Islom Abdug‘aniyevich Karimov (
Cyrillic Uzbek: Ислом Абдуғаниевич Каримов;
Russian: Ислам Абдуганиевич Каримов
Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov) (born on January 30, 1938) has served as the
President of
Uzbekistan since 1991.
Karimov was born in an orphanage in
Samarkand,
Uzbek SSR,
Soviet Union, growing up to study economics and engineering at university.
Rise to power
Karimov became an official in the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union, becoming the party's First Secretary in Uzbekistan in 1989. On March 24, 1990 he became President of the
Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. He declared Uzbekistan an independent nation on
August 31,
1991. He won Uzbekistan's first presidential election on
December 29 with 86% of the vote. The elections were called unfair, with state-run propaganda and a falsified vote count, although the opposing candidate and leader of the (Freedom) Party,
Muhammad Salih, had a chance to participate.
Presidency
In 1995, Karimov extended his term until 2000 through a widely criticized
referendum. He was re-elected with 91.9% of the vote on 9 January, 2000. The
United States said that this election "was neither free nor fair and offered Uzbekistan's voters no true choice"
[ EurasiaNet]. The sole opposition candidate, Abdulhafiz Jalalov, implicitly admitted that he entered the race only to make it seem democratic and publicly stated that he voted for Karimov.
After the
September 11, 2001 attacks Uzbekistan was considered a strategic ally in the United States' "
War on Terrorism" campaign because of a mutual opposition to the
Taliban. Uzbekistan hosted an 800-strong U.S. troop presence at the
Karshi-Khanabad base, also known as "K2", which supported U.S.-led efforts in the
2001 invasion of Afghanistan.
[ Global Security] This move was criticized by Human Rights Watch which said the U.S. government subordinated the promotion of human rights to assistance in the War in Afghanistan. U.S.-Uzbek relations deteriorated in May 2005 when the U.S. government criticized the Uzbek government's reaction to
protests in Andijan. In July 2005 U.S. military forces left Karshi-Khanabad.
[ BBC News]Karimov was mobilized against the
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and
Hizb-ut-Tahrir,
Islamist organizations that the government has designated as terrorist.
[ Yale Global Online]. The Uzbek government sentenced
Tohir Yo‘ldosh and
Juma Namangani, leaders of the IMU, to death
in absentia.
[ Human Rights Watch] Namangani died in
Afghanistan in 2001, and Tohir Yo‘ldosh was killed in an airstrike on August 27, 2009.
[ CNS]Karimov sought another term in the
December 2007 presidential election, despite arguments that he was ineligible due to the two-term limit on the presidency. On
November 6 2007, Karimov accepted the nomination of the
Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party to run for a third term. On
November 19, the Central Election Commission announced the approval of Karimov's candidacy, a decision that Karimov's opponents condemned as illegal.
Following the election on 23 December, preliminary official results showed Karimov winning with 88.1% of the vote, on a turnout rate that was placed at 90.6%. Observers from groups allied to the Karimov administration such as the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the
Commonwealth of Independent States gave the election a positive assessment. However, observers from the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe criticized the election as lacking a "genuine choice," while others deemed the election, a "political charade," given that all three of Karimov's rivals began their campaign speeches by singing Karimov's praises.
Human rights and press freedom
The international community has repeatedly criticized the Karimov administration's record on
human rights and
press freedom. In particular,
Craig Murray, the British Ambassador from 2002 to 2004, wrote about financial corruption and human rights abuses during his term in office and later in his memoirs
Murder in Samarkand , pointing to reports of
boiling people to death. The
United Nations found
torture "institutionalized, systematic, and rampant" in Uzbekistan's judicial system.
[ United Nations Economic and Social Council] For several years,
Parade Magazine has selected Karimov for being one of the world's worst
dictators, citing to his tactics of
torture,
media censorship, and
fake elections.
In response, the Uzbek government criticized
Craig Murray for not behaving like a genuine British ambassador. It informally stated that diplomacy is more about mutual compromise rather than one-handed harsh criticism. The British government replaced
Craig Murray in 2005.
Personal life
Karimov's wife, Tatyana Akbarovna Karimova, is an economist.
[ Government of Uzbekistan] They have two daughters and three grandchildren. His eldest daughter,
Gulnara Karimova serves as an advisor for Uzbekistan's ambassador to
Russia and is believed to have built an extensive business empire that includes the largest mobile phone operator in the country, night clubs and a large cement factory.
[ Uzland]Karimov's second daughter, Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, is known in Uzbekistan for her role in promoting education and sports, as well as championing the rights of children. She is founder of major charity organizations in Uzbekistan - "You are not alone", Republican Social Children's Fund for helping orphans, and Republican Center for Social Adaptation of Children, mainly focusing at disabled children and those from vulnerable groups. She was instrumental in launching nationwide reforms to improve the situation in orphanages across Uzbekistan, which resulted in many children being offered better opportunities for development. Lola is the permanent representative of Uzbekistan to UNESCO.
See also
