U.S. Senators Urge Inquiry in Uzbek Violence

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan —  Several U.S. senators said Sunday that the Uzbek government’s response to a recent uprising would affect relations with Washington unless the Central Asian nation’s leaders allowed an international investigation into the bloodshed.

The visit by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and two other senators increased U.S. pressure on Uzbekistan to drop its resistance to an international inquiry amid widely varying claims about the death toll.

“Without an international investigation, it will be very difficult to move forward and have the relationship that we would like to have,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), said at a news conference.

The former Soviet republic is host to a U.S. military base for operations in neighboring Afghanistan. The U.S. government also has trained and equipped Uzbek troops and police.

There are indications that some U.S.-trained forces were involved in the May 13 bloodshed in the eastern city of Andijon. Under U.S. law, no unit of a foreign military can receive training if it is found to have committed a gross violation of human rights.

Unrest erupted in Andijon when militants seized a local prison and government headquarters. Uzbek authorities deny that troops opened fire on unarmed civilians, but rights activists say they killed up to 750 people. The official toll has risen from 169 to 173.

The senators said they had met with members of four main Uzbek opposition parties, but that government officials had declined to meet with them.

McCain said a complete investigation should be conducted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Uzbekistan’s authoritarian president, Islam A. Karimov, has rejected calls for an international inquiry, saying Uzbek authorities would conduct their own probe. He has blamed the unrest on Islamic extremists. Some of those who took part in the uprising took hostages and used civilians as shields.

The U.S. delegation, which also included Sen. John E. Sununu (R-N.H.), called on authorities to allow opposition parties and free media and to stop economic repression, saying only such measures will prevent popular uprisings.

“The level of political and economic repression is unsustainable and it will only serve to stimulate discontent and unrest among the people of Uzbekistan,” Sununu said.