Eurasia 21: Uzbekistan

Historically and geographically, Uzbekistan has been at the center of Central Asia. Uzbekistan borders all other Central Asian states and holds the distinction of being a doubly landlocked country. Its 25 million inhabitants are densely settled and make up nearly one-half of the population of Central Asia. Unlike its neighbors, Uzbekistan has always had a significant sedentary population in its great cities. Bukhara and Samarkand were rich centers of trade on the Silk Road within the ancient Persian Empire in the first millennium BC. During the Arab occupation in the 8th century AD, Bukhara became one of the Muslim world’s leading centers of learning, culture and art. Samarkand flourished as the capital of Timur’s Empire in the 14th century. The discovery of ocean routes to Asia led to a decline in Central Asia’s cities, as land routes between Europe and Asia were less frequently traveled.

Previously nomadic Uzbeks settled in this region in the 16th century and established the Khanates of Bukhara, Khiva and Kokand, which controlled much of the territory of Central Asia. The Russians began to take a serious interest in Uzbek lands in the 1860s, and, by the end of the 19th century, all three khanates were either property or protectorates of the Russian Empire. In 1924 the region fell under Soviet control, and the republic of Uzbekistan was incorporated into the Soviet Union. The Soviets chose the Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent, to house important branches of Soviet administration, and the city became a regional center of defense and state-controlled Islamic leadership.

Uzbekistan declared independence from the Soviet Union in September 1991. That December, Islam Karimov, leader of Soviet Uzbekistan, was elected president in contested elections. His opponent, Muhammed Solih, and leaders of other political groups fled the country following a government crackdown on opposition parties. Since his election, Karimov has been especially wary of the growth of radical Islamic ideologies in Uzbekistan and has passed harsh restrictions that require registration of groups and limit the right to assemble. This has made it difficult for political and religious parties of any persuasion to form and meet legally.

Uzbekistan’s economy revolves around four “golds.” The country boasts the largest open gold mine in the world to extract abundant reserves of “yellow gold,” and is endowed with sufficient stores of “black gold” (oil) and “blue gold” (natural gas) to meet its domestic energy needs. The mainstay of Uzbekistan’s economy, however, is “white gold” – cotton. Uzbekistan is the world’s second largest exporter of cotton.

Just as in the political sphere, Karimov has tried to maintain economic stability through strict government control. The government regularly intervenes in product pricing and has closed its borders to shuttle trade with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Its failure to enact economic and legal reforms has dissuaded many foreigners from investing. Some sectors of the economy operate just as they did during Soviet times with quotas, schedules and prices dictated from above. This is most visible in cotton cultivation where farmers are required to sell to the state at artificially low prices. The government maximizes its profits by obligating schoolchildren, university students, and teachers to work in the cotton fields several months a year. In 2003, Karimov fired his long-time prime minister for failure to meet cotton quotas.

Without legal secular venues to express dissatisfaction with the government, many Uzbeks have turned to underground religious organizations. In the late 1990s, the government faced serious resistance from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), a group bent on the violent overthrow of Karimov and the establishment of an Islamic government. In 1999 and 2000, the IMU took responsibility for kidnappings and bombings, and was also active in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The IMU developed links to Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and fought against American forces during the invasion of Afghanistan. The IMU has been largely inactive since 2001. Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HT) is international organization that gained a following in Uzbekistan. Like the IMU, HT seeks the creation of an Islamic state, but it advocates non-violence. Nevertheless, the Uzbek government has accused HT of orchestrating suicide bombing attacks in March and July 2004.

Maintaining security amid internal and external threats has been a major priority for Karimov. Uzbekistan boasts the largest and most capable military force in Central Asia. In order to enforce control where borders are especially porous or ambiguous, Uzbekistan has installed fences and placed mines along its borders with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. In 2001, Karimov joined the war on terror and allowed the United States to build a base at Karshi-Khanabad, near the border with Afghanistan. Uzbekistan has committed to fight “terrorism, separatism and extremism” through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The SCO anti-terrorism center is based in Tashkent.

Uzbekistan’s tactics for dealing with internal dissent have been met with international disapproval. Torture, forced confessions and show trials at the hands of the police and judiciary are routine occurrences. In spring 2004, citing lack of progress in human rights and in meeting economic benchmarks, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the United States announced reductions in the financial assistance packages for which Uzbekistan is eligible.