Posted on 31-3-2004

Why Bombs In Uzbekistan?
by Esmer Islamov*, 3/30/04

A series of bombings and shootings March 29 left at least 19 people dead
and dozens more wounded in Uzbekistan, according to official reports.
Authorities confirmed two suicide bombings at the main bazaar in the Uzbek
capital of Tashkent, but the full extent of the violence remained
difficult to determine, in large measure due to the government’s tight
control over mass media and information gathering. Unconfirmed reports of
numerous other bombings and shooting were circulating in Tashkent,
including a bombing late at night on March 28 near one of President Islam
Karimov’s residences.

Uzbek officials quickly sought to link confirmed attacks in Tashkent and
Bukhara to international terrorism. Prosecutor Rashid Kadyrov noted that
the use of suicide bombers in the attacks "indicated foreign involvement."
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Sadiq Safayev said that the "hands of
international terror" were behind the violence "Attempts are being made to
split the international anti-terror coalition," he said.

Tashkent residents interviewed by EurasiaNet appeared to treat the
government assertions skeptically. Many believed the attacks to be
connected to pent-up popular frustration generated the government’s
ongoing crackdown on individual liberty, along with officials’ reluctance
to take action to improve a deteriorating economy. [For background see the
Eurasia Insight archive]. "Why are we so all so poor?" asked one man
interviewed near the Chorsu bazaar, scene of the suicide bombings. The man
blamed the government for imposing restrictions that stifled economic
opportunities for most Uzbeks. The majority of vendors at markets, he
added, were operating illegally because they could not afford to stay in
business if they followed government regulations, including the imposition
of onerous tariffs on imported goods. As a result, they were vulnerable to
police shake-downs. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]
"People see no legal way to make an honest living. They are desperate,"
the man said.

No organization has claimed responsibility for the March 29 attacks.
Kadyrov said a leading suspect was Hizb-ut-Tahrir, an underground
organization that has advocated the peaceful ouster of Karimov’s
government and the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in Uzbekistan.
Another prime suspect, in the government’s view, is the Islamic Movement
of Uzbekistan. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight
archive].

The web site, Muslim Uzbekistan, quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as
saying suspects were in custody and being interrogated. If a Hizb link is
proved, it would mark a drastic break with the past for the movement. Up
to now, Hizb has operated clandestinely, its activities largely limited to
the distribution of anti-government leaflets and posters. [For additional
information see the Eurasia Insight archive].

In recent weeks, the Uzbek government has mounted an intense information
campaign against Hizb. Uzbek Youth Radio has led the charge, airing a
series of scathing commentaries aimed at discouraging Uzbeks from joining
the underground movement. "The wicked Hizb-ut-Tahrir, after entering our
country, has been brainwashing our young people and hatching various plots
to seize power by force," said a March 8 commentary. An editorial aired
three days earlier said: "Hizb-ut-Tahrir members claim they are going to
come to power by peaceful means. However, their leaflets call on their
supporters to wage the holy war, jihad."

In a televised address late March 29, Karimov alleged, without producing
concrete data, that "terrorists had been planning the attacks for
six-to-eight months." The president announced that a state commission had
already been formed to investigate the attacks. "From all that we know,
the goal of the organizers of these crimes was the destruction of popular
peace, in order to sow disorder in society and change the political course
of the country," Karimov said.

Regardless of who was behind the March 29 attacks, it appears that the
primary target was Uzbekistan’s security apparatus. Unconfirmed reports
suggested that the Chorsu market bombings were specifically designed to
inflict significant police casualties. The first suicide bomber detonated
at approximately 8:20 am not far from the bazaar’s bus terminal. It came
at a time when two police shifts were overlapping. Approximately 50
minutes elapsed between the first and second suicide blasts, indicating
that the bombers wanted to give police time to sweep the area of
bystanders, thus presenting a clearer, more concentrated target. Both
suicide bombers were believed to be women. According to the Muslim
Uzbekistan web site, there was a third, unconfirmed, bombing at the Chorsu
market, in which a man jumped out of a vehicle and "plunged into [a group
of] policemen and blew himself [up]."

A EurasiaNet correspondent arrived at the site of the Chorsu explosions at
9.30 am The bazaar was closed and cordoned off by the police. Out of about
15 policemen approached for an explanation, only one admitted that there
had been explosions. Others claimed that "the market is closed for a
sanitary inspection" or that they did not know anything. Despite the
havoc, some Chorsu vendors continued to sell their wares, mostly food
products, near the central entrance to the market. The rest of the city
appeared relatively calm.

A palpable hostility for the police could be felt among onlookers at the
Chorsu bazaar following the blasts. Many complained about arbitrary
behavior by law-enforcement officers. Some mentioned an incident the day
before the blasts occurred, in which a vendor had been beaten to death by
police. The circumstances surrounding the incident could not be
immediately verified.

In addition to the Chorsu bombings, state television provided information
about two separate attacks against police officers during the night of
March 28-29 in Tashkent. One shooting incident near the city’s Textile
Institute left two police officers dead. Another police officer was killed
and one wounded in a shootout near the TTZ Tractor Plant. Unconfirmed
reports said an explosion occurred near Karimov’s Durmen residence, which
is located in the same area as the TTZ plant. Shortly after the shooting
incident at TTZ, police foot patrols flooded the area.

In addition, state-controlled media reported that an explosion in the city
of Bukhara killed 10 people and 26 injured. Official accounts said the
blast occurred in an apartment being used by "terrorists" as a bomb-making
factory. At least two other bombs went off in Bukhara, Uzbek authorities
said. The Itar-Tass news agency quoted Uzbek Foreign Ministry spokesman
Elkhom Zakirov as saying no casualty reports had been received from
Bukhara. The Interfax news agency, citing a source within the Uzbek
Interior Ministry, said it was possible that bombings "were planned in
other regions" across the country.

The March 29 attacks were the most violent incidents to hit Uzbekistan
since a series of bombings in Tashkent in February 1999. Karimov blamed
those attacks on the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, but a definitive link
to Islamic radicals was never produced. The 1999 bombings sparked a
far-reaching government crackdown on civil rights, in which thousands of
Muslims were arrested for engaging in non state-sanctioned forms of
religious expression. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

*Note: Esmer Islamov is the pseudonym of a freelance journalist
specializing in Uzbek political affairs.