US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is wrapping up a tour of Central Asia, during which he offered a vigorous defense of the status quo. In particular, Rumsfeld glossed over international criticism of Uzbekistan's repressive behavior, instead reiterating the Bush administration's "appreciation" for Tashkent's "stalwart support" in the ongoing War on Terrorism.
On February 26, Rumsfeld was in Afghanistan, where he observed reconstruction efforts in the southern city of Kandahar. He later traveled to Kabul for talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. After the meeting, Rumsfeld tried to downplay expectations that US forces would capture terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden in the near future. With a US presidential election looming in November, American troops in Afghanistan have reportedly stepped up efforts to hunt down bin Laden.
Rumsfeld and Karzai both sought to portray Afghanistan's security environment as improving, despite ample evidence to the contrary. One February 25, for example, five Afghan non-governmental organization workers were killed by Taliban militants, who have increased operations inside Afghanistan in recent months. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Over 550 individuals have died in political-related violence since August, including scores of Islamic militants killed in clashes with US troops and Afghan security forces.
Many Afghan officials and aid workers have said the country's tenuous security condition warrants a postponement of elections scheduled for June. The Bush administration has pushed to maintain the existing election timetable. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
While Rumsfeld was in Kabul, Afghan officials announced a plan to eradicate poppy fields across the country. Afghan poppy production in recent years has skyrocketed and the country is now the world's foremost source of opium and heroin. US and European officials have pressed Afghan authorities to curb poppy production, and thus curtail the burgeoning amount of narcotics flowing out of Afghanistan to the West. The conundrum for Karzai's government is that many Afghans today rely on poppy cultivation as their chief source of income. Thus, efforts to eradicate production could spark social upheaval. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Rumsfeld's appearance in Afghanistan followed stops in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Perhaps the most pivotal moment during the Central Asian tour came in Tashkent, where President Islam Karimov's administration is clamping down on civil society initiatives. Since the September 11 tragedy, Karimov has taken steps to drastically curtail individual liberties, including freedom of speech and access to information. He has also ruthlessly repressed all non-state-sanctioned forms of religious expression. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Of late, Karimov has sought to stifle non-governmental organization activity, including the OSI Assistance Foundation-Uzbekistan, which, along with EurasiaNet, is a part of the Soros Foundation Network. Uzbek authorities are using a bureaucratic procedure, namely a requirement that NGOs go through a re-registration process, as the basis for their attempt to arrest civil society-oriented activity in the country.
According to local NGO activists, US diplomats in Tashkent have worked hard in support of those NGOs seeking re-registration. Sources say Rumsfeld may have raised the topic in private talks with Karimov. But the US Defense Secretary left NGO workers and in Tashkent profoundly disappointed by not speaking out publicly against the Uzbek government's repressive policies. When asked directly at a February 24 news conference whether he expressed concern about human rights conditions in Uzbekistan, Rumsfeld merely noted that "a broad range of topics were discussed" with Karimov.
Leading experts on Central Asia, including author Ahmed Rashid, contend that US tolerance for authoritarian practices is abetting Islamic radicals in their attempt to destabilize the region. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
As with human rights, Rumsfeld largely ignored Uzbekistan's repeated failures to implement promised economic reforms. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. He focused solely on praising Karimov's administration for being a "key member of the [anti-terrorist] coalition's global War on Terror."
Prior to Rumsfeld's arrival, Uzbek officials raised the possibility of the establishment of a permanent US military base in Uzbekistan . Rumsfeld said the matter was being studied by Pentagon planners, stressing that "no final decisions" have been made. He added that the United States needed to retain "flexibility" in the region.
Rumsfeld stated that the Bush administration looked "forward to strengthening [its] political and economic relationships" with Karmimov's administration. In praising, Uzbekistan as a stabilizing force in Central Asia, the US defense secretary noted; "Our [bilateral] relationship is strong and has been growing stronger."
Relations between Uzbekistan and its neighbors including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have grown strained in recent years, due in large part to unilateral Uzbek actions to hamper trade. The Uzbek policy of mining its borders is also a major source of friction. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]
While Rumsfeld avoiding touching upon human rights issues in Tashkent, the US State Department on February 25 released a report that described Uzbekistan as "an authoritarian state with limited civil rights." The survey went on to call Tashkent's economic reform record "mixed," and the government's rights record "poor."
"President Islam Karimov and the centralized executive branch that serves him dominate political life and exercise nearly complete control over other branches [of government]," the report stated. "The government employed official and unofficial means to restrict severely freedom speech and the press, and [create] an atmosphere of repression."
On the eve of Rumsfeld's arrival in Uzbekistan, the Karimov administration took action to defuse human rights criticism, releasing 62-year-old Fatima Mukhadirova from custody. Mukhadirova has been sentenced earlier in February for supposed terrorist activities. Human rights activists attributed her jailing to a government desire to punish her for publicizing the police torture death of her son, who was reportedly immersed in boiling water. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Asked about the Mukhadirova case during his Tashkent press conference, Rumsfeld declined specific comment, saying: "I'm not intimately knowledgeable" about the case.
Editor's note:
Esmer Islamov is the pseudonym of a freelance journalist specializing in Uzbek political affairs.
