Death in Bobur Square: Survivors talk about the May Uzbek massacre

[muriel_volestrangler]

Interviewed in Romania, where 439 of them are in a camp on their way to - who knows where? No country has said it's willing to take them all in.

...

Crowds began to gather in Bobur Square from 7am on May 13. There were some armed oppositionists around a local government building at one end, say the refugees and international organisations that have investigated the massacre, but not among the 10,000 demonstrators in the square, who included large numbers of women and children. The first shooting began at 8am, says Hakim, as government militiamen drove up, opened fire and left, during which time he saw a woman and child killed. The car was followed by a military jeep, spraying the crowd with gunfire. Then "it came from all sides," says Dolim. "We had gone expecting speeches, not bullets."

Why did they stay in the square? "Because," says Hakim, "if you tried to leave by side streets, they were blocked by armoured cars. I saw people trying to escape being killed up those streets." Anyway, says Nizomidin, "we were expecting people from the government to arrive and stop it, to save us. Someone said Karimov was on his way, and people started cheering."

Instead, at about 10am, a group of armoured cars entered the square, criss-crossing its edges and firing indiscriminately. In no way, say the witnesses, were they targeting the armed men at the other end. The shooting continued sporadically until 5pm, when two columns of armed personnel carriers arrived. "The second opened fire directly at us," says Yuldash. "I saw people falling around me, women and children too; screaming and blood everywhere. I saw at least five small children killed."

By the end, says Pulat, "there was one road open, along which we could get away". It led to a junction, blocked by APCs, but for a left turn, and along this route, the bedraggled procession proceeded. "We formed a group - I'd say about 3,000-strong," recalls Nizomidin. "We put men on the edges, to protect women and children."

...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1568514,00.html

And the reaction of the US, UK and other governments has been nothing, basically. Karimov still rules Uzbekistan, and has told the US to quit the airbase they lease, in January next year.

[enigma000]

1. The West has slowly turned against Karimov

On June 8, McCormack indicated that the Bush administration doesn’t accept Karimov’s account of the events. He said the United States believes that "hundreds of innocent civilians were killed" that day. He said this conclusion is based on what he called "reliable eyewitness accounts."

http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/civilsociety/articles/pp061105.shtml

But the Chinese are keen to deeped ties with Karimov's regime.

http://english.people.com.cn/200507/06/eng20050706_194346.html

Way to go BRIC !