UNREST IN UZBEKISTAN: Rebels say they control town
Fighters infiltrate days after at least 169 are killed in uprising
May 19, 2005
BY BAGILA BUKHARBAYEVA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KARASU, Uzbekistan -- The bearded 42-year-old farmer, astride a horse
with a colorful saddle and wearing a traditional Uzbek embroidered
black-and-white skull cap, snapped his fingers as he gave orders to an
assistant.
ABOUT UZBEKISTAN
History: Independent since 1991; former Soviet republic.
Population: 26.4 million.
Geographic size: Slightly larger than California.
Religions: 88% Muslim (mostly Sunni), 9% Eastern Orthodox, 3% other.
Economic goals: Lessen dependence on agriculture and develop mineral
and petroleum reserves.
Major concerns: Economic stagnation and terrorism by militants fighting
for an Islamic nation in the Fergana Valley.
Political unrest: Human rights violations include persecution of
Muslims. Ruling government is slow in allowing democratic reforms.
"We will be building an Islamic state here in accordance with the
Koran," rebel leader Bakhtiyor Rakhimov told the Associated Press.
"People are tired of slavery."
It was unclear how many people Rakhimov commands. But there was no sign
of any Uzbek government officials Wednesday in Karasu, a town of about
20,000 people on the border with Kyrgyzstan.
The government of President Islam Karimov dismissed the rebel leader's
claims as nonsense.
Rakhimov maintains he has 5,000 followers ready to fight any troops
that try to crush the rebellion.
The Uzbek officials apparently fled the town when rioters attacked
police and government offices Saturday, a day after a violent
confrontation in Andijan.
The rebels in Karasu did not appear to be armed.
The government cites 169 dead in Andijan, but opposition activists say
more than 500 were killed.
The United States appealed to both sides in the central Asian country
to show restraint, and demanded a more open and responsive government.
But the emergence of a second hot spot in Karasu, 20 miles to the
southeast on the border with Kyrgyzstan, has coincided with an intense
international focus on Uzbekistan -- attention that may be staying
Karimov's hand.
The uprising in Karasu began with attacks on police and government
posts Saturday, a day after the region exploded in unrest when
thousands of protesters took to the streets of Andijan, Uzbekistan's
fourth-largest city.
Uzbek officials took foreign diplomats and journalists on a
lightning-quick tour of Andijan on Wednesday, showing them a prison and
the local administration building and arranging meetings with local
officials, as the top UN human rights official called for an
independent investigation.
The delegation was kept blocks away from the people of Andijan, leaving
little chance for an objective assessment of Friday's violence.
Rakhimov's men, clad in traditional V-neck white shirts and embroidered
skull caps, could be seen scattered around the town.
Ikbol Mirsaitov, a Kyrgyz expert on Islam, speculated that some of the
rebels may have been people who escaped from prison in Andijan on
Friday, because they had very short beards -- indicating they had grown
them in the past few days.
Asked if he feared soldiers would try to regain control of Karasu by
force, Rakhimov said: "They came here today, a few military people. I
turned them back."
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| User: "=?iso-8859-1?q?Itchy_Bum_HOOROO_Kawasaki_San_of_the_Intergalactic_Holographic_Multiverse=99?=" |
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| Title: Re: UNREST IN UZBEKISTAN: Rebels say they control town |
20 May 2005 10:19:04 PM |
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Hogwarts school motto, "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus," means,
"Never tickle a sleeping dragon."
HOOROO ;-)
UNCLE WALLY ;-)
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