The Uzbek authorities announced on Monday the death of 18 people during clashes on Friday in Karakalpakstan, during demonstrations denouncing a constitutional reform project which would reduce the autonomy granted to this poor region in the north-west of the country and of which Nukus is the capital. .
“The reports we have received of serious violence, including murders, during the protests are very worrying,” Michelle Bachelet said in a statement.
She called on “the authorities to exercise the utmost restraint” and to “immediately open a transparent and independent investigation into any allegations of criminal acts […]including violations committed by State agents”.
The United States, for its part, expressed its concern and called on all parties to seek a “peaceful solution” to the tensions. “We urge the authorities to conduct a full, credible and transparent investigation into the violence, in accordance with international standards and best practices,” said Ned Price, spokesperson for the US State Department, in a press release.
Uzbekistan is a former Soviet republic and a traditional ally of Russia. The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Tuesday with his Uzbek counterpart Chavkat Mirzioev. He “expressed his support for the efforts of the leaders of Uzbekistan to stabilize the situation in Karakalpakstan”.
Over 500 arrests
According to Michelle Bachelet, more than 500 people were also arrested.
“People should not be condemned for exercising their rights”, affirmed the former President of Chile, recalling that “under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Uzbekistan participates, everyone has right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, the right to participate in public affairs”, to see a lawyer promptly after his arrest and to have a fair trial.
Clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces are the most serious crisis experienced by Chavkat Mirzioev, former prime minister who became president in 2016 on the death of his predecessor and mentor Islam Karimov.
He carried out important economic and social reforms, also promising a timid political liberalisation. Re-elected in 2021, he recently gave a turn of the screw. The Head of State wants to reform the Constitution so that it allows him to stay in power longer.
