Immediately after it became known that Daniyar Usenov assumed Igor Chudinov’s former post, members of the Diesel internet forum began actively discussing the country’s new second-in-command. There were many comments, most of them negative. The new appointment was not a popular one.

Here are some sample responses [ru]:

Alx.: He reminds me of that character from [comedy film] The 12 Chairs played by Savelii Kramarov. Anything he tries his hand at, he fails.

Havez: Whoever said earlier that he has a “season pass” for the job is right. It’s sad that we’re in for yet another scam of the century. I just wonder what it will be.

XWalker [ru]: It seems like developed capitalism is a ways away… Onward to the past!

Queer [ru]: Now they’re definitely going to litter Friendship Park with cottages. Not only that, they’re probably going to start building apartment buildings in the middle of Dzerzhinka.

So far, Diesel is one of the few places where the new appointment is being discussed. Most bloggers have kept silent. Perhaps, they’re still digesting all the information that has come out in the past two days, of which there has been plenty.

Morrire, the prominent Kyrgyz blogger on LiveJournal is one of the few who have commented on Usenov’s appointment as PM. She writes laconically, but succinctly [ru]:

I’m nauseous, simply nauseous.

Why such strong antipathy towards Daniyar Usenov? There are many answers. For example, today one of my blogger friends joked that “we’ll probably start playing the lottery again soon,” referring to the unpopular lotteries Usenov organized during his reign as mayor of Bishkek. Nariman Tiuleev, who took the mayor seat after Usenov, accomplished more in one year than the latter did in two.

Also posted on neweurasia.net, translated by Andrey

Today, Uzbekistan is remaining one of the repressive countries in the region that maintains a tight grip on mass media. Despite it has all the nominal guarantees of the freedom of speech, the media is being systematically attacked by the government. The article 5 in the law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on mass media [ru] states that mass media in the country are free and can act freely according the laws of the country. In the same law, the article 7 states that there is no censorship in the country and “no one has a right to demand the preliminary approval of the publishing materials, and change or take them off from publication (broadcasting).” However, we witness de facto contradicting de jure in Uzbekistan.

The blogosphere of Uzbekistan today is discussing the action to fight with internet censorship in Uzbekistan. The open-ended action was organized by the Information Agency Fergana.ru, Uznews.net and a blog Civil Society in Uzbekistan. The organizers state that the ban on independent and unbiased information became total following the Andijon events in 2005, and today several hundreds of websites are made not accessible via state controlled internet providers. Blog “Civic Society in Uzbekistan” urges all blocked websites to join the action. “As part of the campaign,” they write, “websites that cannot be accessed in Uzbekistan are encouraged to post, on their main pages, an emblem stating they have been banned, fully or partially, in Uzbekistan” [ru].

BBC Uzbek Service cites the organizers stating that the open-ended action will last until the government of Uzbekistan takes positive steps in improving the state of media and abolishing the censorship in the country [uz].

A blog Though the Eyes of Uzbekistani writes that one of the reasons for them to join the action against censorship is that they are blocked in Uzbekistan, and the blog’s authors cannot directly update the blog.

Unfortunately, the blocking of websites and Information resources is continuing in Uzbekistan. Our blog is also blocked in the country. For us, authors, it is really difficult to update the blog in Uzbekistan. Our friends outside of Uzbekistan are helping in overcoming this problem, as today, even proxy servers are not of use, especially when it comes to posting different attachments and photographs.

I had a chance to interview one of the authors of the blog Though the Eyes of Uzbekistani about the action to fight internet censorship. He seems to be pessimistic about the goals of the action, as he believes that they are not going to change the situation a lot, if at all. “The action will fail, as the main target group – Uzbekistani population – does not have access to it. It will become another try to draw international community's attention to the problems in Uzbekistan, and nothing more. However, we must try,” he says.

However there not many websites joined the action, the organizers are optimistic saying that it will attract more attention soon, as the action has just begun. The other popular blogs that are blocked in Uzbekistan are neweurasia (blocked in June 2006), Registan (blocked in March 2007), Global Voices Online, and opposition blogs Turonzamin and Yangidunyo.

Also posted on neweurasia.net

Today, Tashkent is at a stand of its beauty, as it is too early for summer heat and it is green and clean also. For a long time Tashkent has been the heartland of Central Asia - unlike other Stans - having closer ties with Kremlin and being the capital of the only Central Asian country that has borders with all other four countries of the region plus Afghanistan.

Today, Tashkent still plays a significant role in the region's political and economic life. However, the blogosphere was neglecting the Tashkent's position in the region and was mainly discussing the antique historical sites and beautiful infrastructure of the city that has been under constant reconstruction after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Lilianitta writes in her blog that she had been looking for a chance to go out and see the historical Tashkent for a long time, and she has finally got this chance. She describes historical facts of the city and posts many interesting photos of ancient mosques, medereses and tombs of Muslim clerics.

In 2009, we will celebrate Tashkent’s 2200 anniversary. The downtown is now full of very tall modern buildings - hotels, banks, business centers. A friend of mine says they make the city lose its individuality. He may be right, though I personally like everything in Tashkent. But in the Old Town everything is very special - eastern markets, communities and old narrow streets. Everything is surprisingly original.[ru]

Another great collection of fresh photos of Tashkent one can find in Alexander’s blog. Alexander writes a post about his travel to Tashkent from Novosibirsk, Russia.

Tashkent is very warm, green, and a pleasant city in all respects. Uzbeks are very hospitable and positive people. It is snowing in Novosibirsk, but in Uzbekistan it is +32 C… Right after we landed and passed all custom controls, we found ourselves in an old Soviet taxi, and went to a house of a person with whom we got acquainted in the airport… The Uzbek cuisine, I must say, is not only specific, but also very delicious.[ru]

Alexander continues writing counting the advantages of the city and attaching the photo to it as a proof.

