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:: MAX BLACK ::
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."--C.S. Lewis
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:: Saturday, May 14, 2005 ::
The Uzbekistan Prison Riot
I have a friend who is an Uzbeki and last night we chatted about the protests and riots happening in his country. He summarized by saying "we are afraid of our government but we are more afraid of the Taliban". From conversations with his family, he was convinced the protests were being led by Wahabists and was confident the iron-fisted Karimov will never let the demonstrations continue. If Karimov can't put a lid on the uprising, and should the "revolutionaries" destabilize Karimov's regime, Uzbekistan could end up a Taliban stronghold. At this point, it looks like Bush has no choice but support Vladimir Putin's corrupt puppet dictatorship.
Update: I found this assesment by Peace Corps volunteer Wanderlustress to be very much in line with what I'm hearing:"It would be "reductionist" to interpret this as a purely religious movement, or a drive for democracy. I maintain that the worsening economic situation for the general population, coupled with increased taxation, systemic corruption, and a host of other factors converge into a force of disobedience that leave no other choice, no other outlet for people who need to find a way to improve their lives, even if it means risking it. There's not much else to lose..."
Update 2: Here is an excerpt from a letter from one of the "terrorists" via Publius Pundit. This doesn't look like Talibanspeak to me:"We could tolerate it no longer,...We are unjustly accused of membership of Akramia. We were tormented for almost a year, but they could not prove us guilty in court. Then they started persecuting our nearest and dearest.
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"If we don't demand our rights, no one else will protect them for us. The problems that affect you trouble us as well. If you have a government job, your salary is not enough to live on. If you earn a living by yourself, they start envying you and putting obstacles in your way. If you talk about your pain, no one will listen. If you demand your rights, they will criminalise you."
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"Dear Andijanis! Let us defend our rights. Let the region's governor come, and representatives of the president too, and hear our pain. When we make demands, the authorities should hear us. If we stick together, they will not do anything bad to us."
Of course, as Putin is so fond of doing, anyone who challenges the corrupt system is tarred with the catch-all phrase "terrorist", and criminalized. It is interesting, however, that the "terrorists" appear to have crossed the Kyrgistan border near Anjijan with weapons.
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:: Max 8:11 AM [+] ::
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