(Tashkent) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday called on Uzbekistan to respect fundamental freedoms and to continue the reforms underway in this former Soviet republic of Central Asia, with authoritarian overtones despite a stated desire for openness .
The visit of the head of American diplomacy to Tashkent, the Uzbek capital, is part of a two-day trip to Central Asia, where Washington hopes to strengthen its influence in the face of the former Russian tutelary power and the growing weight of the Chinese rival. .
The day before, Mr. Blinken spoke with his counterparts from the five Central Asian republics (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) in the Kazakh capital, Astana.
During a meeting on Wednesday with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirzioev, Blinken “urged” Uzbekistan to “protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and transparency”, according to the spokesman of the Secretary of State.
Uzbekistan has been ruled since 2016 by Chavkat Mirzioev, who came to power on the death of his predecessor, the autocrat Islam Karimov, of whom he was prime minister.
At the head of the country, the most populous in Central Asia with some 35 million inhabitants, Mr. Mirzioev carried out major economic and social reforms. Despite progress, Uzbekistan is still accused by NGOs of not respecting fundamental freedoms.
If the press is still largely under control, President Mirzioev had assured in mid-February that he would “never close the media”, although “many officials asked him to do so”.
Mr. Blinken also said he discussed with Mr. Mirzioev the repression of demonstrations in July 2022 in Karakalpakstan, during which 21 people had lost their lives, according to the official report.
The demonstrators were opposed to a draft revision of the Constitution which planned to reduce the autonomy of this Uzbek desert territory, among the poorest in the country. The constitutional amendment on Karakalpakstan has since been dropped.
The list of victims is still not available and the circumstances of the deaths have not been revealed.
Antony Blinken “stressed the importance of fully and transparently investigating allegations of human rights violations committed by law enforcement” and the need to “hold those responsible to account.” »
The NGO Human Rights Watch had denounced an “unjustified use of lethal force” by the authorities after checking several dozen videos of the demonstrations.
A total of 171 people are being prosecuted for their participation in these protests: 16 people have already been sentenced to three to 16 years in prison and 39 defendants are currently on trial.
The head of the American diplomacy, however, congratulated Uzbekistan for having put an end in recent years to forced labor in the cotton fields, including children, considering that it was a “model to follow for other countries in this case”.
He also said he “looks forward to working with the government to promote similar efforts in other sectors and fully implement President Mirzioev’s reforms.”