Tashkent is very clean. You don't see garbage, especially in the center. The air is so fresh and there is no dust… Uzbek girls are very beautiful… It may be very surprising, but there is almost no traffic jams in the city… Many historical sites, especially old mosques… The prices are surprisingly low.[ru]

Another interesting post about Tashkent one can find in Narishka’s blog, where she writes about her memories of Tashkent. According to her, Tashkent is one the greatest places she has ever been to and that one must travel there in order to understand her. Narishka makes a list of her memories writing every detail of life in Tashkent:

1. In Tashkent, you never pay more than 2 cents for a bundle of fennel.
6. You are at least once in a while are waken up early in the morning by the crazy sounds of national musical instruments from the wedding ceremony in your neighborhood.
15. You know that Broadway exists not only in the States.
32. Tea is served in pialas [round cups], and you know that it is not polite to serve a full piala, just on the bottom.[ru]

There is also a thematic blog dedicated to Tashkent, hosting fresh photos, interesting facts and news about Tashkent. One of the peculiarities of this blog is that it gives many links to other sources, where you can find lots of useful information about the city.

Also posted on neweurasia.

The changing cultural and political atmosphere was first reflected throughout Uzbekistan through renaming of squares, streets and parks from Soviet-type names into symbols of either independence or national identity. All Soviet monuments were dismantled, being replaced with the heroes of Uzbek history. For the last two weeks, the Uzbek blogosphere discussed changes that were happenning in the post-Soviet period in Uzbekistan.

Provincialka at neweurasia says that Uzbekistan underwent serious changes that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and writes that the new Uzbek government headed by Islam Karimov included new holidays to country’s calendar and entirely changed the ones that used to be celebrated in Soviet times.

I look at the calendar and I'm really surprised to see the governments trying to change the history and eradicate the memory of the past… The Labor Day, May 1, that used to be widely celebrated [in Soviet times], is totally forgotten in the country. However, those citizens, who lived during the Soviet time, still remember this day…

The Victory Day, May 9, would not be celebrated if not those WWII veterans, who are still alive today. However, it is not celebrated as a Victory Day. A long time has passed since it was renamed to the Remembrance Day, a day to remember those fellow countrymen, who died due to the war and J.Stalin's repressions. Respecting the memory of those repressed and those who died on the battlefield, I would suggest to have two different days for remembering their souls [ru].

Musafirbek at neweurasia congratulates everyone with the Victory Day and says that “it does not matter how this day is called i different countries, what matters is that this victory is a result of a unity, friendship and heroism of different nations” [ru].

The new government is not only changing the holidays and streets names, but also removing old monuments. Dismantling of one of the most respected memories in Tashkent - the International Friendship monument - is one of such cases. It had been erected in memory of the Shamakhmudovs, who adopted 15 orphans in the WWII and became a symbol of generosity and humanism of the Uzbek people.

The article by Fergana.ru generated a lot of comments, where readers shared with each other their thoughts concerning the dismantling of the monument. Emigrant says:

Tell me, who needs such independence? Infrastructure of Tashkent is worsening from year to year… The Uzbek government seems to be gone mad, as it is destroying the memory and history of Uzbek nation. Politicians come and go, but memory lives forever [ru].

Another change that came to the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union is the change of the Uzbek alphabet from Cyrillic to Latin. The change brought a lot of inconveniences for Uzbek nation, as the old generation has difficulties in reading the Latin alphabet. While print media is remaining in Cyrillic, the sings, boards and ads in the streets are in Latin. The recent developments in the country show that now people are converting Russian into Latin alphabet! A blog RealUzbekistan is so far the first to raise this problem in media.

Also posted on neweurasia.

As informed by Reuters, “a statement drafted by EU ambassadors on April 22… said the EU remained seriously concerned about the rights situation in Uzbekistan. However, it welcomed progress, including abolition of the death penalty and release of some human rights activists.” Therefore, “the EU Council decided that visa restrictions for individuals would not apply for another period of six months.”

Writing in The Guardian, Abdujalil Boymatov, an Uzbek human rights activists, who was recently granted a refugee status in Ireland, argues that “Uzbekistan now is even more repressive place than it was in the Soviet era…” and urges EU no to soften the sanctions imposed on Uzbekistan after the Andijon events.

The article immediately attracted attentions of many readers who left very interesting comments. Logos00 agrees with Mr. Boymatov saying that:

…Uzbekistan is a glaring testament to the hypocrisy of the war on terror. We will only believe that our [Western] leaders are committed to international humanitarian politics when we hear them speak out and act against all regimes that violate humanitarian ideals not just the ones that suit their own strategic interests.

Nick at neweurasia comments on Mr. Boymatov’s statement arguing that his “rap sheet on the Tashkent regime makes stark reading: harassment and torture of activists and opposition politicians, the internment of journalists in psychiatric hospitals, the Andijan massacre, and all sorts of other unpleasantness… [which is] well known to Uzbeks and others who follow Uzbekistan from afar. Nick asks:

Sanctions have a mixed record in international relations. Considering the current economic situation in Uzbekistan - not least hardships caused by poor infrastructure during the recent winter - will sanctions lead to the downfall of the regime or just pile on the misery for the population?

