Violent repression of the rebellion in Uzbekistan has led to hundreds of deaths
Fergana.Ru, D. Kislov, Chief Editor, 13.05.2005
According to official reports disseminated by Uzbekistani authorities, during today's clashes in Andijan 9 people perished and 34 were injured. However, according to a telephone report from Saidjakhon Zainabitdinov, an attorney from Andijan, the number of killed and wounded in Andijan is in the hundreds.
"Government forces took over the city. They opened fire from BTR's [armored personnel carriers], machine guns, and rifles, on the demonstrators and rebels who were holed up in the regional administration building. The residents of the city feel like hostages, we are in a dangerous situation. We ask you to call Andijan every hour, so that we can maintain a connection to the outside world," stated S. Zainabitdinov.
According to other eyewitnesses, the security forces took radical measures after unsuccessful negotiations with the rebels, which, according to some reports, were conducted over the telephone by the country's president, Islam Karimov. In spite of the official reports that the rebels took women and children as hostages, apparently this fact and the presence of peaceful civilians on the city streets did not stop the country's top leadership from taking the strongest possible measures.
Currently in the center of the city and on its outskirts, shoot-outs continue. The city administration building is under the control of the rebels. Their resistance is a matter of time. Most likely, negotiations will no longer be possible, and the military units have received orders to destroy the "akromists."
The violent put-down of the "Andijan uprising" can be considered a Pyrrhic victory for Islam Karimov. It's already apparent to all of enlightened humanity that this is not a case of Islam Karimov as the "savior of Central Asia from Islamic radicalism" battling the aggressive would-be builders of the Khalifate. The reasons for popular uprisings, and that is how the uprising in the Andijan region should eb classified, lie in the difficuly socio-economic position of the residents of the Fergana Valley and the years-long repression of the basic basic rights and freedoms of the citizens of Uzbekistan.
Translation by Lyndon.
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