A spokesman later insisted to reporters that Bush had "stressed the importance of progress in human rights to the future and strength of Uzbekistan and to U.S.-Uzbekistan relations" in the 45-minute meeting at the same time that he welcomed "a new chapter" in relations between the two countries.

Major rights groups have assailed Karimov, who has ruled Uzbekistan since even before the Soviet Union's collapse, as one of Central Asia's harshest dictators. The groups cite his banning of opposition parties and his imprisonment of at least 7,000 Muslims for practicing their faith outside of approved mosques as among some of his abuses.

Torture and even Stalin-style "hate rallies" at which communities gather to denounce perceived religious "extremists" and their families are common, while police routinely detain family members as hostages to compel suspected dissidents to surrender, according to rights groups.

"In terms of human rights, Uzbekistan is barely distinguishable from its Soviet past, and President Karimov has shown himself to be an unreconstructed Soviet leader," said Elizabeth Anderson, who directs the Europe and Central Asia division of Human Rights Watch (HRW), which has an office in Tashkent, Uzbekistan's capital.

In a letter to Bush before this week's visit, HRW charged that Karimov's repression was driving many Uzbeks underground and into the ranks of insurgent groups, such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which Bush has targeted in his anti-terrorist campaign.

Since the September 11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon, however, Washington has sought closer ties with Tashkent largely because of its strategic location as one of Afghanistan's northern neighbors. The Pentagon has been using at least one military base in Uzbekistan where it has deployed some 1,000 Rangers.

In return, Washington has reduced its public criticism of Karimov--who has just extended his term to 2007 in a referendum denounced by international observers as deeply flawed--and tripled its economic aid to Tashkent to $160 million this year. The U.S. has also increased military aid in the form of training and equipment.

Rights groups have been pleading with the Bush administration to use the aid in order to gain concessions on human rights. So far, however, U.S. officials point only to Karimov's announcement on the eve of his four-day U.S. trip, that he would register one of a number of domestic human rights organizations which have clamored for legal status.

"The U.S. government needs to leverage its relations with Uzbekistan to press for prompt and substantial improvements in human rights," William Schultz, the director of the U.S. section of Amnesty International (AIUSA), said Monday in advance of a demonstration at the Uzbekistan embassy in Washington.

"Arming Uzbekistan may give tools to human rights violators and also provoke regional instability in terms of Uzbekistan's Central Asian neighbors," added Maureen Greenwood, AIUSA's advocacy director for Europe.

Even before September 11, Karimov had invited Washington to establish a permanent military presence in Uzbekistan, apparently as part of an effort both to ward off pressure from Russia or China and as a security guarantee against internal opposition.

Tom Malinowski, director of HRW's Washington office, said this week Washington should use that as a way to encourage reform. "What [U.S. officials] don't seem to get is that they have extraordinary leverage now," he said. "It's going to be much smaller [in the future] and they need to use it."

In a joint declaration issued at the end of a meeting Tuesday between Secretary of State Colin Powell and his Uzbek counterpart, Abdulaziz Kamilov, Washington pledged to "regard with grave concern" any external threats to Tashkent's security, while Uzbekistan promised to intensify democratic and economic reforms.

Karimov is scheduled to meet with Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld Wednesday before flying on to New York City where he will meet with the new mayor, Michael Bloomberg.

Copyright 2002 OneWorld.net

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