Uzbekistan's autocratic leader Islam Karimov faced increasing international pressure yesterday as the reported toll from a military crackdown in the eastern town of Andizhan rose to 745.
Four days after soldiers fired into crowds protesting against Karimov's iron-fisted rule over this Central Asian nation, the Soviet-era leader found himself facing rare tough words from the US, which considers him an ally in its war on terror.
US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said late Monday that the US was "deeply disturbed" by the reported violence.
PHOTO: AFP
"We had urged and continue to urge the Uzbek government to exercise restraint, stressing that violence cannot lead to long-term stability," Boucher told reporters.
The comments came on the heels of two days of statements by Britain's Foreign Minister Jack Straw, which called the Andizhan violence "a clear abuse of human rights" and "totally condemned" the alleged firing on civilians by Uzbek soldiers.
The UN has also called for restraint following the clashes. The Swiss government said it would review its development aid contributions for Tashkent, some 11.5 million Swiss francs (US$9.4 million) for this year.
In one of the first public protests following the violence, 15 supporters of the Free Farmers party, a secular opposition group, gathered in front of the US embassy in Tashkent yesterday.
"The United States is partly to blame for the situation in Uzbekistan because they supported, and support, the Uzbek regime," said Akhtam Shaimadanov, one of the organizers.
However, he added that the protesters had chosen the site of the US embassy because they had less reason to fear retribution from the Uzbek authorities, in full view of their US allies.
"We would be beaten if we had this protest near a government building -- we had it here because the Uzbek authorities don't want to spoil their reputation," he said.
The Free Farmers party yesterday said that as many as 745 people had been killed in Friday's clashes in Andizhan, based on a survey of residents in the city and its suburbs, the highest toll so far from the violence.
"We started house-to-house checks two days ago and this figure of 745 was for yesterday [Monday]. Today we're checking again and it might be more," the group's leader Nigara Hidoyatova said.
The latest official government toll, given by Karimov last Saturday, suggested as few as 30 people had died in the clashes.
In Andizhan, where the authorities have stepped up security measures, renewed gunfire was heard for several hours overnight.
The bloodshed in Andizhan started early Friday, when weeks of demonstrations over the trial of 23 local businessmen accused of belonging to an outlawed Islamic group boiled over. After armed backers of the accused stormed a prison and freed them, along with some 2,000 other prisoners, troops opened fire into the crowds at an anti-government rally.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
RSS