In another post Nick discussed that UK is backing the decision of EU to suspend visa bans on senior officials of Uzbek government, citing a ministerial statement (via TheyWorkForYou.com) written on 25 April by Jim Murphy, MP, Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, that says:

“The Council is expected to consider whether there has been sufficient progress on human rights issues in Uzbekistan in the last six months to warrant continued suspension of the EU visa ban. The Government recognise the positive progress made by Uzbekistan in the last six months and welcome its commitment to hold a second round of the EU-Uzbekistan Human Rights Dialogue in May or June this year. In the light of this, and in order to encourage further positive progress from Uzbekistan, the Government are likely to join consensus in continuing the suspension”.

Yusuf Juma (Jumaev) was born in 1958 in Bukhara region of Uzbekistan. He started writing poems from his early ages at high school. His poetry was mainly focused on the vital problems of his community, like dismantling the aerodrome, which had been host for planes that sprayed fields with pesticides that harmed people’s health. Already at that time, Juma was pressurized by the Soviet government, and when it collapsed, Juma openly criticized the new authortires too, because former soviet-communist officials — apparatchiks — still remained in power.

The Andijon events made Yusuf Juma write a series of poems entitled “Andijon turkumidan” [From the Andijon collection - Uzbek]. Together with his sons and companions, Juma organized several rallies urging the government to release dissident poets and human rights activists from jail. From this time, Yusuf Juma and his family became a target for the National Security Agency (SNB).

He and his family members were several times accused of fabricated crimes. In July 25, 2007, his son Mashrab was imprisoned, and one month later he was released as his guilt was not proven. December 10, 2007, was the worst day in the Jumaevs’ life. Late at night, a group of Special Forces of Uzbekistan attacked Juma’s house. Although Juma and his family managed to escape then, a week later they were arrested by SNB and are reportedly tortured in custody.

As the state controlled media in Uzbekistan are certainly staying away from such topics, the critically-minded blogs in Uzbekistan often publish works of Yusuf Juma and articles about him. Blog Rizobek writes that Yusuf Juma is not a criminal, but a national hero. Therefore, it is not him that has to be brought to trial, but those who have put him in jail:

Not Yusuf Juma, but those who attacked him must be brought to trial. Not Yusuf Juma, but those who legitimized this persecution must be brought to trial. Not Yusuf Juma, but those who could not stand his free voice must be brought to trial. Not Yusuf Juma, but those, who mock democracy and back and benefit from autocracy must be brought to trial! [uzb]

News Agency UzNews.net is calling on its readers to support imprisoned Y.Juma by sending the letters of support to the presidential administration's press service:

Yusuf Juma’s courage does not surprise, but strikes us. Notwithstanding cruelty and treachery of the current regime — that bristled up with its police forces and armored troop-carriers against the whole world and its own nation — Yusuf Juma, who is originally from a remote area of Bukhara, is declaring his disagreement with it… [ru]

Muhiddin at neweurasia, who closely knows Yusuf Juma, published the poet's letter, where he wrote about the armed attack at his house and how his family escaped:

We ran barefoot. Only three of us could escape – my wife, me and my youngest son. Other two sons could not escape and stayed in the house surrounded by armed men. We hid behind the water cistern. Special squad soldiers went to my room and shooting there… We couldn't stand this sound anymore and we were really scared. We ran away through our neighbor’s ditch in the backyard…[uzb]

Opposition blog Turonzamin, which frequently publishes Yusuf Jumas works, recently declared that opposition parties and Uzbek dissidents abroad are promoting Juma for a Nobel Prize in Literature:

We are promoting Yusuf Juma as a candidate for the Nobel Prize with the help of Dr. Botir Norboi. He has sent a letter to the Nobel Prize committee, stating that Yusuf Juma is the best nominee. Juma is now in prison and faces tortures. He needs our help. The world must know about people like him [uzb].

One of such cyber-activists is Gerchik, discussing sociopolitical problems in the country in his blog. In his most recent post, Gerchik writes about the reasons why people may leave Uzbekistan and lists vital social problems that his community is suffering from [ru]:

1. Electricity cut-offs in the cities for two and more weeks, even on holidays. Reason: disorganized work of the State Electricity Department staff, which collects payment for electricity. Moreover, they take bribes by “rewinding” the electricity meter back.
2. Electricity supply is limited to 4 hours a day in rural areas;
3. There is a great shortage of natural gas in public use, despite the fact that we the country is rich in natural gas;
4. An average Uzbek can't feed family doing his job in Uzbekistan, so people are forced to become migrant workers;
5. An average Uzbek family is not able to pay for utilities;
6. The state officials are impudent enough to publicly lie that an average Uzbek citizen earns 200 USD per month;
7. And these state officials are re-elected to the third term!

The post, which reflects reality in most parts of Uzbekistan, has generated lots of comments from other people, who suffer from the same problems. One such comment reads [ru]:

I live in the suburb of Tashkent [capital city]. Cuts of hot water and gas were regular during the whole winter. Electricity was cuting off repeatedly during a day… My parents live in Syrdarya. They didn't have gas for the whole winter. Even now its supply is very low. People don't have access to drinking water in their houses and are to go a long way round for it.

In another post, Gerchik opines on the politics in Uzbekistan and asks readers a question that was raised by one of his friends, who apparently tried to justify the current regime's actions [ru]:

Imagine a situation: you have been making your way up in your career for very long time. Finally, you become a president. What will you do? Will you try to make your life better by gaining enormous fortunes and taking your nation's wealth – big luxurious houses, top brand cars, yacht, house on the seashore and big businesses – or, will you try to change the situation in the country for the better by spending all the money for, say, development of education in the country?

This post provoked a heated discussion among readers. Each of them gave their own view on the situation.

It is hard to answer this question. Why? First, I will never become a president. Second, the problem is not only in the president. But if I became a president, I would first take care of myself. Who would do the opposite? I guess no one.

