Tuesday May 17, 2005
The Guardian

www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1485524,00.html

Unrest spread across eastern Uzbekistan yesterday and fears grew of mass arrests as troops surrounded a border village and the state sought to stamp its authority on a region in revolt.

The continuing tension came amid growing outrage from the international community at the alleged massacre of up to 500 civilians in the city of Andijan on Friday.

In a change of tone, the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, called for political reform. Speaking in Ireland as she flew home from Iraq, Ms Rice said: “We have been encouraging the Karimov government to make reforms, to make the system more open, to make it possible for people to have a political life.”

Ms Rice said Uzbekistan, where the autocratic President Islam Karimov has ruled since Soviet times, had a political system that was “too closed”.

The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, called for diplomats and journalists to be taken to Andijan today and said he remained “very concerned indeed about the accounts… of troops opening fire on civilians”.

After talks with the Uzbekistan foreign minister yesterday, the British ambassador, David Moran, said Tashkent had agreed to EU diplomats visiting Andijan, possibly as early as today.

Mr Moran had asked for journalists to be allowed access too. He said he had asked for details of what had happened in Andijan and in the nearby village of Korasuu, on the border with Kyrgyzstan, where further clashes have been reported. In a statement after the meeting with Mr Moran, the Uzbek foreign ministry again denied troops had opened fire on demonstrators.

The ministry said: “During the meeting, [the ambassador] was told that Britain’s statements … that government troops had allegedly opened fire on demonstrators, were absolutely groundless and rash.”

The UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, yesterday joined international calls for restraint in the use of force and for all parties concerned to comply with international humanitarian law.

There were also reports yesterday that hundreds more may have died over the weekend in clashes and continued unrest along the border between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

The village of Karasuu has been out of government con trol since Saturday when an armed group set fire to its official buildings as they fled the Uzbek military after staging a jailbreak in Andijan.

Witnesses said Uzbek troops were blocking the roads around the village.

Associated Press reported that gunfire could still be heard in Andijan yesterday. Residents said government troops were fighting militants in the outlying Bogishonol district of the city.

AP also reported that men were digging a mass grave under the watch of officers from the Uzbek security service.

There were reports from some human rights workers that mass arrests had already begun in Andijan, with as many as 1,500 detained.