Uzbekistan - Republic of Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan - Republic of Uzbekistan

The Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south.

History

For thousands of years the present area of Uzbekistan was a part of the Persian Empire. Before the gradual arrival of the Turkic invaders the area was populated by the Persian-speaking people of Iranian stock who still comprise a large minority (up to 42% by estimates [1] in Uzbekistan and are called Tajiks today. The area was ruled by the Persian Kings for many centuries.

Conquered by Muslim Arabs in the 8th century AD, the indigenous Persian Samanid dynasty established an empire in the 9th century. Samanids brought about a revival of the Persian culture in the area. Its territory was overrun by Genghis Khan and his Mongol tribes in 1220.

Gur Imir, Mausoleum of Tamerlane (Amir Timur), SamarkandIn the 1300s, Timur (1336 - 1405), known in the west as Tamerlane, overpowered the Mongols and built an empire. In his military campaigns Tamerlane reached as far as the Middle East. He defeated Ottoman Emperor Bayazid and rescued Europe from Turkish conquest. Tamerlane sought to build a capital of his empire in Samarkand (largely a Tajik-populated city). The imagery of Tamerlane would be used later in history to construct an Uzbekistani national identity.

In the 19th century, the Russian Empire began to expand, and spread into Central Asia. The "Great Game" period is generally regarded as running from approximately 1813 to the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907. Following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 a second less intensive phase followed. At the start of the 19th century there were some 2000 miles separating British India and the outlying regions of the Tsarist Russia. Much of the land in between was unmapped.

By the beginning of the 20th century, Central Asia was firmly in the hands of Russia and despite some early resistance to Bolsheviks, Uzbekistan and the rest of Central Asia became a part of the Soviet Union. On August 31, 1991, Uzbekistan reluctantly declared independence, marking September 1 as a national holiday. In subsequent ethnic tensions, two million Russians left the country for Russia.

On May 13, 2005, protests broke out in Andijan over the imprisonment of 23 Muslims accused of being Islamist extremists. The protestors took thirty hostages. Soldiers started to fire on the protestors, leaving many of them dead. The number of dead is greatly disputed varying from 176 to 1,000 (see the Chronology sidebar for details).

On the same day in Tashkent, a man mistakenly believed to be a suicide bomber was shot dead outside the Israeli Embassy.

The country now seeks to gradually lessen its dependence on agriculture (it is the world's third-largest exporter of cotton) while developing its mineral and petroleum reserves.

Politics
Following is a chronology of major recent political events in Uzbekistan:

1989 - Islam Karimov becomes leader of Uzbek Communist Party. - Violent attacks take place against minorities in Ferghana Valley. Nationalist movement Birlik (Unity) is founded.

1991 - Uzbekistan declares independence from the Soviet Union, joining the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) -- a grouping of former Soviet republics -- after the Soviet Union's collapse. - Karimov is returned as president in elections in which few opposition groups are allowed to field candidates.

1992 - Karimov bans the Birlik and Erk (Freedom) parties. Large numbers of opposition party members are arrested for alleged anti-state activities.

1995 - A number of Erk party activists are given prison sentences for allegedly conspiring to oust the government.

1999 - Bomb blasts in the capital, Tashkent, kill more than a dozen people. Karimov blames the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU). -IMU broadcasts a declaration of jihad from a radio station in Iran demanding the resignation of the Uzbek leadership. -IMU insurgents launch a series of attacks against government forces from mountain hideouts.

2000 - Karimov is re-elected president. Western observers call the elections neither free nor fair. - New York-based Human Rights Watch accuses Uzbekistan of widespread use of torture.

June 2001 - Uzbekistan jails 73 people for up to 18 years for aiding Islamic extremists in its southern Surkhandarya region in 2000.

October - Uzbekistan allows the United States military to use its airbases for attacking the Taliban in Afghanistan.

January 2002 - Karimov wins backing for extending his presidential term from five to seven years in a referendum derided by the West as a ploy to hang on to power.

August - Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan military leader Juma Namangany is reported killed.

June 2003 - Erk opposition party holds first formal meeting since it was banned 11 years earlier.

December - Karimov sacks Prime Minister Otkir Sultanov, citing the country's poorest cotton harvest on record. Shavkat Mirziyayev is appointed to replace him.

March 2004 - Uzbek special forces storm a suspected Islamic militants' hideout, killing up to 23 people after a day-long siege.

July - Suicide bombers target U.S. and Israeli embassies in Tashkent. A third blast hits a state prosecutor's office, killing three people.

November - New restrictions on trading practices lead to civil disorder in eastern town of Kokand. Several thousand people are reported to have taken part in street protests.

May 13, 2005 - Hundreds are feared dead when Uzbek troops fire on thousands of protesters in the eastern town of Andijon. Uzbek authorities maintain that only 176 people died during the clashes, most of them "terrorists" and their own soldiers. Conservative estimates put the death toll around 500[2], with other sources citing as many as 700[3] to 1000[4] killed during the clashes.

Politics of Uzbekistan
Constitutionally, the Government of Uzbekistan provides for democracy. In reality, the executive holds almost all power. The judiciary lacks independence and the parliament has little power to shape laws. The president selects and replaces provincial governors. Under terms of a December 1995 referendum, Karimov's first term was extended. Another national referendum was held January 27, 2002 to yet again extend Karimov's term. The referendum passed and Karimov's term was extended by act of the parliament to December 2007. Most international observers refused to participate in the process and did not recognize the results, dismissing them as not meeting basic standards. The 2002 referendum also included a plan to create a bicameral parliament, consisting of a lower house (the Oliy Majlis) and an upper house (Senate). Members of the lower house are to be "full time" legislators. Elections for the new bicameral parliament took place on December 26, but no truly independent opposition candidates or parties were able to take part. The OSCE limited observation mission concluded that the elections fell significantly short of OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections. Several political parties have been formed with government approval but have yet to show interest in advocating alternatives to government policy. Similarly, although multiple media outlets (radio, TV, newspaper) have been established, these either remain under government control or rarely broach political topics. Independent political parties were allowed to organize, recruit members, and hold conventions and press conferences, but have been denied registration under restrictive registration procedures. Terrorist bombings were carried out March 28-April 1, 2004 in Tashkent and Bukhara. It is not yet clear who committed the attacks. The government reaction to the attacks, thus far, has been restrained.

Human rights

The Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan asserts that "democracy in the Republic of Uzbekistan shall be based upon common human principles, according to which the highest value shall be the human being, his life, freedom, honor, dignity and other inalienable rights."

However, credible non-government human right watchdogs, such as IHF, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, as well as United States Department of State and Council of the European Union define Uzbekistan as "an authoritarian state with limited civil rights" [5] and express profound concern about "wide-scale violation of virtually all basic human rights" [6]. According to the reports, the most widespread violations are torture, arbitrary arrests, and various restrictions of freedoms: of religion, of speech and press, of free association and assembly [7]. The reports maintain that the violations are most often committed against members of religious organizations, independent journalists, human right activists, and political activists, including members of the banned opposition parties. In 2005, Uzbekistan was included into Freedom House's "The Worst of the Worst: The World's Most Repressive Societies" list [8].

The official position is summarized in a memorandum "The measures taken by the government of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the field of providing and encouraging human rights" [9] and amounts to the following. The government does everything that is in its power to protect and to guarantee the human rights of Uzbekistani citizens. Uzbekistan continuously improves its laws and institutions in order to create a more humane society. Over 300 laws regulating the rights and basic freedoms of the people have been passed by the parliament. For instance, an office of Ombudsman was established in 1996 [10] . On August 2, 2005, President Islam Karimov signed a decree that will abolish capital punishment in Uzbekistan on January 1, 2008.