Khorezm writes about the recent rally of several hundreds of women in the center of Urgench. They were complaining about relocation of the city market to the suburbs and about the distribution of sales outlets on a new place. As Khoresm reports, the protesters wanted a dialogue with the governor. However, when they approached Hokimiyat [city administration building] they were stopped by a chain of policemen [ru]:

The crowd was stopped by a chain of Special Squad… Even though women had no arms, the policemen were wearing helmets and body armours… As a result, the crowd jamme up the traffic… The atmosphere was tense. A rumor that the policemen had allegedly beat up one of the demonstrators made the situation worse… There was a mobile headquarters of Special Squad nearby, which, if the situation went worse, could give orders for more drastic measures… However, police managed to split the protesters into groups and finally disperse the crowd by the noon… Demonstrators decided to address their problem to the local TV channels or to RFE/RL reporters.

Also posted on Global Voices Online.

However, there have been some positive changes in fragile relations between Uzbekistan and the West recently. The consent to let the United States and NATO use airbase in Termez was an expected result of Tashkent's current foreign policy, aimed at rapprochement with the West. As reported, now Uzbekistan allows certain NATO countries, including U.S., to use the airbase in Termez (which has been used by Germany since 2001), although they all can fly to Termez only aboard German aircraft.

Registan was the first in the Uzbek blogosphere to write about this. The author complains over divergence of the information in different sources. This yet again proves the Uzbek government's reluctance to officially comment on the matter. But despite controversy, there are obvious changes in the country's foreign policy:

…there is indeed a substantive change, but it is fairly limited. For the time being, the Uzbek government has not said a word on the arrangement. And I would not expect that it would anytime soon. I do expect that the relationship between Uzbekistan and the West will continue to improve — perhaps US planes will be touching down at Termez in the near future.

Nathan discusses the possible results of allowing Western troops into Uzbekistan.

Unnamed activists say that they fear closer relations will cause human rights to recede into the background as Western governments become too excited about closer security ties. Others say that they anticipate closer ties will eventually result in the end of EU sanctions. In my estimation, that’s almost guaranteed, but I don’t really think the sanctions accomplish much anymore. The statement’s been made.

As usually, Registan's readers are very active in commenting. Brian is concerned that presence of the U.S. troops may eventually “hurt” the locals.

I think that’s what a lot of us may be afraid of [referring to Andijan events when US trained Uzbek Special Forces brutally suppressed the uprising]. Whether we do support the Uzbek security services (again) or not, this may be the impression regardless. Hopefully, the relationship will be cordial but at arms-length… and for god sakes I hope we don’t train or equip them again.

Central Asia blog on reports that official visit of Admiral William J. Fallon to Tashkent has given its results:

It appears U.S. Adm. Fallon visit last month accomplished more than just renewing a dialogue. What should one make of this seeming rapprochement between U.S./NATO and Uzbekistan? German troops have already used this base for some time, so is this really a substantial change in policy for Uzbekistan or the U.S.?

Libertad at neweurasia writes that “the Uzbek government is successfully re-building a bridge to the West three years after Andijan”, adding that Tashkent will get some concrete benefits by having Western troops in Termez.

Today, Uzbekistan needs the West on its territory. First, Uzbekistan will secure itself from emergence/import of “religion-based ideologies”. Second, the Uzbek government partaking in the fight against Taliban also fights Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which is now mainly located in Afghanistan and supports Taliban. Third, close ally and friend of President I. Karimov - Russian leader V.Putin - officially is not in high position any more, and Uzbekistan may need backing from the West. Fourth, Uzbekistan will gain more authority in Central Asian region.

Blog Khorezm comments on the climate changes in Uzbekistan and how this beastly cold changed the people’s daily life in Khorezm [ru] , which usually has a very mild weather all year.

As the region's infrastructure is not adapted to such extreme temperatures, the Khorezmians seriously suffered from the energy deficit, insufficient gas supply and heating. Schools were closed, as it was impossible to study at a below-zero temperature. The officials had only one answer to the people's alarmed questions: “we can't do anything, wait until it gets warmer”. Khorezm interviewed several people and learned about their experiences of surviving. Alisher, a young teacher, says:

People of Khorezm were not ready to such weather. During the presidential elections (December 23, 2007), we had gas, electricity and heating at homes. However, right before the New Year it's all suddenly vanished… Rural schools suffered most of all. The temperature inside the buildings was almost the same as outside.

However, not everybody was suffering from the cold weather – some people managed to earn some money on it. Two Uzbek rivers, Amu-Darya and Jeihun, were shackled by ice this winter, thus giving chance to the young people to make a buck by conveying the cargo across the frozen river.

“There are just three men like me on the river, but there are lots of people who want their things to be passed. I carry one sack of flour for 1 thousand sum (appr. 0.85 USD)… Of course, it is hard and not secure to work this way on the ice. But I have no other options. I can’t find a job in winter, and I have to provide my family”, Khorezm quotes the young man's words.

Meanwhile, the capital lives its own life - Registan writes an interesting post about the closure of “Nirvana” chain in Tashkent city. “Nirvana” stores were well-known in the city, because they were selling quality audio-and-video production at low prices. Registan opines that the end of “Nirvana” has nothing to do with the government's fight for copyrights.

While I was in Uzbekistan, “Nirvana” got shut down for a short period of time, and then, as now, many suspected that someone in power was trying to carve out a piece of a profitable business. (Maybe it’s the new deputy foreign minister for cultural affairs this time… This is her kind of business tactic.)

