistan's own inquiry into the event.

The forum was organized by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, along with several civil society-oriented NGOs, including the National Endowment for Democracy and the Open Society Policy Center, which is affiliated with OSI.

Editor's Note: Joshua Kucera is a Washington, DC,-based freelance writer who specializes in security issues in Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East.

Posted May 11, 2006 © Eurasianet