The May 2005 unrest in Uzbekistan, which resulted in several hundred people being killed is viewed by many as a landmark event in the history of human rights abuse in Uzbekistan [11],[12],[13]. A concern has been expressed and a request for an independent investigation of the events has been made by the United States, European Union, the UN, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. The government of Uzbekistan is accused of unlawful termination of human life, denying its citizens freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. The government vehemently rebuffs the accusations maintaining that it merely conducted an anti-terrorist operation, exercising only necessary force [14]. In addition, some Uzbek officials claim that "an information war on Uzbekistan has been declared" and the human rights violations in Andijon are invented by the enemies of Uzbekistan as a convenient pretext for intervention into country's internal affairs [15].

Geography

Charvak Lake, region of Tashkent. Picture taken by Vadim ArenbristerWith an area of 447,000 square kilometers (approximately the size of the Spain or California), Uzbekistan stretches 1,425 kilometers from west to east and 930 kilometers from north to south. Bordering Turkmenistan to the southwest, Kazakstan to the north, and Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to the south and east, Uzbekistan is not only one of the larger Central Asian states but also the only Central Asian state to border all of the other four. Uzbekistan also shares a short border with Afghanistan to the south.

Uzbekistan is a dry, double-landlocked country of which 10% consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys. It is one of two double-landlocked countries in the world - the other being Liechtenstein, although in the case of Uzbekistan this is less clear, since it has borders with two countries (Kazakhstan in the north and Turkmenistan in the south) bordering the landlocked but non-freshwater Caspian Sea from which ships can reach the Sea of Azov and thus the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the oceans.

The highest point in Uzbekistan is Adelunga Toghi at 4301 meters.

Subdivisions

Uzbekistan is divided into 12 provinces (viloyatlar, singular - viloyat, [viloyati] in compound, eg. Toshkent viloyati, Samarqand viloyati), 1 autonomous republic [respublika], respublikasi in compound, Qoraqalpog'iston Avtonom Respublikasi, Karakalpakistan Autonomous Republic, and 1 independent city [shahar] or [shahri] in compounds, the Tashkent city, Toshkent shahri; Names are given below in the Uzbek language, although numerous variations of the transliterations of each name exist.

Map of UzbekistanDivision Capital City Area (sq. km) Population Key
Andijon Viloyati Andijon 4,200 1,899,000 2
Buxoro Viloyati Buxoro (Bukhara) 39,400 1,384,700 3
Farg'ona Viloyati Farg'ona (Fergana) 6,800 2,597,000 4
Jizzax Viloyati Jizzax 20,500 910,500 5
Xorazm Viloyati Urganch 6,300 1,200,000 13
Namangan Viloyati Namangan 7,900 1,862,000 6
Navoiy Viloyati Navoiy 110,800 767,500 7
Qashqadaryo Viloyati Qarshi 28,400 2,029,000 8
Qoraqalpog'iston Respublikasi Nukus 160,000 1,200,000 14
Samarqand Viloyati Samarqand 16,400 2,322,000 9
Sirdaryo Viloyati Guliston 5,100 648,100 10
Surxondaryo Viloyati Termez 20,800 1,676,000 11
Toshkent Viloyati Toshkent (Tashkent) 15,300 4,450,000 12

The statistics for Toshkent Viloyati also include the statistics for Toshkent Shahri.

Enclaves and exclaves
There are four Uzbek exclaves, all of them surrounded by Kyrgyz territory in the Fergana valley region where Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan meet. Two of them are the towns of Sokh (area 325 km² and a population of 42,800 in 1993, although some estimates go as high as 70,000; 99% are Tajiks, the remainder Uzbeks [16]) and Shakhrimardan (also known as Shakirmardon, and Shah-i-Mardan, area 90 km² and a population of 5,100 in 1993; 91% are Uzbeks, the remainder Kyrgyz); the other two are the tiny territories of Chong-Kara (or Kalacha, roughly 3 km long by 1 km wide) and Dzhangail (a dot of land barely 2 or 3 km across). Chong-Kara is on the Sokh river, between the Uzbek border and the Sokh exclave.

