[Olesya] UZ - Reactions from Thinking-East Contributor

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Olesya Ryzhova, Uzbekistan editor of Thinking-East, has just sent in her first reactions.

"I do not have much to say regarding the issue because we have been blocked from accessing foreign websites and TV channels that are broadcasting news from the ground.

I have been trying to access Ferghana.ru and Lenta.ru (as well as dozens of other Russian sources) for three days now from different places and also asked different people about what they thought about the whole thing but they all would say the same - no information can be obtained from either the internet or even cable/satellite TV.

No CNN, no BBC, no Russian TV, etc. It's good that at least some of the English websites are not under attack yet since I've been able to read accounts from Registan.net and the like.

The situation inside Tashkent is quite normal. Everyone is doing the usual business. No state of public emergency is likely to be declared as the president noted last night in his address to the nation.

The part that made me feel especially creepy is when he said that there were "only 10 soldiers and 100 protesters" killed. This word 'only' sounded like a death sentence to anyone who dared come in the way of government forces.

He is the one who we have to watch closely because everything will end up the way he wishes it to. From what I know nothing similar to the Kyrgyz scenario is likely to happen here, at least not in the near future, for as he said: "Akayev was a weak-willed leader who failed to implant democracy in Kyrgyzstan" and he also asserted that he would never let the situation develop into something as serious as a nationwide revolution.

We will have to wait for another time as usual.

My friend whose parents live in Andijon told me today that the hospitals there were packed up with people in need of medical assistance. I have also noticed from the scarce information I managed to get so far that the media people tend to make up 'facts'.

One of such examples is the killing of an innocent person in front of the Israeli embassy two days ago. The Russian media reported that he was wearing a military uniform and therefore raised certain suspicion whereas I learned from credible sources that the man was just a drunk out-of-his-mind bum who didn't even know what he was doing or where he was going. Still the embassy guards shot him dead although they could've guessed that he was no terrorist from the very beginning.

To be honest though, the whole thing is just sick. The way I understand the situation is that there were two different actions happening at the same time: there were peaceful protesters who only asked for a better life from the gov't and there was also this group of maniacs (be they Islamists or a group of mistreated, distressed peasants, I don't basically care) who wanted their fellow maniacs to be released from prison.

It turned our somehow that the maniacs got their hands on guns and started shooting the policemen around. Well, if my understanding of the situation is correct, why did the government have to blend these two separate issues into one and shoot everyone who would come in their way without any distinction? (A silly question, of course...)

What makes me even more suspicious of the turn the situation took is that there were a couple of peaceful demonstrations and rallies preceding the violent incidents which basically leads me to think that someone (I guess the government or some other evil entity) might have arranged the whole thing to target the largest number of people possible.

At this point, my reasoning may seem illogical and incoherent but I think that the incident was staged to sanction the use of brutal force by the government. This may sound like science fiction but this is the only feasible explanation to what happened - it would be absolutely absurd to think that the SNB in Andijon would be so careless as to allow the maniacs to get to the prison in the first place.

After what happened in Kyrgyzstan the security measures throughout the country have been tightened up and I doubt that the preparation process undertaken by the maniacs would go unnoticed before the watchful eyes of the SNB. Well, my point is absurd but you never know what to expect from our government.

I think the whole thing got so serious simply because the government blew it all to show how forceful and tough they can get on the renegades. They demonstrated their limitless capacity to terrorize the population. I bet they even feel good about themselves now. This is taking it too far, though - just ignore it.

I don't know what to think. I used to believe that nothing like THAT would ever happen in Uzbekistan and now it turns out that the situation can change all of a sudden. I would keep telling myself that it was not the right time for an uprising anyway but the people of Andijon seemed to have proved otherwise.

I wonder whether the right time will ever come."

Up-to-date information at Registan.net

Posted by Ben at May 15, 2005 07:21 PM