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Uzbekistan Exploits Uyghur Minority
Kayum Masimov
November 20, 2002
Uzbekistan is suppressing Uyghur activities in hope of
winning concessions from China.
Uyghur people who were displaced from the Eastern
Turkistan by newly created Communist People's Republic
of China as early as some 50 years ago are clinging to
hopes of a return to their homeland and escaping the
inhospitable Central Asian republics where they now
unwillingly live.
The history of Uyghur diaspora in Uzbekistan dates
back to the late 1880's when the first wave of "Taranchi"
Uyghur refugees fled from Manjur occupation of Kashgar
to Tashkent and Andijan regions of what is in nowadays
Uzbekistan. As recently as in 1949 China achieved to
get rid of Eastern Turkistan and created
Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous region. Tens of thousands
of Uyghur families then fled to the former Soviet
Central Asia.
In 1991 the former Soviet Union disintegrated and the
newly independent republics of the Central Asia were
created. The initial years of independence was marked
by the un-experienced tolerance of the above mentioned
states towards Uyghur communities in these countries
as well as other ethnic groups and minorities, notably
the permission to create Uyghur Cultural Center in
Uzbekistan and the active role in consolidating the
dispersed Uyghur population in Uzbekistan. The weekly
"UMID" broadcastings on TV in Uyghur language were
allowed. For the first time Uyghur community
in Uzbekistan was able to officially register and have
its voice to be
heard.
The subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union led
Uyghurs to hope that their homeland of East Turkistan
might regain its independence. However, China not only
remained stable but swiftly established diplomatic
relations with all the newly independent Central Asian
republics. In such perspective the Central Asian
governments of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan
found Uyghurs a useful tool in negotiations with
Beijing.
In return for preventing them from stirring up trouble
for China, these
states sought to extract concessions from Beijing on
other issues.
Uzbekistan government's approach towards Uyghur
diaspora is such it was used as a playing card in
bargaining better deals. Furthermore, we are now
observing the policy of fostering the process of
Uzbekinization of the non-endogenous population of
Uzbekistan not only towards Uyghurs but as well as on
Tadjik, Karakalpak and Kazakh minorities. The
assimilation cases might
be illustrated by imposing more strict and tough
administrative measures in obtaining passports bearing
non-Uzbek nationality of its holder. Furthermore,
several requests of Uyghur community in Uzbekistan to
carry-out population census of Uyghurs were denied by
authorities.
The following might best illustrate the complexity of
the situation of
Uyghur minority of Uzbekistan. During the last few
years since the shift in the internal policy of
Uzbekistan had occurred a number of schools teaching
in Uyghur language (in Bektemir district of Tashkent,
several Uyghur-Uzbek mixed schools in Andijan province
of Uzbekistan) were shut down. The faculty of
Uyghurology at the Tashkent State University was
closed without any explanations in 1999. Dean of the
faculty the late Mr. Mahmudhodjaev was
repeatedly beaten by unknown people for his criticism
of authorities in their stance on Eastern Turkistan
issue and what we suspect was orchestrated by Uzbek
Authorities. Uyghur department at the Uzbekistan
Science Academy was closed in 2001 also with no sound
reason explained. Uyghur Music Department at the
Uzbekistan State Theatre and Philharmonic was closed
the
same year. The rare manuscript department of ancient
Uyghur at the
Manuscripts Institute of Uzbekistan of the Oriental
Studies Institute was as well shut down in 2000. Not
to mention the department of Uyghur writers of
Uzbekistan at Uzbekistan Writers Union was also closed
down and its Director Mr.Emin Usmanov who was also an
acting Chairman of Uyghur Cultural Center of
Uzbekistan was killed during the interrogations by
Uzbekistan State Authorities in March 2001.
His case is an interesting since Uzbek Authorities
have detained him before his last arrest in February
of 2001. Earlier in 1999 he was charged with "involvement
in illegal currency operations" after a prolonged
investigation he was "cleared" by state's amnesty and
freed at the court. But his criticism of Uzbek
authorities regarding the closer links with China and
its stance on Eastern Turkistan and Uyghur minority
rights won him the "honor" to be enlisted in
Uzbekistan's police black-list of dissidents. In his
lastround-up he was wrongfully accused in involvement
in the "Hizb-ut-Tahrir"
religious activities of the banned Islamic movement.
Such methods of Uzbek police in labeling undesired
individuals in order to justify their arrest are wide
spread and well-known in the Republic. As well as
numerous facts of Uzbek's police practices of planting
narcotics to their victims and its practices of
beatings and tortures of inmates. In case of late Emin
Usmanov authorities again made contradicting
statements in explaining the cause of his death. First
they have claimed he committed a suicide while in
prison cell and then they have issued a medical record
saying the reason of his death was given as "post
asphyxia state".