Uzbekistan has a Tajikistan enclave, the village of Sarvan, which includes a narrow, long strip of land (about 15 km long by 1 km wide) alongside the road from Angren to Kokand. Last but not least, there is a tiny Kyrgyzstan enclave, the village of Barak (population 627), between the towns of Margilan and Fergana.

Economy

Uzbekistan is a country with GNI per capita of US$460 and PPP equivalent of US$1860 [17]. Economic production is concentrated in commodities: Uzbekistan is now the world's fourth-largest producer and the world's second-largest exporter of cotton, the seventh world major producer of gold, and a regionally significant producer of natural gas, coal, copper, oil, silver, and uranium [18]. Agriculture contributes about 37% of GDP while employing 44% of the labor force [19]. Unemployment and underemployment are estimated to be at least 20% [20].

Facing a multitude of economic challenges upon acquiring independence, the government adopted an evolutionary reform strategy, with emphasize on state control, reduction of import, and self-sufficiency in energy. Since 1994, state controlled media repeatedly proclaimed success of this "Uzbek Economic Model" [21] as a unique example of smooth transition to the market economy while avoiding shock, pauperization, and stagnation. The gradualist reform strategy has involved postponing significant macroeconomic and structural reforms. The state in the hands of the bureaucracy has remained a dominant influence in the economy. Corruption permeated the society (Uzbekistan's 2005 Index of perception of corruption is 137 out of 159), chocking the free market. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, "the government is hostile to allowing the development of an independent private sector, over which it would have no control" [22]. Thus, the national bourgeoisie in general, and the middle class in particular, are marginalized economically, and, consequently, politically.

The economic policies have repelled foreign investment, which is the lowest per capita in the CIS [23]. For years, the largest barrier to foreign companies entering the Uzbek market has been difficulty in currency conversion. In 2003, the government accepted the obligations of Article VIII under the International Monetary Fund [24], providing for full currency convertibility. However, strict currency controls and tightening of borders have lessened its effects.

Inflation, though lower than in the mid-1990s, remained high up until 2003 (estimated 50% in 2002, 21.9% in 2003, [25]). Tight economic policies in 2004 resulted in drastic reduction of inflation, to 3.8% (while alternative estimates [26] based on price of true market basket, put it at 15%). However, the releif appears to be transient, as IMF estimate of CPI-based inflation in Uzbekistan in 2005 is 14.1% [27].

The government of Uzbekistan restricts imports in many ways, including high import duties. Excise taxes are applied in a highly discriminatory manner to protect locally produced goods. Official tariffs are combined with unofficial, discriminatory charges resulting in total charges amounting to as much as 100 to 150 percent of the actual value of the product, making imported products virtually unaffordable [28]. Import substitution is an officially declared policy and the government proudly reports [29] reduction in the consumer goods import by a factor of two. A number of the CIS countries are officially exempt from Uzbekistan import duties.

Demographics of Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is Central Asia's most populous country. Its 26 million people, concentrated in the south and east of the country, comprise nearly half the region's total population. Uzbekistan had been one of the poorest republics of the Soviet Union; much of its population was engaged in cotton farming in small rural collective farms (kolkhozes). In the recent years, fraction of the rural population has continued to increase [30] now reaching 63.5%. Population of Uzbekistan is very young: 34.1% of it are people younger than 14.

Uzbekistan is predominantly Uzbeks in ethnic composition. According to the CIA World Factbook, Uzbeks comprise 80% of the total population[31] (although other sources contend that this includes a major part of Tajik population, who were forced to register as Uzbeks during early Soviet invasion[32]). Other ethnic groups include Russian 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakhs 3%, Karakalpak 2.5%, and Tatar 1.5% [33] (However, independent sources put the percentage of Tajik population of Uzbekistan at approximately 42% (11-14 million people)[34]. The nation is 88% Muslim (mostly Sunni) and 9% Eastern Orthodox. Uzbek is the only official state language. However, Russian is the de facto language for interethnic communication, including much day-to-day technical, scientific, governmental and business use.