Even more interesting part of this post are comments, where the readers - both from and beyond Uzbekistan - were debating if it is necessary to criticize the Uzbek government and if there is rule of law and human rights in Uzbekistan. At the same time,
the Uzbek Women’s Blog cheerfully writes that for the first time in Uzbekistan the parliament's chamber will be led by a woman [ru]:

On 23 January 2008, a plenary session of the parliament's Legislative chamber took place. According to the results of secret vote, Dilorom Tashmuhamedova [ex-candidate for presidency in the December 2007 elections] was elected speaker of the chamber.

This is quite interesting, because usually presidential candidates competing against Islam Karimov never get promotions after the vote. For the Uzbek government, which is trying very hard to send good signals to the West, it is a step forward.

“Until this day I believed in freedom of media and its role in civil liberties in this country [Great Britain]. But information I have read today slightly changed my mind”, Craig Murray says.

Such was a reaction of bloggers all over the world to the decision of the British court to deport Jahongir Sidikov, an Uzbek asylum seeker, a member of the Uzbek opposition party Erk, back to Uzbekistan. It seems that the Great Britain’s officials do not have any idea how dissidents - and those who have critical views on the current regime in Uzbekistan - are treated in their home country.

Jahongir Sidikov, 27, was born in Uzbekistan in a village of Zangiota, east from the capital city, Tashkent. He majored in finance and worked for PahtaBank, one of the country’s largest banks. In 1999, Sidikov went to England to study at the City University and graduated in 2003 with the BSc degree. The Andijan massacre in May 2005, when hundreds of civilians had been reportedly killed, was a turning point in Jahongir’s life.

Later, he becomes a member of the “Erk” opposition party, which operates in exile being banned in Uzbekistan. Sidikov was one of those who had staged a demonstration in memoriam of the 1st anniversary of the Andijan tragedy in London on May 13, 2006, when he had been filmed by the Uzbek Embassy staff. Back at home, his neighbors and relatives were, as reported, summoned to the police office to identify him on the film.

Jahongir’s asylum claim failed because the court didn’t believe that there was a threat to his life in Uzbekistan. The court also didn’t find the documents submitted by leader of the Erk party Muhammad Solih were genuine. Today, Jahongir Sidikov is kept in custody until he is deported to Uzbekistan on Wednesday, November 28, 2007.

One of the first men to raise an alarm about the issue of Jahongir Sidikov was Craig Murray, a UK ex-ambassador to Uzbekistan, who knows well about the Uzbek officials’ attitude towards the dissidents, and therefore is aware what a severe fate Sidikov would face upon comeback to Uzbekistan. Mr. Murray believes that - by deporting Sidikov - the UK officials will commit a grave crime against human rights, which, according to the British laws, must be respected. He writes in his blog that :

“[UK] immigration officers who escort Jahongir onto that plane are in effect implementing capital punishment”.

In his blog, Murray tries to draw closer attention of the British officials, MPs and journos to the issue, but - as he writes – fails to capture their interest. He even called the UK Embassy in Tashkent, but Ambassador Iain Kelly refused to speak. Murray believes that the British Embassy is not a trustworthy organization, and he recommends the Uzbek rights activists not to seek cooperation with it in future.

In 2003, Kelly was deputy to Matthew Kydd, Head of “Whitehall Liasion Department”, the link between the FCO and MI6. Kelly's boss Kydd told me that it had been decided between Richard Dearlove and Jack Straw as a matter of policy that we should use intelligence from torture in the context of the War on Terror, specifically from Uzbekistan, and that this intelligence was “operationally useful”. Kelly is therefore not just passively but actively implicated in the policy of cooperation with the torture of Uzbek dissidents by the intelligence services. He will also have been directly implicated in the use of intelligence obtained by torture through extraordinary rendition, in Uzbekistan and elsewhere.

TravelersPoint urges those, who may be flying on the same plane with Sidikov, quit the flight and insist to take him off the plane:

There are strong grounds for believing he will be tortured there and perhaps executed. If you are traveling to Tashkent from Heathrow, you may find yourself on the same plane as this man. Any tourists to Uzbekistan who find that Jahongir has been forcibly bundled onto their flight should object and insist that he is taken off the plane. Any pilots and airline staff who are asked to transport Jahongir to Uzbekistan should refuse to co-operate.

Tenpercent believes that all the calls being made in the global blogosphere may eventually lead to cancellation of the court’s decision to deport the asylum seeker to his home country, where he will apparently face torture and mistreatment by the government.

A big enough fuss being made over this might overcome the determination by the government to deliver Jahongir Sidikov to the regime and a fate worse than death. So blog about it…

This is Sparta is also greatly concerned over the fate of the asylum seeker and posts different links to the websites and weblogs that discuss the Sidikov case.

It is a great surprise that none of the Central Asian blogs raises the issue of Jahongir Sidikov, although his case concerns the whole Central Asian region. Jahongir was denied an asylum by the British officials and will be deported on Wednesday, November 28, 2007. The European blogs are doing their best to halt the process of deportation. It would be more effective if the Central Asian blogs also joined the anti-deportation campaign too.

Blog about it!!!

Cross-posted on neweurasia.net

During his short but active life, Alisher Saipov collaborated with News Agency Ferghana.ru, Voice of America Uzbek Service, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Uznew.net. Moreover, Alisher Saipov had found the Siyosat [Politics] newspaper in Uzbek language that was published in Osh city and often smuggled into the territory of Uzbeksitan. The newspaper was devoted to cover mainly religious, human rights and political issues on both sides of the border. Alisher Saipov had also launched the online version of the newspaper which has not been updated after his death.

Libertad in neweursia was one of the first to report on the assassination of the journalist. Libertad believes that it is a great loss that such a great person was murdered.

