The central Asian nation of Uzbekistan celebrated its independence from Russia on August 28. Praises all around. US Ambassador Richard Norland expressed his firm commitment and partnership with the autocratic regime. Independence. What does it really mean and to whom? For Tashkent, that answer is clear.
EU's sanctions against Tashkent are set to expire in October. HRW says there is little chance the sanctions will continue. There is simply no will – especially when huge gas reserves are at stake. Sanctions in themselves are a contentious issue. But the real tragedy by the international community is indifference.
The think tank, International Crisis Group, has this to say, “Uzbekistan is well down the path of self-destruction followed by such countries as Burma, Zimbabwe and North Korea, in which an elite prospers while the majority lives in worsening poverty.”
Should we simply forget that three years ago, a peaceful protest in Andijan turned into a horrible tragedy as Uzbek military indiscriminately fired into the crowd…killing men, women and children? Journalist Galima Bukharbayeva witnessed the atrocity. She survived and now lives in exile in Germany.
When the helicopters arrived people thought it was the president come to address the crowds until their weapons opened fire. At the same time a convoy of armed vehicles drove by the crowds, at a snail's pace, and fired into the demonstrators. Hundreds of men, women, and children lay dead. And for what? The people were upset over losing their jobs.
Punishing corrupt officials and bringing to justice those responsible for this atrocity may not prevent future massacres. But to do nothing is a failure of the human spirit and duty to help those in need. The struggle for justice is more than just sending people to the Hague, it also a struggle against memory and forgetting*.
*Taken from a quote by Milan Kundera who wrote: "The struggle against authority, is the struggle against memory and forgetting."
