Karimov's Welcome to Exiles Hints at Potential for Progress

Addressing local and foreign journalists during a break in a recent session of the Uzbek Parliament, President Islam Karimov said he was ready to meet and talk with exiled opposition members who want to return to the country on friendly terms. Karimov, who has endured criticism for his persistently poor human rights record since he joined the United States-led antiterrorism coalition, stressed his readiness to listen to opposition recommendations on economic reforms. But he quickly limited the scope of the invitation, prompting criticism from dissidents abroad and their supporters. If Karimov and his opponents show more flexibility, they might manage to leverage the president's gesture into meaningful reform.

In his April 4 press conference, the Uzbek leader welcomed only exiles who have not been involved with terrorist activities, particularly the explosions in Tashkent in February 1999 that nearly killed him, and who are not devoted to the creation of an Islamic Caliphate in Central Asia. Thus, while proscribing the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the nonviolent but revolutionary Hizb-ut-Tahrir, Karimov excluded talks with Mohammad Solih, the leader of the Erk (Freedom) party. Though the international human rights community has rallied behind Solih, the Uzbek government accused him of complicity in the 1999 bombings and of close connections with the IMU. Perhaps as a result of Karimov's restrictions, Western media did not treat his statement as a step forward in Uzbekistan's evolution as a democracy with respect for human rights.

What human rights commitments would Karimov have to make to attract Western attention? Some Uzbek political activists living in the United States and Europe suggested that concrete steps would make his words more credible. While calling the statement a positive move, human rights groups doubted its sincerity. Some demanded that the government acknowledge and register Erk and Birlik (Unity), another opposition party, and free all political prisoners. Only after such dramatic moves would these dissidents return to Uzbekistan.

At Central Asian Human Rights Information Network (CAHRIN), we also welcomed President Karimov's invitation to Uzbek opposition members living abroad. This step must be viewed in context, along with some other recent positive steps Karimov has taken. For example, the government has released about 800 people who may be called prisoners of conscience. It has also fired four police officers accused of torturing suspects, registered the well-established and vocally critical International Human Rights Organization of Uzbekistan [for more information see the EurasiaNet Civil Society archive], and worked out a deal allowing International Committee of the Red Cross representatives to visit jails and detention centers. These steps all meaningfully improve the human rights climate in Uzbekistan - even though they fall short of a promise Karimov made in August 2001 to free over a thousand political prisoners as part of a general amnesty to celebrate the country's tenth anniversary.

Because Karimov has fallen short of his own circumscribed promises, CAHRIN calls on the government to back his words with action. Immediately, the government should reconsider all criminal cases that may involve political or religious prisoners. It should also accept the participation of Uzbek and international human rights advocates in this process, if for no other reason than to spread the work around. (According to some estimates, there are at least 2500 cases involving prisoners of conscience, and maybe as many as 7000 such prisoners in Uzbek detention.) At the same time, the government must eradicate torture. It should officially outlaw torture methods, investigate all reports and complaints about torture and bring all its perpetrators to justice. To take this step faithfully, the government will have to probe the July 6, 2001 death of Shovruk Rozimurodov, a human rights activist and former parliament member, who died in prison. Authorities officially declared Rozimurodov's death a suicide, but dissidents say he died as a result of torture and imprisonment.

Karimov will also have to go beyond atoning for past sins. In cooperation with international human rights organizations and funders, he will have to work with local activists to significantly increase the scale and efficiency of human rights education programs for security officials, prosecutors, and judges. Too many of these officials do not understand the rule of law. By teaching them the principles of democracy in a coordinated fashion, Karimov could increase the security agencies' professionalism of their work. This would enhance Uzbekistan's civil-rights standing and its security. As a corollary to this program, Karimov should register established groups like the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan and "Ezgulik" (Good Deed) Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan, and should remove obstacles to the formation and registration of other independent rights groups. Birlik should be free to organize kurultays (conferences) in the provinces and stage a national conference in Tashkent, and it should become a legal movement. Finally, open discussion of economic and financial reforms should widen. The schemes the government adopts for land privatization and currency convertibility will deeply affect poor and dissident groups; these groups should be able to join international and local experts to determine reforms' pace and shape.

With the eyes of the world on Uzbekistan, Karimov will find it impossible to build democracy, achieve economic reform, and improve the quality of life all at once. Many reforms could be painful, and could potentially destabilize the country by making desperate peoples' lives even harder. That is why Uzbekistan needs gradual, step-by-step reforms to find a proper balance between economic and political liberalization and stable peace. The government and opposition, and human rights activists worldwide, should patiently and persistently seek dialogue and reasonable compromises. While some activists may consider Karimov's steps to date an insincere feint at American pressure, all parties need to take realistic, responsible and constructive attitudes about encouraging change. Central Asian Human Rights Information Network believes the recommendations above are achievable, and they may become the next important step towards more open society and economy in Uzbekistan.