It is equally important to mention the significance of
the China's led
"Shanghai Forum" Organization and Uzbekistan's new
membership role in it, its effect on Uyghurs in
Uzbekistan. As the results of the "Shanghai Forum"
meetings and increased Chinese influence we have seen
drastic negative developments towards Uyghur diaspora
in Uzbekistan. The leaders of Uyghurs community are in
constant fear of being arbitrary detained or
questioned by Security Forces of Uzbekistan. It is
worth mentioning that during the Chinese
Prime-Minister Li Peng's numerous visits to Central
Asian region,
Uyghur diaspora in Kazakhstan organized a protest
rally in Almaty city of Kazakhstan. Fearing of the
same Uzbek Authorities had imposed house arrest on
about twenty leaders of Uyghur community in Tashkent
during the period of the official visits of the
Chinese delegation to Uzbekistan. Any criticism on
Chinese and Uzbek authorities is still severely
punished and the Uzbekistan's government does not
tolerate any slightest dissent on this
matter.
In June of 14th and 15th of 2001 a new summit of the
"Shanghai Five" brought together the leaders of China,
Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Stan, and Tajikistan in
Shanghai city of China and established, together with
Uzbekistan, the new "Shanghai's Cooperation
Organization". In recent developments what we observe
is that instead of addressing the real causes of the
regional problems - mainly endemic corruption,
economic stagnation,
restriction of democratic freedoms, human rights
violations and
administrative ineptitudes, the leaders of the
"Shanghai Cooperation
Organization" nations looked for scapegoat to take the
blame for their domestic problems. Corrupt regimes can
also justify their dictatorship by scaring up a
security treat.
Few have realized the extent to which Uzbekistan's
dictatorship contributes to regional destabilization
itself. Uzbekistan's repressive policies against
dissidents have been the main source of instability in
the region, producing a growing fundamentalist
militant movement that spills into neighboring
countries. The notoriously volatile Ferghana Valley
and capital Tashkent has become the breeding ground
for resistance, following Karimov's recent brutal
purge of dissidents in the area. The extent to which
Karimov has made
political hay out of the assassination plot in
February of 1999 against his life supports the
contention that a Big Brother needs to have an enemy
and a scapegoat in order to maintain control.
Uyghurs are not to blame for the many problems of
Uzbekistan, self-inflicted by ineffective and
dictatorial government. In effect Uyghurs in
Uzbekistan are the integral part of it and are as much
a part of the solution to Central Asia's political and
economic issues. But unfortunately unlike other ethnic
groups in Central Asia, Uyghurs are part of
international politics.
Recently, a number of prominent Uyghur leaders of the
Central Asian Republics died in suspicious
circumstances. Dilbirim Samsakova, a women's rights
activist, was found dead in Kazakhstan in June of
2001. Nigmat Bazakov, Chairman of the Ittipaq Society
of Uyghurs in Kyrgyz Stan, was shot
to dead at point-blank range in front of his house in
Bishkek on 28 March 2000. Unknown individuals fatally
attacked Hashir Wahidi, Chairman of the Uyghuristan
Liberation Organization in Kazakhstan, in his house in
1998; he died just a few months after the attack. Emin
Usmanov, director of the Uyghur Section of the Writers'
Union of Uzbekistan and the Chairman of Uyghur
Cultural Center of Uzbekistan, was murdered in jail in
early March 2001.
In the eyes of Uyghur community, all those deaths are
politically motivated and perceived as political
assassinations.
So far all Uyghur attempts to wield greater influence
in Uzbekistan have failed. There are no Uyghur
representatives in parliament or other major
institutions. Analysts believe the community is being
deliberately barred from positions of power for fear
of alienating China. Common religious and linguistic
ties with the indigenous Uzbek population open few
doors for Uyghurs. Their economic successes are
limited to small businesses. To date, efforts by
Uyghurs to mount anti-Chinese propaganda have been
severely
curbed. At the start of the 1990s, they tried to hold
rallies in front of
the Chinese embassy in Tashkent but this was soon
banned.
By suppressing Uyghur activities in Uzbekistan,
President Karimov hopes to persuade China to invest in
Uzbek economy which is currently is in desperate
situation. So far this ploy has met with only limited
success. But sources in the Uzbekistan foreign
ministry still believe that the "Uyghur issue" is a
useful bargaining tool in dealings with China. They
may need it. Uyghurs claim that China has even larger
claims on territories deep inside not only in
Kyrgyzstan and Kazahkstan but as well in Uzbekistan.
Kayum Masimov is a former researcher of "The Institue
for the Strategic and Regional Studies in Tashkent,
Uzbekistan.
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