Uzbek Crowd Storms Prison In Anti-Government Protest
Uzbeks walk with raised hands as soldiers take positions in the main square of Andijan, Uzbekistan, Friday.
(Efrem Lukatsky - AP)
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Saturday, May 14, 2005
MOSCOW, May 13 -- Widespread resentment over a government campaign against alleged Islamic extremists in the Central Asian republic of Uzbekistan exploded into violence Friday when protesters stormed a prison and released thousands of inmates.
Many of the freed prisoners joined in an anti-government revolt in which at least 12 people had died by day's end. The clashes in the eastern city of Andijon climaxed with troops opening fire on protesters in a central square and storming a nearby government building where a number of police officers were being held hostage, according to news reports, government statements and telephone interviews with residents.
Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic that hosts a U.S. air base used in the war in Afghanistan, has an authoritarian government that has tried to suppress all but officially sanctioned Islamic groups. Friday's violence broke out less than two months after the government of neighboring Kyrgyzstan, which also has a U.S. base, was toppled by protests that began in the provinces.
Facing one of the most serious challenges to his 15 years of rule, President Islam Karimov flew to Andijon on Friday, apparently seeking to prevent the unrest from spreading, reports from Uzbekistan said. Karimov has yet to appear in public in the city.
The riots were sparked by the prosecution of 23 local businessmen on charges of membership in an illegal group called Akramiya, which supports jailed Islamic leader Akram Yuldashev. Uzbek authorities also charge that the businessmen had ties with a larger radical Islamic network called Hizb ut-Tahrir, which seeks the restoration of the Caliphate, or a super-Islamic state.
The government has linked Hizb ut-Tahrir to a series of bombings last year in Tashkent, the capital. Activists with the organization insist that they reject violence, although they propagate vitriolic anti-Western and anti-Semitic views. The government has responded harshly; carrying a Hizb ut-Tahrir leaflet is punishable by several years in prison.
Protesters fled the square after the shooting Friday, and government forces appeared to be in control of the area late in the day, though sporadic gunfire continued. Opposition figures said the death toll was much higher than the 12 reported by government statements and news agencies.
In a statement on national television, the government said negotiations for the release of the captives had failed and it was compelled to use force because rioters were also holding women and children hostage. In statements to local reporters, the protesters denied that they had seized women and children.
Separately on Friday, in Tashkent, a suspected suicide bomber was shot and killed outside the Israeli Embassy. Uzbek officials later said the man was carrying a wooden object that guards mistook for explosives as he approached the embassy.
In July 2004, the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Tashkent, as well as the general prosecutor's office, were targeted by suicide bombers. Four Uzbeks were killed in those attacks, and seven people, all locals, were injured.
Shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, Uzbekistan granted American forces rights to establish an air base, which has been used to support the Afghan war. The United States also maintains close counter-terrorism and intelligence cooperation with Uzbek authorities. The Bush administration has praised Uzbekistan for its cooperation in the war on terrorism.
Human rights groups have documented widespread cases of torture and abuse in the country, which they say have generated anger against the government of the largely Muslim country.