Banned in Uzbekistan

"...authoritarian systems reinforce, while discouraging attempts to puncture whatever quixotic illusions may exist at the top."
-John Lewis Gaddis, We Now Know

Independent news websites and blogs from Uzbekistan have joined a campaign against internet censorship, according to RFE/RL. The idependent newsite Fergana.ru, reports that government authorities have systemically cracked down on internet sites since the 2005 Andijon massacre. Not suprisingly, the Paris based agency Reporters without Borders rates Uzbekistan tenth from the bottom in it's freedom of the press rankings along with Turkmenistan, Cuba, North Korea, China and Iran. In their annual Nations in Transit 2008 study, Freedom House gave Uzbekistan a seven out of ten score for independent media, which gives Uzbekistan a tie with Turkmenistan for the worst score in the former Soviet Union.

A statement from the uznews.com states "A technical ban on surfing independent websites became widespread in Uzbekistan after the Andijan massacre in May 2005. Since then, experts estimate, Uzbek Internet users have been deprived of access to hundreds of websites."

So, what is so dangerous about these websites that they've been banned by the Uzbekistan government? Check them out and see for yourself.

Fergana.ru
Uzbekistan's Civil Society
Uznews.net

Sole Tajikistan Synagogue Razed

Reuters reports that Tajikistan's only synagogue has been razed to make room for a new palace for President Imomali Rakhmon, who has ruled since 1992. There are talks in the works to build a new synagogue, but it sounds like nothing concrete has been agreed upon. This community of 350 Jews in Dushanbe is part of the 2,000 year old Persian-speaking Bukharan Jewish community, which is centered in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.

I don't have much analysis to add to this except to add that it is no small tragedy. Not only was it the spiritual home of Dushanbe's mostly impoverished and elderly Jewish community, but the the 19th century synagogue was a historical heritage site. According to Radio Free Europe UNESCO petitioned the Tajik government to make it a protected landmark, but their request was ignored. Jews in Central Asia have faced increased discrimination and persecution since the fall of the Soviet Union and many have made their way to Israel. Tajikistan's Jewish community has shrunk from 15,000 at the fall of the USSR, to its current number of 1,000.

While I was in Bukhara my brother and I had the unique opportunity to surreptitiously observe a group of Jews in Bukhara, Uzbekistan at study for moment through a crack in the wooden doors of the synagogue. Watching them study was a brief glance back in time and one of the most memorable moments of the trip.

EU Sanctions Suspended

Nearly two months after the European Union ruled that sanctions against Uzbekistan would remain suspended for six months, there are signs that Western governments continue to seek rapprochement with Tashkent. The trend is happening even while human rights bodies caution that lifting sanctions altogether will leave the West with no leverage to seek improvements in the country’s dismal human rights record. (via Eurasianet.org)

I think this could be the right direction, as long as it's part of a longer-term strategy. The current warming of relations between Uzbekistan and the West seems to be more tactical than strategic, the focus being on the GWoT and the war in Afghanistan. Hopefully, the suspension of sanctions indicates that the US and the EU aim to make themselves more appealing allies and competitive with the no-strings-attached China and long-time ally Russia. With a diplomatic and economic foot in the door, the US and EU will have more leverage to encourage democratic and human rights reform. But this will only work as part of comprehensive Central Asia strategy, which is something that has been sorely lacking US foreign policy for the past nearly twenty years.