2004  2003  2002  2001  2000  1999  1998  1997  1996  1995  1994  1993  1992  1991  1990

19 December 1999 -- Second round of parliamentary elections held in 66 constituencies

14 December 1999 -- U.S. government says parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan were neither free nor fair, State Department spokesman James Foley says the five registered political parties showed no substantive differences between themselves in their platforms, nor did they exhibit any disagreement with the policies of the current government

10 December 1999 -- Amnesty International releases statement naming 49-year-old Ismail Adylov, member of the Human Rights Organization of Uzbekistan and democratic opposition movement Birlik, a prisoner of conscience, on 29 September 1999 Adylov was sentenced to six years imprisonment for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order, sabotage and possessing material constituting a threat to public security and order

10 December 1999 -- CEC chairman Nazhmiddin Komilov says 184 of 250 seats in parliament were filled in the 5 December elections, says second round will be held on 19 December in the other 66 constituencies where no candidate managed to get the minimum 50 percent of the vote, says more than 12 million people, or 95 percent, cast ballots, and that 1,010 candidates from five political parties, government organs, and citizens' groups participated, says of the 184 candidates elected, 98 belong to various regional government structures, 32 were from the HDP, 19 from Fidokorlar, Adolat and Watan Taraqqiyoti got nine each, Milli Tiklanish won six seats, citizens' groups took 11 seats, representatives of six nationalities took seats, 172 of the newly-elected deputies are men, 12 are women. Of election criticism, Komilov says "they (the OSCE) tend to generalize and don't take into account the conditions of life in Uzbekistan" and, "you can't pluck democracy from the air. In Uzbekistan it has already taken root and will ultimately bear fruit"

6 December 1999 -- OSCE releases five-page preliminary statement about elections, says hakims "exercise overwhelming influence on the electoral process...including nominations of candidates and conduct of elections," says some cases where hakims interfered may have been because of "deficient legal provisions" but also noted that more than 70 hakims, their deputies and the Khokimiat staff were candidates, says "the absence of diverse and independent media further stunted the development of a genuine political debate and campaign during the elections," statement also notes the three classes of candidates: those nominated by representative local bodies, requiring no petitions or other approval; those nominated by one of the five registered political parties and requiring 50,000 signatures; and those in the category of "independent" candidates nominated by voters' initiative groups requiring a greater number of signatures than the second class

6 December 1999 -- IFX reports CEC press service source says 92 percent of people cast ballots, says there are 250 constituencies in Uzbekistan, with some 49,900 people in each constituency

5 December 1999 -- Parliamentary elections held, 1,242 ("Nezavisimaya Gazeta," 4 December) or 1,218 candidates (AFP, 3 December) running for 250 seats, 93.46 percent of eligible voters, or 11,873,000 out of 12,700,000, cast ballots

1 December 1999 -- President Karimov says he is sorry that "the OSCE and its leadership focuses its activities so much on the domestic situation with human rights in this or that country, diverging in this way from its second plan, the also very important external factors such as the threat of international terrorism, banditry, and religious fanaticism"

29 November 1999 -- Interior Ministry says all 14 militants in Yangiabad region have been killed, three Interior Ministry troops also killed

15 November 1999 -- Militia post in Yangiabad, about 75 kilometers south of Tashkent, attacked by 14 militants, eight civilians reported killed, Defense Ministry, National Security Ministry, and Emergency Situations Ministry rush 1,500 troops to scene

9 November 1999 -- CEC chairman Nazhmiddin Kamilov says there are 1,241 candidates registered for the parliamentary elections, Kamilov says provincial, regional, and city elections will also be held on 5 December and that 18,000 candidates are running for places, says the HDP has the best chance, as 91 percent of district and local representatives belong to the party

9 November 1999 -- Tajik Security Council Secretary Amirkul Azizov says 500 IMU militants and their supporters deported to Afghanistan, deportation operation nearing its end

28 October 1999 -- IMU spokesman Zubair ibn Abdurrakhim gives telephone press conference, says key goal of IMU in last two to three months was to attract attention of world community and depose the current "Tashkent regime," says many thousands of people have been put in Uzbek jails or humiliated because of their Muslim faith

20 October 1999 -- Akmal Saidov, the head of an action committee support center, says according to Uzbek legislation, any individual and group is allowed to set up an action committee to put forward an independent parliamentary candidate, a committee must have a minimum of 100 members residing in the same constituency, and needs to collect the signatures of at least 4,000 eligible voters in support of the candidate, Saidov says more than 260 action committees have forwarded 225 candidates but only 46 committees have been able to get the 4,000 signatures needed

12 October 1999 -- Milli Taklanish Party holds congress, forwards President Karimov as its candidate for the presidency, the third party to do so after Adolat and Watan Taraqqiyoti, chairman Akhtam Tursunov nominates Karimov at congress

11 October 1999 -- HDP puts forward Abdulhafiz Jalalov as the party's candidate for the presidency

29 August 1999 -- Uzbek warplanes mistakenly bomb Kyrgyz village, killing three, including a small girl, and wounding 17 others

