Why this is made?

Tragic events in Andijan and around them are obviously in the center of attention of all citizens of Uzbekistan.

As a person that has access to Internet I was in the in the thick of the events by following the messages, statements and publications in national and international Mass Media made on 13 May and later on.

The great flow of various information on this occasion often contradicting to each other attracts to itself attention. They varied from attempts to look seriously into and asses the situation, define causes that resulted in the tragic events in Andijan to the most inferior malevolent information based on nothing but lies, gossips and telephone messages so called informers from places.

And all these was brought to the public as compared facts, when the work of investigating and expert commission was just started. This is a very complicated job considering the level of tragedy and number of dead and injured people.

It is clear even to a uninitiated and inexperienced person that foreign Mass Media has started in advance programmed massive attack on Uzbekistan and its leadership by blaming them in all deadly sins.

It seems that organizers and authors of such statements and publications could not bothered by searching for reliable sources of information, did not make even a slightest effort to connect one fact with another, or at least speculatively to follow chronicle, course, development and consistency of the events.

It could be seen by with the naked eye that the main goal set by the organizers of information attack was to drop a flow of malicious calumny and insinuations firstly to the heads of western audience by using prepared in advance stamps and stereotypes.

As if, there were not any well planned diversionary terrorist attacks, any armed militants, who with elaborated scenario, had attacked police and military units on midnight on May 12-13, later prison by shooting dead sentry and duty officers and having acquired huge number of submachine guns and other arms release 600 criminals and prisoners, take hostages more than 50 people, seize the building of Regional Administration and surrounded themselves with the life-shield from women, children and elder people.

It was, as it turned out, according to some reports only an “uprising”, or even a “peaceful demonstration” of the population on the streets and squares of Andijan, which was displeased with economic conditions, and which was ultimately shot by the order of the government. It turns out, there were not any negotiations, starting from early morning on 13 May and lasting for long 9-10 hours with the leaders of a gang, which has taken a refuge in the building of administration. According to residents of Andijan, during these talks not a single shot was made – until the inspirers and organizers of the terrorist act drew the negotiations into a deadlock.

At the same time, while negotiations were conducted, some news agencies’ websites have released, obviously, prepared in advance information that governmental troops shot down women and children, and the death toll have already outnumbered 700-800 people. And as foreign commentators have calculated, while visiting Andijan, the death toll have not exceeded 130-150 people.

This is the exact picture being inculcated into the perception of people, which are thousand miles away from the spot, and it is natural, it can cause anyone’s concern.

I ask myself: why this has been made?

I believe, the principal reason is to create an absolutely distorted picture of the events, and give an opportunity to genuine initiators- script writers to flee from justice, before the investigation is complete and organizers along with executors will be judged, after their guilt will be proven.

As well as millions of people, not being indifferent to our country’s future destiny, and being a man, which is desperately trying to find logic in the actions of some news agencies and mass media, I have some questions, which I wanted to ask on these pages.

First question. Who needed and benefited from this staging, this terrorist act, which has claimed so many lives.

Who is not suitable with the secular, democratic path of market reforms, stepwise and consecutively accomplished in the country.

Who does not agree with an independent, sovereign foreign policy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, according to which people’s and state’s interests are the priority.

The second question. In light of tragic events in Andijan how should we regard the so-called doctrine on “promoting freedom and democracy”, which is being widely propagated today.

It is worthy of serious attention the opinion of a renowned writer, laureate of Nobel Prize A.Solzhenitsyn who has seen and experienced much during his long life, the man who lived for many years in the USA.

“Democracy can not be implanted from above by any smart law or any wise politicians. It should not be put on like a hat. Democracy can only grow, like all the plants, from the bottom to upwards. It is impossible to impose democracy, bring it with the bayonet”- stresses A.Solzhenitsyn.

The third question. Is it proven the facts appeared on Internet sites about involvement in preparing and conducting the terrorist act in Andijan of notorious T. Yuldashev, head of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan who during those days was far from the border of Uzbekistan?

And at the end of 2004 and beginning of 2005 US intelligence officers, the country that itself put the IMU to the list of terrorist organizations, had meetings with him and his entourage in Kabul and on the border with Pakistan.

The fourth question. How should we assess the fact that Uzbekistan being regarded by the US and West as one of the active participants of the International antiterrorist coalition has not received from them even a moral support in a time when it was once again subjected to terrorist aggression?

Instead, there are the ongoing garbling and distortion of facts and events, explicit attempts to blacken Uzbekistan.

Will all these lead to the rupture of fragile ranks of the antiterrorist coalition?

I am convinced that today every one living in this generous and hospitable Uzbek land asks these questions. This is the country of hard-working, very kind and open-hearted people capable of distinguishing between those who are their true friend and those who just talk about it.

Anphym Khlizov,

Pensioner

“Pravda Vostoka”