Uzbek President Islam Karimov is slated to arrive in Washington on March 11 for a four-day visit aimed at expanding economic cooperation with the United States. To pave the way for more assistance, the Uzbek government has taken high-profile steps in recent weeks to improve its battered human rights image. Critics question the sincerity of Uzbekistan's commitment to adhering to international rights standards, and are calling for an intensification of pressure on Karimov. But such criticism does not appear capable of influencing Bush administration policy towards Uzbekistan, which has emerged as a crucial component of the US-led anti-terrorism alliance.
During his March 11-14 visit, Karimov is scheduled to meet with President Bush and a host of other top administration officials. He will also meet with leading legislators, private-sector executives and non-governmental organization representatives. Karimov reportedly will press US officials and executives for greater levels of US aid and investment. According to a report released shortly before Karimov's departure for the United States, US-Uzbek trade turnover stood at about $300 million. In addition, 305 Uzbek enterprises had received US investment, the report said. Also high on Karimov's agenda is stronger security cooperation, especially in the areas of terrorism and narcotics trafficking.
In comments to journalists prior to his departure, Karimov said he would sign six agreements during the US visit, the centerpiece being a declaration of strategic partnership. The Uzbek leader suggested that US aid could play a large role in encouraging reforms. "That country [the United States] has a vast investment potential. Our close contacts with the United States will be helpful in going ahead with our economic reforms and the building of a democratic state and civil society," the Interfax news agency quoted Karimov as saying.
Uzbekistan's close cooperation with the United States in the anti-terrorism campaign [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive] was pivotal in making Karimov's high-profile visit possible. The trip is in part seen by some political observers as a reward for Karimov's decision to grant US forces basing rights in Uzbekistan.
US officials have already rewarded Uzbekistan with increased economic aid. The United States is expected to provide about $60 million in economic assistance in 2002, in addition to a one-time $100 million grant that was specified in an economic cooperation agreement last December. [For background see EurasiaNet's business and economics archive].
Strict government control of most aspects of Uzbekistan's economy has helped discourage foreign investment, according to some foreign experts. Karimov has promised several times to reduce state involvement in the economic sector, and to introduce reforms that encourage entrepreneurial activity. Last November, for example, the Uzbek government made its latest commitment to lifting artificial controls on the Uzbek currency, the som. [For additional information see EurasiaNet's business and economic archive]. However, many of the promised reforms have yet to take shape.
US aid to Uzbekistan has faced intense scrutiny in large part because of Tashkent's long-standing reputation as a human rights violator. Various international rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have assailed Uzbekistan for a broad crackdown on unsanctioned religious worship and for stifling all forms of political opposition. [For background see EurasiaNet's human rights archive]. A recent State Department report on human rights contained criticism of Uzbekistan's rights record. Since September 11, however, the US government has tended to refrain from scolding Tashkent over human rights.
In the roughly six months since the United States and Uzbekistan intensified their strategic cooperation, a variety of visiting US legislative and State Department delegations have carried a message to Uzbek officials that closer strategic and economic aid was conditional on improvements in the human rights sector.
In the weeks leading up to his US visit, Karimov made several prominent moves that could help blunt criticism of Uzbekistan's rights record. On March 5, the government registered the Independent Human Rights Organization of Uzbekistan (IHROU). [For background see the Eurasia Insight archives]. Also, in a landmark legal ruling, four law enforcement officers were convicted in connection with the torture death of a suspected Islamic radical activist while in custody. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
While such actions have won the Uzbek government praise, many human rights observers question the motives behind the moves. Many say the actions are not indicative of a new-found commitment to upholding basic rights. Rather, they say, the IHROU's registration and the police convictions are aimed solely at swaying international opinion.
Alexander Petrov, the Deputy Director of the Moscow office of Human Rights Watch-Russian Federation noted that thousands of prisoners of conscience remain jailed in Uzbekistan. He added that a true breakthrough in the human rights sphere cannot be realized until political prisoners are released from custody.
Human rights groups are urging President Bush to press Karimov on human rights. [For more information, see related EurasiaNet Q&A]. The Bush administration, however, has repeatedly indicated that strategic security concerns now outweigh all other factors in the formulation of foreign policy. At the same time, Karimov's reluctance to open up the Uzbek economy hampers the ability of US officials to forcefully argue for more foreign investment.
Editor's note:
Sergei Blagov is a Moscow-based specialist in CIS political affairs.
