Uzbekistan in turmoil

THE trouble in Uzbekistan seems to be spreading, for the protest in Andijan might have died down, but refugees fleeing from that city have taken over the border town of Karasu. The exact casualty figure in Andijan may not be known for some time, but it is safe to say that hundreds have been killed. The Uzbekistan government has imposed a complete news blackout, a number of journalists have been arrested, and the international media has been banned from entering Andijan. No wonder, the government itself is groping in the dark about certain aspects of the situation. For instance, if the number of dead is only 30, as President Karimov claims, independent reporting by the media would have confirmed his figure. Instead, in the absence of a free press, doctors, dissident groups and independent sources have put the number as high as 700. This shows that government troops were ruthless in crushing the dissidents.

What touched off the protest in Andijan was the trial of some businessmen accused of being supporters of Hizbul Tahrir, a banned Islamic fundamentalist group. The businessmen’s supporters deny that those on trial had anything to do with the Hizb, and took to the streets. The demonstrations went on for a week until what can be called bloody Friday, when the Karimov government decided to crush the dissidents, some of whom were armed and had attacked a prison to free their supporters. But the use of force by the security forces was excessive. Unfortunately, Mr Karimov runs Uzbekistan as a police state. All opposition is ruthlessly suppressed, torture of political dissidents is routine, there are regular ‘disappearances’, and Amnesty International and rights groups have accused the government of human rights violations. To win the sympathy of the US and western countries the Uzbek government labels all dissidents as Islamic fundamentalists. For that reason, America, which has a base in Uzbekistan, has criticized the government in a very low key and advised both the dissidents and the security forces to exercise restraint.

Uzbekistan is Central Asia’s most populous country, but poverty is rampant, and Mr Karimov, who has been at the helm since before the break-up of the Soviet Union, has done nothing to give his people a better life. He has ruled like a despot. Elections are stage-managed and the opposition has no representation in parliament. Last year, the government introduced a bicameral legislature, but no opposition party was allowed to register for elections to the 100-man lower house. As for the 100-man upper house, it consists of nominated members. This has driven the opposition underground. Last year, there was a series of suicide bombings that led to at least 50 dead. It is doubtful if Mr Karimov has learnt any lessons from what happened in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan earlier this year: he is only making fundamentalism respectable. Mr Askar Akayev was a liberal by Central Asian standards and had the good sense to leave his country to avoid a civil war. Mr Karimov is far more authoritarian than Mr Akayev was, but it appears he has tougher times ahead. He may have a controlled press, but in this age of satellite TV, Internet and cell telephones, it is difficult to see how the Uzbek people can be kept isolated from the wave of democracy and liberalism sweeping the world. As Kyrgyzstan’s acting president Kurmanbek Bakiyev said recently, the former Soviet republics have no choice but to embrace democracy.

Marathon trouble

IT IS no use criticizing the police or city officials for the disgraceful incident in Lahore on Saturday when human rights activists were beaten up, women humiliated, clothes torn and scores of people detained. It is the Punjab government that must be squarely blamed for what happened. The ‘mixed marathon’ appears to have become a bugbear for the provincial administration, as was made clear in its approach to the earlier Gujranwala and Sargodha marathons. And because of this official obtuseness, it has also become a symbol for the liberals to test the Musharraf government’s doctrine of ‘enlightened moderation’. Because in all the recent episodes of this nature, the administration seemed to be on the side of the reactionary lobby crusading against mixed events, the symbolism has acquired even greater importance. It is not merely a question of men and women participating in a run: for the fundamentalists it is an issue with a broader connotation. They are against the very concept of equality of sexes, of co-education, of men and women working together. They are opposing ‘mixed marathons’ to make a statement about all forms of open-mindedness in society, and that is why the marathon has acquired such a significance in their scheme of things.

This is also why the government’s vacillation on social issues must keep on being underlined. The police say they acted in Lahore because of the threat from a militant right-wing youth organization. This is a bogey that lacks credibility, particularly in view of the absence of action against disruptive elements on similar other occasions. The pace of liberalization in a society shaped for a decade by a military ruler who wanted to turn the clock back and where lack of education is a massive roadblock must necessarily be slow. But that doesn’t mean marking time by standing at one place and inflicting violence on those who do want change. If the Punjab government says it is blameless, then let it identify those who are to blame and proceed against them.

Checking tea smuggling

TEA smuggling continues to thrive in Pakistan despite moves by the government to lower tariffs so as to discourage smuggling. In the 2004-05 budget, the government had lowered import duty on tea from 20 per cent to 10 per cent and cut advance income tax from six per cent to two per cent. This was done to make it cheaper to import tea through legal channels and to discourage smuggling. Tea traders estimate that the total import of tea during the current fiscal year would touch 125 million kg as against 118 million kg in the preceding year. In addition to this, it is estimated that about 30 million kg of tea is smuggled into the country. Despite a rise in tea arrivals through legal channels, tea firms have complained that the inflow of smuggled tea continues to rise. Most of this, it is said, comes through the Afghan transit trade channel. This is a facility that needs to be monitored more closely by the government since its misuse cannot be possible without the connivance of local customs officials and border guards.

At present, the government is losing over one billion rupees in revenue while smugglers are reaping the profits. One suggestion is to lower import tariffs even further so that it is not profitable enough for the smugglers to bring in tea illegally. The argument is that the rise in legal tea imports on reduced duties would compensate for any loss incurred from lowering the tariffs. While this can be examined, the issue of rising tea prices also has to be kept in mind. If tea companies also make a move to lower prices as the government reduces tariffs, this will be a solution acceptable to all quarters concerned.