19 August 1999 -- Parliament opens regular session at which the dates of parliamentary and presidential elections are named, deputies say parliamentary elections will be held on 5 December and presidential elections on 9 January 2000

18 August 1999 -- In closed-door trial, Tashkent court convicts six members of the Erk party for the bombings in Tashkent, two are cousins of Mohammad Solih, five are sentenced for slandering President Karimov, establishing a criminal gang and infringing on the constitution of Uzbekistan; the sixth is convicted of illegal arms possession, sentences range from eight to 15 years

17 August 1999 -- In Tashkent, Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Komilov and National Security Council Secretary Mirakbar Rakhmankulov say it was Uzbek planes that carried out strikes in Kyrgyzstan against "Uzbek extremist fighters," (IFX) at the request of the Kyrgyz government

15 August 1999 -- Unmarked warplanes bomb near village of Khait in Garm region and the village of Maidonterak, near Jirgatal in Tajikistan

6 July 1999 -- Khorezm regional court finds 16 members of the armed band that took hostages on Tashkent-Urgench bus guilty, sentences Khamro Khalilov and Timurbek Babajanov to death, jails the others for terms of seven to 20 years

25 May 1999 -- Tajik Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Mahmadruzi Iskanderov says Uzbek refugees in Tavil-Dara area will be sent back to Uzbekistan in the coming days

16-17 May 1999 -- Uzbek groups in Tavil-Dara region clash over argument on amnesty in Uzbekistan, groups led by Juma Namangani

12 May 1999 -- RTR reports Uzbek parliament amends criminal code so persons found guilty of belonging to religious, extremist, or prohibited organizations can be imprisoned for five to 15 years with confiscation of property; if group commits serious crimes, sentence can be 15 to 20 years

24 April 1999 -- On sidelines of NATO summit, at ceremony at Uzbekistan's embassy in Washington, Uzbekistan officially becomes member of GUAM, now GUUAM

4 April 1999 -- Interior Minister Zokirjon Almatov calls on all young men who embraced radical Islam in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, or Chechnya to surrender and no charges will be filed against them, Almatov says Interior Ministry estimates there are 6,000 such people

1 April 1999 -- President Karimov offers amnesty to any Islamic radicals who turn themselves in voluntarily

31 March 1999 -- Four armed men hijack Khwarezm-bound bus, national security agents and police in shoot-out, nine people, including two passengers, killed, hijackers demanded release from jail of friends suspected of participating in Tashkent bombings

30 March 1999 -- AP reports Uzbek police claim to have killed three suspects in Tashkent bombings and say three other suspects killed themselves during a shoot-out with police in Tashkent

16 March 1999 -- IFX reports four more suspects in Tashkent bombings arrested in Ukraine, Amnesty International identifies two as Mohammed Bekjon and Yusif Ruzimuradov of Erk Party

15 March 1999 -- President Karimov says Mohammed Solih and Tohir Yuldash are main suspects in Tashkent bombings, Uzbek authorities put both on Interpol list

11 March 1999 -- Uzbek television says Mohammed Solih is a suspect in Tashkent bombings

9 March 1999 -- President Karimov says investigation into Tashkent bombings almost complete, Karimov links Erk party leaders to bombings, calling them "beggars living outside the country"

26 February 1999 -- Vitaly Ponomarev of the Moscow-based Society for Assistance of Human Rights in Central Asia says more than 500 people have been arrested in Uzbekistan since 16 February, including Islamic activists and their families, supporters of religious groups not loyal to the regime, and several opposition activists

23 February 1999 -- President Karimov tells diplomats and journalists that 30 people have been detained so far in connection with Tashkent bombings, says not only Wahhabis but also Hezbollah involved

22 February 1999 -- Muhammad Bekjon, brother of Erk leader Muhammad Solih, reported arrested in Khwarezm on 18 February

17 February 1999 -- Official death toll from Tashkent bombings put at 16 with some 150 others injured

16 February 1999 -- Five to six explosions go off in Tashkent, two at Interior Ministry, one near Uzbek National Bank for Foreign Affairs, and one on Mustaqilliq Maidoni (Independence Square) 45 minutes after first bombs explode another goes off near the airport, President Karimov appears on national TV shortly after the blasts and vows to punish those responsible

4 February 1999 -- Uzbek Foreign Ministry releases statement clarifying that country will not renew membership with CIS Collective Security Treaty countries but still maintains bilateral agreements with a number of CIS nations

3 February 1999 -- Daily "Halq Sozi" cites President Karimov as saying members of an Islamic group called Hizbi Tahriri are active in Uzbekistan and represent a threat to security

2 February 1999 -- President Karimov tells daily "Turkiston" that the key task for Uzbekistan this year is to hold honest and democratic parliamentary elections in December

2 February 1999 -- Uzbek Foreign Ministry announces country's intention to withdraw from CIS Collective Security Treaty