He was well-know not only in Kyrgyzstan, but in whole Central Asia for his excellent work as a journalist. Alisher Saipov was a great journalist, a wonderful person and a cool chap, who was always happy to help people, especially friends, and who never gave up in the face of obstacles. He always stayed loyal to his principles. And his principles were truth, honesty, honor and courage.

Craig Murray, a former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, whose blog was recently shut down [now on] because of his posts that accused Alisher Usmanov, a Russian billionaire with Uzbek origins, for being corrupted, writes that for those who speak freely in Uzbekistan [and its near abouts] the situation is getting really dangerous. Craig Murray, as a person who knew Alisher Saipov personally, mourns his death:

I cannot believe Alisher Saipov is dead. When last I saw him he can only have been 23 years old, and was so brimming with energy, life and optimism. Now at 26 he is dead, just the latest dissident to be murdered by the Karimov regime.

The blog Azamat Report publishes press release of the Committee to Protect Journalists about the murder of Alisher Saipov and generates discussion about Andijan events and Alisher Saipov's contribution to cover the massacre.

Daagini wrote in the blog Confessions of ‘Innocent' Mind it always said to hear such news and though he/she did not know Alisher Saipov and have never heard of him, he/she mourns his death.

Isn't it strange that no matter where you are… who you are… what you are… things happening in a land far far away stir emotions in you, you never would have thought possible. Its streams through your mind like a motion picture… and stems thoughts which wouldn't have been there otherwise.

Joshua Foust in Registan.net wrote a post in honor of murdered Alisher Saipov. The post mainly discusses about how dangerous it is to be a journalist in post soviet countries. Since the fall of Soviet Union, there had been many cases of journalists murder, and, as Joshua writes, the majority of crimes are still a mystery. The reason is that ‘[former soviet] countries run by the KGB, or by the same old Soviet officials and chieftans behave like… the KGB, or the old Soviet system'.

In the same post in Registan.net, Joshua gives a list of journalists from former Soviet countries murdered after 2000. Joshua does not give any names for Uzbekistan, and the reason is obvious – journalists in Uzbekistan just disappear and no one can confirm if they are alive or not.

Kyrgyz law enforcement bodies immediately launched investigation of the crime, though this did not bring awaited results. In the report of Ministry of Internal Affairs, it says that the reasons of the murder of Alisher Saipov was his links with Hizb-ut-Tahrir, a religious organization banned both in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Libertad commented about the report of officials saying:

The general impression about the investigation is that Kyrgyz law enforcement organizations searched for the information that would prove that there were no any traces of Uzbek secret services in the murder of the journalist, but it was Alisher Saipov’s connections to different extremist organizations that eventually led to assassination.

One of the first to report on Weil's death was Kamolanavo (RUS), who expressed her deep grief on the loss of Mark Weil. As expected, the post immediately got many comments, where all readers sympathized with the whole nation of Uzbekistan about the loss of its great son. Sherig178 wrote:

This is a tragedy on a national scale. It is hard to believe that this could happen in Tashkent. This is our great loss.

Sherig178 writes in his own blog (RUS) a very sympathetic post devoted to Mark Weil. He writes that “whoever did this [murder], the government must find them and bring them to an open trial and severely punish them.”

The government MUST do this. They killed a part of our soul, of our memory, and of our Tashkent. The government MUST punish them, and put a monument to the person [Weil], who greatly contributed to our development, to the development of our motherland. He was a patriot, therefore he didn’t leave the country [like others]. He loved Tashkent. Weil was the best of our society, therefore, facing up to Weil, giving dues to the great Master, the government will make [constructive] steps towards us – its nation.

Hot discussion concerning this issue took place on Registan.net too, after Nathan’s post about it (ENG) . The comments speculated about the three possible reasons for Weil’s murder: a) political – Weil’s murder has to do with upcoming elections and his refusal to support the president’s daughter, b) Weil was murdered for expressing progressive ideas in his theater (e.g. some homoerotic content of the repertoire), c) it was an anti-Semitic attack, as Weil was a Jew.

Rowan Wagner also deeply sympathized about “a great loss of a nation.” (ENG) In his blog, Rowan shares with readers his personal experience with Mark Weil, whom he calls “a great man, playwright, innovator and just fun guy.” Rowan is dreadfully sorrowful, because of such an end to Weil’s life.

And [Weil died] not from a nice comfortable heart attack, or some freak accident, but [was] beaten to death. To me this foreshadows a rising evil in Tashkent which until recently was place of calm, for Mark was loved by all in Tashkent, - always the faithful son and though in his art played at the fringes of politics and uncomfortable subjects often through humor and the medium of the play, never was threatening in any political, business, social or cultural sense.

Meanwhile, our own CXW discusses the lack of attention given to the murder by official Uzbek media, and that speculation about the background of the crime is rife.

Speculation surrounding Weil’s death will most likely continue for some time, not least because of reports of newspapers being ordered not to print any material.

The other issues discussed in the Uzbek blogosphere were mainly concerning the socio-economic life of people in Uzbekistan. Jamiyat writes about the recent rise of prices in Uzbek market and talks about the possible result of it among citizen. Jamiyat gives very interesting examples of local governments hiding this fact from the president’s apparatus and international organizations (ENG).

What one can observe now is that businessmen are forced to sell their goods for a lower price than the market dictates. That is, if the president visits the city of Margilan, for example, all sales-people are forced to sell their products for almost half of their original cost. An old Soviet way of hiding the reality, which was widely used starting from the 1980s… This tactics was also used during the two days' Annual Meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development held in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan in 2003. A group of economists were taken to the local markets to show that the real prices are very low and affordable by the population. What the Uzbek officials would not realize, though, was that the respectable organization, such as the EBRD makes its reports about a country far in advance. They were not blind either and saw all the people fighting their way through the police cordons in order to be able to buy foodstuffs for an unbelievably low prices. After the experts left the market, police even had to use force to disperse people.

