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The Uzbek opposition said at least 745 people were killed in the Andijan clashes. (Reuters)
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The
British call for international probe into Uzbekistan’s bloody
crackdown was noticeably more muscular than that of the United States,
which has been accused of toning down criticism of a nation it views
as a key ally in its anti-terror campaign.
“We
certainly do agree that there needs to be a credible and a transparent
accounting to establish the facts of the matter of what occurred in
Andijan,” said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, according
to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“And
I’m sure the international community will be prepared to be part of
that process, either supporting it or undertaking it.”
Uzbekistan,
which became a key ally of the United States after the 9/11 attacks,
hosts hundreds of US troops at a tightly secured military base near
the Afghan border.
Also
the European Union and the United Nations have demanded a probe into
the reported killings.
No
Access to Civilians
The
international calls for immediate investigations followed a visit
organized by the Uzbek authorities for foreign diplomats and
journalists to Andijan, where they were denied access to local
residents, AFP said.
“We
had no contact with civilian people,” one ambassador, who requested
that his name not be used, told AFP.
“The
trip was well organized to convince us of their (the Uzbek
authorities') version.”
“Can
we not see some people?” British Ambassador David Moran asked an
Uzbek deputy foreign minister who accompanied the group, which
included ambassadors from Britain, the United States and France, as
well as 30 journalists.
Moran
added that “we were expecting to leave at around 2:00 (pm) and I was
a bit surprised to find myself at the airport at 12:30 and had hoped
to have some time to wander around by myself.”
Call
to Resign
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Karimov is under heavy pressure for human rights abuses.
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Criticism
was also domestically hurled at Karimov's regime following the Andijan
bloody clashes, with an Uzbek opposition group calling on the
67-year-old President to resign after 15 years at the head of the
country.
The
Andijan clashes showed that “the present regime is not fighting
Islamic extremism but is simply clinging to power by way of
government-sponsored terrorism against its citizens,” Nigara
Hidoyatova, the head of the Ozod Dekhonlar (Free Farmers) party, said
at a news conference.
She
added that her party wanted Karimov and his government to resign and
for fresh presidential elections to be held within three months.
Hidoyatova
also appealed for the international community to support its stance.
Under
Control
On
the ground, the Uzbek troops said Thursday they reclaimed control of
the eastern town of Kara-Suu, where protestors had chased with federal
authorities following the bloody military crackdown in the nearby
Andijan.
Uzbek
border guards were seen for the first time since Sunday on the bridge
across the canal that runs through the town, which is located on the
border between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, said AFP correspondents on
the scene.
Residents
on the Kyrgyz side said that troops had returned during the night,
arresting leaders of the protestors.
Unrest
in Kara-Suu flared after clashes between Uzbek troops and protestors
in the nearby Andijan.
The
protests in Andijan were triggered by the trial of 23 local
businessmen on charges of religious extremism, a claim observers say
used by the government to crack down on activists.
The
unrest also feeds on long pent-up anger in Andijan regarding the
treatment of prisoners, poverty, unemployment and other social
problems.
