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NEWS & LETTERS, May 2004Our Life and Times by Kevin A. BarryBattles in UzbekistanA series of violent confrontations between Islamic fundamentalists and government forces took place over four days in late March and early April. These included suicide bombings against police and other officials of the Islam Karimov regime, in power since the collapse of the Soviet Union. In some cases, Islamists blew themselves up rather than face capture by a regime known to torture its opponents. In all, the government reported 47 deaths, 33 of them fundamentalists. These attacks, often carried out by women, had a military precision and seemed to have been planned well in advance. This suggested links to Al Qaeda. So did the history of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which had fought alongside the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan after fleeing Uzbekistan. In 2001, the Islamic Movement’s leadership was reported killed by U.S. forces. However, some elements may have regrouped. The fact that these new attacks did not target civilians suggested that whoever carried them out was bidding for public sympathy against the widely hated Karimov regime, which holds 6,000 political prisoners. Since September 11, 2001, Karimov has become a close ally of the Bush administration, allowing at least 1,000 U.S. troops to base themselves there. Karimov’s repression of all secular opposition and the country’s moribund economy have created space for fundamentalists to project themselves as an alternative. |
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