Jamiyat also writes about the hackers attack to the embassies of Asian countries (ENG) that opened passwords to 100 email accounts 37 of which belonged to Uzbek embassies and consulates around the world.

The blog Civil Society in Uzbekistan writes about the water and visa problems between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan (RUS) , posting an interview with the Uzbek ambassador in Tajikistan. The water problem is a great issue at the moment between these two countries. The problem was fueled by Tajik plans to build several hydroelectric stations on rivers that flow to Uzbekistan where they are used mainly to irrigate cotton fields. However, the ambassador says in the interview:

Taking my chance, I want to disappoint those who like to politicize this problem, and those who want to put these two brother nations at odds. There was not any enmity and insolvable contradictions.

Knowing the popularity of having special numbers on cars (likewise on mobile phones) among the Uzbeks, and high “prices” for such numbers, the likelihood that many registration agencies and unfaithful policemen might use this innovation to fill their pockets is very high.

The independent Internet newspaper Uzmetronom writes (RUS) that everyone who voluntarily applies for a new license plate till the end of 2007 will be freed from any taxes and get the plate for free.

On August 3, the human rights organization “Ezgulik” distributed the alleged last will of Mutabar Tajibaeva (RUS), a human rights activist who is currently detained in prison for fraud. In the letter, Mutabar Tajieva writes about the tortures of prisoners and says that she cannot stand it any longer. She also calls all international organizations to take appropriate actions to prevent this intolerable treatment in Uzbek prisons. However, Mutabar Tajieva believes that it may be too late when someone starts taking actions.

The opposition blog Turonzamin (RUS) quotes the brother of Mutabar Tajieva, who says that he does not believe in the veracity of the letter. In contrary, the information agency Ferghana.ru (RUS) writes that the letter is true and, strangely, also quotes the brother and daughter of Mutabar Tajieva. The blog Turonzamin justifies its point saying the government bodies will not be able to break the will of Mutabar, who is tolerating all hardships of the prison, even though she has become physically weak.

Turonzamin calls this another strategy of the government. The blog writes that using this strategy the government can get rid of Mutabar Tajieva.

Such strategies of the government may have really bad consequences for prisoners. The law enforcement bodies can kill a prisoner and explain it to the public as suicide. And the fake letter allegedly written by Mutabar Tajieva looks like to be one of such strategies of the government. Therefore, in this situation it is necessary to immediately demand a meeting with Mutabar Tajieva in order to make sure that she is still alive!

Jamiyat comments on the accusation of Vyacheslav Manokhin, a P-3 UN staff member, for using his position to obtain visas for Uzbek and Ukrainian citizens, who were supposedly going to attend conferences in the USA and France. Jamiyat writes about the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Uzbekistan that is a main implementer of UN policies in the regions, and accuses them for being nonchalant in carrying out their mission.

There were always dirty rumors surrounding the UNDP's activities… One of the most widespread rumors in Uzbekistan is that its mainly local staff is corrupt, and offers employment in various projects only to those who pay bribes… Also, it has been rumored that many of the Uzbek UNDP employees are in kinship relations with various Uzbek politicians and were employed simply for that fact… Who to blame… Perhaps, it is the US embassy's fault? For remaining nonchalant and ignorant towards checking up the fraudulent letters with the UNDP office in Uzbekistan… Perhaps,both [the UNDP and the US Embassy]?

Another interesting issue that was raised in the Uzbekistani blogosphere for the past two weeks is the problem with Uzbek Democratic Party Erk website that, according to the largest search engine Google, allegedly possesses harmful web content. In his blog, Jamiyat comments (ENG) about the fact that Google finds Erk’s site harmful to its users, where he wonders if Google cooperates with national security services of Uzbekistan. The comments to this post (ENG) mainly proved that the problem is in the malicious code that could be inserted by hackers to the opposition party’s website HTML content.

Sami Ben Gharbia commented:

According to the Open Net Initiative and the StopBadware.org that I’ve contacted about this, it seems that it is not a filtering case. Google has found some malicious code on the Uzbek Democratic Party Erk website, which is most likely has been victim of a malicious hacking attack inserting some bad code… In order to remove the warning the webmaster needs to find the code and then clean and secure the website. Then he needs to submit a request for review to StopBadware.org who will check the site and recommend to Google to remove its warning flag.

The blog Civil Society of Uzbekistan also proves (RUS) the point that in this situation Google has nothing to do with security services of Uzbekistan. All problems are in the HTML code of the site that may contain harmful software.

The Uzbek Democratic Party Erk’s vision (RUS) of this issue is different. They believe that politics plays a great role in this. They do not say anything about the technical side of the problem, however.

It is very interesting. How can the information website of the party be harmful to your computer? Maybe, because it gives you information about what is happening in Uzbekistan? About the torture that is done by butchers in the prisons of the country. About the oppression of the nation by the dictator Islam Karimov and his people. And your computer will start melting after accessing this information? Or millions of gigabytes of viruses will attack your machine?

Taking into consideration the party’s and site’s “popularity”, and also in the light of the upcoming presidential elections where Erk wants to field its candidate, one must not be a genius to see the obvious fact that Erk is using this problem for PR.