Uzbekistan enjoys 99.3% literacy rate (among adults older than 15) which, in part, is atributable to the free and universal high-quality education system of the Soviet Union.

Communications

According to the official source report, by the end of 2004, there were 544.1 thousand users of cellular phones in Uzbekistan (an increase of 168% since the beginning of the year). An independent source, Ferghana.Ru, claims, however, that the users of cellular phones in Uzbekistan was only 450,000.

The number of Internet providers and operators by the end of 2004 was 477 (+181.4%). There were 675,000 Internet users in the country (+137%). 96.4% cities and 72.5% district centers have digital telecommunications systems.

Transportation
Transportation in Uzbekistan

This section is a stub. You can help by adding to it.
Tashkent, the nation's capital and largest city, has a 3 line subway built in 1977, and expanded 2001 after independence from the Soviet Union.

Military

Uzbekistan possesses the largest and most competent military forces in the Central Asian region, having around 650,000 people in uniform. Its structure is inherited from the Soviet armed forces, although it is moving rapidly toward a fully restructured organization, which will eventually be built around light and Special Forces. The Uzbek Armed Forces' equipment is not modern, and training, while improving, is neither uniform nor adequate yet for its new mission of territorial security. The government has accepted the arms control obligations of the former Soviet Union, acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (as a non-nuclear state), and has supported an active program by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) in western Uzbekistan (Nukus and Vozrozhdeniye Island). The Government of Uzbekistan spends about 3.7% of GDP on the military but has received a growing infusion of Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and other security assistance funds since 1998. Uzbekistan approved U.S. Central Command's request for access to a vital military air base, Karshi-Khanabad Airbase, in southern Uzbekistan following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S. Following the Andijan riot and the U.S. reaction to it, Uzbekistan has demanded to withdraw the airbases from the territory of the country and the last US troops left Uzbekistan in November 2005.

While the EU banned arms sales to Uzbekistan in 2005 accusing the government of bearing responsibility for Andijan violence, Uzbekistan and Russia signed a mutual defence pact. [35]

Military of Uzbekistan

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Foreign relations
Foreign relations of Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan joined the Commonwealth of Independent States in December 1991. However, it is opposed to reintegration and withdrew from the CIS collective security arrangement in 1999. Since that time, Uzbekistan has participated in the CIS peacekeeping force in Tajikistan and in UN-organized groups to help resolve the Tajik and Afghan conflicts, both of which it sees as posing threats to its own stability. Uzbekistan was an active supporter of U.S. efforts against worldwide terrorism and joined the coalitions that have dealt with both Afghanistan and Iraq. The relationship between Uzbekistan and the United States began to deteriorate after the so-called "color revolutions" in Georgia and Ukraine (and to a lesser extent Kyrgystan), however. When the U.S. joined in a call for an independent international investigation of the bloody events at Andijon, the relationship took an additional nosedive and President Islam Karimov moved more closely into the orbit of Russia and China, countries which refused to criticize Uzbekistan's leaders for their behavior. In late July, 2005, the government of Uzbekistan ordered the United States to vacate an air base in Karshi-Kanabad (near the Uzbek border with Afghanistan) within 180 days. Karimov had offered use of the base to the U.S. shortly after 9/11. It is a member of the United Nations, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, Partnership for Peace, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). It belongs to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Economic Cooperation Organization--comprised of the five Central Asian countries, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. In 1999, Uzbekistan joined the GUAM alliance (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova), which was formed in 1997 (making it GUUAM), but pulled out of the organization in 2005. Uzbekistan is also a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and hosts the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent. Uzbekistan also joined the new Central Asian Cooperation Organization (CACO) in 2002. The CACO consists of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. It is a founding member of and remains involved in the Central Asian Union, formed with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, joined in March. 1998 by Tajikistan.

Previously close to Washington, the government of Uzkekistan has restricted American military use of the airbase at Karshi-Khanabad which is used for air operations in neighboring Afghanistan. See AP article

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