26 July 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Uzbekistan has tried and convicted in absentia several former state bank officials for alleged economic crimes.
26 June 2005 (RFE/RL) -- The increased flow of heroin out of Afghanistan is creating a new AIDS epidemic among needle-sharing drug addicts in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Uzbek refugees in Kyrgyzstan in June 22 July 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Kyrgyz Prosecutor-General Azimbek Beknazarov said today that Uzbek law-enforcement agencies have given authorities in Bishkek new information concerning 29 Uzbek refugees detained in Kyrgyzstan.
Suzaq refugee camp There are more than 400 Uzbeks in the Suzaq refugee camp near the southern Kyrgyz city of Jalal-Abad. They fled last May after hundreds of civilians reportedly were killed in clashes with government troops in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijon.
For the first time in 15 years, representatives of the various Uzbek opposition parties have come together to discuss a common strategy. Last week, outside Washington, D.C., exiled leaders of unregistered secular opposition parties and movements as well as representatives from Uzbekistan gathered to discuss ways to democratically wrest power from the current government.
20 July 2005 (RFE/RL) -- An Uzbek court has convicted seven Muslim women of religious extremism for allegedly belonging to the banned Islamic revival party Hizb ut-Tahrir, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reported.
Pressure mounts for the U.S. to pull out of Central Asia Just as the wildebeests migrate across the Serengeti, commentary on Central Asia periodically turns to talk of the Great Game. In its 19th-century variety, the Game pitted England against Russia in a scramble for control of Eurasia. Early 21st-century interpretations expand the number of players -- bringing in such regional heavyweights as Iran, Pakistan, and especially China -- but retain the central premise: big powers projecting their designs across Central Asia.
By Khiromon Bakoeva http://gdb.rferl.org/F6DE9AEE-9512-4CF2-8EF2-552E42AA1D41_w203.jpg New EU envoy to Central Asia Jan Kubis Yesterday, the European Union appointed veteran Slovak diplomat Jan Kubis to be the EU's special envoy to Central Asia. Kubis is familiar with the region, having served as the UN special envoy to Tajikistan during the transitional period following the civil war there until the country held its first postwar elections. As the secretary-general of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Kubis continued to show his interest in the region, traveling often to Central Asia and Afghanistan. His appointment comes at a sensitive time following a popular revolt last March in Kyrgyzstan and violence in Uzbekistan in May when police and soldiers reportedly killed hundreds of demonstrators.
Uzbek troops in Andijon "Bloody Friday" is the name Uzbeks have given to the events in the eastern city of Andijon on 13 May. But despite the fact that a lot has been written and told about what happened that day, the truth remains unclear. Uzbek authorities tell their story; human rights activists, political oppositionists, and protesters give another account. Qobiljon Parpiev was among the protesters who seized the regional administration building in Andijon on 13 May and held negotiations with Uzbek Interior Minister Zakir Almatov. He escaped shootings by Uzbek forces that reportedly killed hundreds of civilians, and fled Uzbekistan. Parpiev recently spoke to RFE/RL with his version of events.
Almost immediately after Uzbek security forces fired on demonstrators in the eastern city of Andijon on 13 May, Russian officials, later supported by their Uzbek colleagues, began blaming elements infiltrating from Afghanistan for instigating the events and claimed that the combat capability of subversive elements in Afghanistan was not diminishing. However, the final declaration from the meeting of the heads of member states of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, held recently in Astana, Kazakhstan, called for the U.S. and its allies to withdrawal their military units from Central Asia. RFE/RL examines the contradiction in the two comments made by Moscow and some of its Central Asian allies.
Karimov touted a new phase in Uzbek-Chinese relations (file photo) 18 July 2005 -- Uzbek President Islam Karimov today told visiting Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi that relations between the two counrty's have developed to a new phase.
18 July 2005 -- Both a former director and an accountant from a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization went on trial today in Uzbekistan.
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