Kamron comments (RUS) on an article on the independent information agency Informator.uz (RUS). The author of the article claims that allegedly there is a conception among Uzbeks in Uzbekistan that Russian people (who live in Uzbekistan) pollute the environment more than anyone, because they like to keep pets in their apartments. Kamron got many responses to his post, where people agreed (!) that there is such a tendency among Uzbeks and that the mass media must cover everything that is going on in reality.

I wrote (ENG) about breaking news in sports: The WBA heavyweight world champion Ruslan Chagaev, an Uzbekistani citizen, cannot accept the challenge from the Russian boxer Sultan Ibragimov (a a WBO world champion himself) due to illness.

Is Rupert Murdoch coming to Uzbekistan? Rowan Wagner comments (ENG) on some Uzbek editors' and journalists' amazing ideas about the media mogul's takeover of the Wall Street Journal.

The first post is about Mehriniso (RUS), an Uzbek woman with six children (the eldest is 16 and the youngest two years old), who killed her husband and was sentenced for twelve years of imprisonment. The reason for murder was that her husband was unemployed and drank a lot. Being drunk, he often used to beat her and their children, calling it an “educational process”. Unlike most women, Mehriniso approached the problem in a different way that turned out to be fatal for her husband.

One day, her husband came home very drunk, which was usual for him. Barely passing the entrance, he began cursing his wife. Thinking that the “educational process” was not finished, he beat Mehriniso and the children. The wife ran off to another room crying. She was crying and asking herself why she deserved such a fate. Soon enough, she could hear her husbands snoring from another room. Mehriniso quit crying and started looking around until she saw a kitchen knife…

Interestingly enough, the article does not judge Mehriniso or her husband. The article accuses the society which nowadays often neglects such vital problems as domestic violence, and quotes a famous publicist:

Do not be afraid of your enemies. At most, they can kill you. Do not be afraid of your friends. At most, they can betray you. Be afraid of indifferent people! It is due to their silent indifference that the worst things happen in the world.

The second post is a letter from a reader of UWB (RUS), where she tells about the life of a woman with little twin children, who left her husband and house, and had to move to another city. The reason was that her husband didn’t work, drank a lot and beat her. This woman deserves admiration, as not many women can dare to leave their husbands, as it is considered to be against the traditions.

In sharp contrast to the stories above stands Gulnara Karimova, a daughter of president Islam Karimov. The blog For Free Journalism discusses (RUS) the personality of Gulnara Karimova that is becoming an image of deity among the youth. According to the blog, this is due to the government controlled media that is portraying Gulnara Karimova as an idol.

The press in Uzbekistan does not speak about how Gulnara Karimova seizes businesses from entrepreneurs and illegally takes control over profitable companies. It only tells what a beautiful and successful businesswoman she is and how she is so kind that she offers grants to the youth. Gulnara, of course, understands that 60% of the population in Uzbekistan is youth. And it is this youth that can help her achieve her goal.

The blog does not clarify what Gulnara Karimova's goals are, though it can be assumed that one of her goals is to replace her father - Islam Karimov, as the president of Uzbekistan.

The blog Civil Society of Uzbekistan writes (RUS) about a meeting of the international project “For the defense of society”, a project of the World Movement for Democracy, where participants discussed the current condition of civil societies in countries of the CIS and Central Europe.

Uzbekistan was found to be a country where civil society is being squeezed, as there are many cases of “pressing” on journalists and human rights activists, repression of the opposition and religious leaders after the Andijan massacre, and also many international organizations are being closed and it is really hard to get grants and register nongovernmental organizations, etc.

Rowan Wagner writes in his blog about one of the interesting phenomenons in Uzbek culture – “gap” culture, which was also discussed on neweurasia.

Gaps [is] the ancient system of the mahalla or Jamuot (Tajikistan) where selected men would meet to discuss key community issues once a month rotating the place of honor each month, women too would do this as means of keeping informed about other issues such as finding wives/husbands, new births, etc… The practice was expanded during Soviet times to all members of society as means a social cohesion in organized structure such as collective farms or among graduates of schools and universities to maintain the bonds of friendship. My experiences is even today most gaps are gender oriented and built around close friendships from home villages or schools, where people primarily get together and catch-up on the latest news or events that have occurred to the members of the gap.

Jamiyat talks about a prison for Uzbek “Paris Hilton”s.

…a new prison for civil servants with a capacity of 150 inmates was built in Tashkent.

Thus, this category of inmates will be kept away from passing on the national secrets to a “wider public”. Indeed, there should be a lot to keep in secret. Not to forget that one can't put such influential people in cells of Jaslyk. Because inmates there might have either a negative influence, or show no tolerance towards newcomers, who in fact, might have actually put them in these premises.

Besides, one has to secure a better nest, in case things might just go wrong.

Jamiyat also writes about the interesting case which happened in the Asian Football Cup taking place in Malaysia. The young talented Uzbek football player Aziz Haydarov came to the press conference before the match between Iran and Uzbekistan with a piece of paper reading “Iran Go Home”. Jamiyat thinks that the statement of the young football player did not only cause dissatisfaction of football observers, but also politicians back in Uzbekistan.

This mistake was surely also noticed back in Uzbekistan. Because such a statement, in my opinion, in the light of improving Uzbek-Iranian bilateral relations and Western pressure on Iran would sound quite inappropriate and ambiguous of the Uzbek political stance towards this country.

While Jamiyat talks about the possible political reactions to this case, Uzbek football fans are already giving their apologies on the silly action of the Uzbek football player.

Yes, this a fact that our Aziz Haydarov came to the press conference with a piece of paper havnig ‘Iran Go Home' on it in big letters… He is a very young player, and maybe didn't know what was he doing at that time. So, please accept his apologies dear Iranian friends, I am so sorry for that!