I do not really see how a decision to apply tougher sanctions against Uzbekistan would “signal double standards” as the statement by Mikhail Margelov suggests.
On the contrary, it is only natural for the EU to do that if they really want to prove they are principled enough when it comes to promoting democracy […]
Nick posted about the mounting pressure on the BBC yesterday, now it’s official: The BBC suspends its Tashkent office after a row over the broadcaster’s stance on the events in Andijon.
The office will remain closed for at least six months. Prominent reporter Monica Whitlock had already been forced to leave the country in […]
The leader of the ‘Sunshine Uzbekistan’ political opposition movement appears to have been drugged in custody, according to the organisation’s weblog:
I looked at where he was being held, he was without clothes, before we went there, they said he threw all his stuff out the door of his holding cell, he doesn’t react to […]
The Uzbekistan government proved to be able to respond promptly. The leader of “Sunshine Uzbekistan”, Sanjar Umarov has been detained on accusations of large-scale theft and is kept under custody. I think that this should remove any allegations that I have encountered on various discussions that Mr. Umarov is Karimov’s puppet, president-to-be.
It is hardly […]
The UK Press Gazette reports on the barring of BBC reporter Jenny Norton from Uzbekistan. (hat-tip: Mental Wanderlust.) Furthermore, Beeb operations in Uzbekistan appear to be under direct assault.
Of course, it all makes perfect sense if you really believe the claim by the Uzbekistani deputy prosecutor-general in the current Andijon trial, Anvar Nabiyev, that […]
Russian Foreign Minister arrived today in Tashkent. There really isn’t much to dwell on, just the standard stabilisation talk Russian officials keep pursuing so eagerly whenever the future of Central Asia is discussed. The rhetoric doesn’t seem to change over time.
Perhaps, the Kazakh leader is the only one who takes the prospect of […]
In the Guardian yesterday (sorry, I mean the guardian), Craig Murray, the former British ambassador to Tashkent, accused Hazel Blears of “straightforward falsehood” regarding UK intelligence sources in Uzbekistan and the pending proscription of an Uzbek Islamist organisation, the Islamic Jihad Union.
(A complete transcription of the parliamentary debate, concerning the British Government’s Terrorism Bill, […]
“We request you to recognize our constitutional right to register in the Ministry of Justice of the republic of Uzbekistan in order to become fully legitimate participants in the political life of Uzbekistan de jure, since de facto we have been such for a long time.”
This statement concluded a long open letter from the recently […]
New York, October 17, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists presented its 2005 International Press Freedom Awards to three journalists and one media lawyer. One of these journalists is Galima Bukharbaeva, former Uzbekistan correspondent for the Institute for War & Peace Reporting. One of the few journalist witnesses, she covered the events in the city […]
Hi. I’m Nick Walmsley, and I’ll be joining Olesya and Ali as contributors to this blog. I’m new-ish to this game, so please bear with me. Normal service will resume shortly.
