Themes in official discourses on terrorism in Central Asia

Third World Quarterly

Volumn 26, Issue 1, 2005, Pages 199-213

  Horsman, Stuart ^a  

^a FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

POLITICAL CONFLICT; POLITICAL DISCOURSE; TERRORISM;

ASIA; CENTRAL ASIA; EURASIA;

EID: 27844595428     PISSN: 01436597     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/0143659042000322982     Document Type: Review

References (130)

1. For a discussion of the 'discourse of danger', see S Torjesen, 'Distortions in the discourse of danger: the case of small arms proliferation in Kyrgyzstan', in Central Asia - Perspectives from the Field Conference, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, 7-8 November 2003, p14.
2. On the 'gradualist approach', see S Horsman, 'Uzbekistan: ten years of gradualism or stagnation'?', in S Cummings (ed), Oil, Transition and Security in Central Asia, London: Routledge, 2003, pp 47-58.
3. B Buzan, People, States and Fear, Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1991, p 79.
4. MJ Gasiorowski, 'Regime legitimacy and national security: the case of Pahlavi Iran', in E Azar & C Moon (eds). National Security in the Third World: Management of Internal and External Threats, Aldershot: Edward Elgar, 1988, p 244.
5. For a critique of this perception of insecurity see S Torjesen, 'Distortions in the discourse of danger', p 14;
6. and for discussion of the politics of Islamophobia in Uzbekistan, see A Bohr, Uzbekistan: Politics and Foreign Policy, London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1998, pp 25-30.
7. For an account of events in Namangan, see A Bohr, Uzbekistan, pp 26-27;
8. and for an analysis of the political manipulation of the Tajik civil war. see S Horsman, 'Uzbekistan's involvement in the Tajik civil war 1992-7: domestic considerations, Central Asian Survey, 18 (1), 1999, pp 37-48.
9. For more detailed discussion on each of these incidents, see. respectively, M Whitlock, Beyond the Oxus: The Central Asians, London: John Murray, 2002. pp 242-264;
10. P Polat, & N Butkevich, Unravelling the Mystery of the Tashkent Bombing: Theory and Implications, Eurasian Institute for Economic and Political Research, at http://cas.org/english/Krsten_4_12_00.htm;
11. International Crisis Group (ICG), Recent Violence in Central Asia: Causes and Consequences, Brussels, 18 October 2000, pp 3-5;
12. JS Smith, 'The IMU: alive and kicking?', Central Asian-Caucasus Analyst, at http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid = 1761;
13. Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), Reporting Central Asia (RCA), 244, 7 November 2003;
14. BBC News 'Violent unrest rocks Uzbekistan', at http:news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ aia-pacific/3581341.stm, 30/03/04;
15. and IWPR, RCA, 309, 20 August 2004.
16. R Kangas, 'The three faces of Islam in Uzbekistan', Transitions, 1 (24), 29 December 1995, p 21.
17. See, for example. '11 September and its aftermath: the geopolitics of terror', Geopolitics, 8 (3), Special Edition, Autumn 2003.
18. The UK Terrorism Act 2000. Chapter 11, Part 1.
19. Jangy Zaman, Osh, 0000 gmt, 5 December 2003.
20. Uzbek TV First Channel, 1620 gmt, 15 December 2000;
21. and Inson va Qonun, 11 May 2004, pp 1-3. Article 159 also does not distinguish between violent and non-violent anti-constitutional rhetoric and actions, such as calls for the establishment of a caliphate.
22. Khabar Television, 1500 gmt, 10 November 2003.
23. Khabar Television 2003. Ibid, emphasis added.
24. The other groups were the IMU/Islamic Movement of Turkestan (IMT); the East Turkestan Liberation Organisation and The East Turkestan Islamic Movement. ITAR-TASS, 0849 gmt, 19 November 2003.
25. See, for example, Jangy Zaman, Osh, 00000 gmt.
26. ITAR-TASS, 0849 gmt, 19 November 2003.
27. Quoted in O Allison, 'Uzbek authorities mobilize mass media to counter Islamic radical threat', at Eurasianet.org, 16 August 2004.
28. Uzbek TV First Channel, 1620 gmt, 15 December 2000.
29. Uzbek TV First Channel, 2000. ibid.
30. ICG, 'Radical Islam in Central Asia: responding to Hizb ut-Tahrir,' Asia Report, 58, June 2003, p 33;
31. IWPR, RCA, 244, 7 November 2003;
32. BBC News, 'Violent unrest rocks Uzbekistan', at http:news.bbc.-co.uk/2/ hi/aia-pacific/3581341.stm, 30 March 2004;
33. and IWPR, RAC, 309, 20 August 2004.
34. IWPR, RCA, 244, 7 November 2003.
35. IWPR, RCA, 309, 20 August 2004.
36. See Kavkazcenter.com.
37. See, for example, IWPR, RCA, 309, 20 August 2004.
38. For discussion on HT and the use of violence, see ICG, 'Radical Islam in Central Asia', p 25.
39. Kommersant, 5 September 2003. Germany has banned HT for its anti-Semitism and incitement to violence under its 1964 Law on Association. DDP news agency, 0753 gmt, 15 January 2003.
40. In 2003 the FCO estimated that there are up to 7000 political and religious prisoners in Uzbekistan. The vast majority of these were accused of belonging to HT. Foreign and Commonwealth Office, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights Annual Report 2003, at http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/ FullReport.pdf, p 29. HT members have received sentences in excess of 10 years for simply carrying or distributing leaflets. Those sentenced for involvement in the spring 2004 bombings received sentences ranging from three to 20 years.
41. Vecherniy Bishkek, 28 May 1999;
42. Megapolis, 4 April 2001, p 9
43. ; and ICG Central Asia, 'Islamist mobilisation and regional security', Asia Report, 14, 1 March 2001, p 18.
44. Independent and/or substantiated evidence of any activity by these groups is very limited at best, and certainly so after the early 1990s, when there may have been a number of small 'kitchen-table' groups who took advantage of the period's brief spell of political openness. The fact that court cases in Central Asia at present focus on HT, IMU and Wahhabi members also suggests that there may not be any other significant Islamist groups active in the region.
45. M Fredholm, Uzbekistan and the Threat from Islamic Extremism, CSRC, K 39, March 2003, p 15.
46. M Fredholm, Uzbekistan and the Threat from Islamic Extremism, 2003, p 15 Ibid;
47. also see S Horsman, 'Security issues facing the newly independent states of Central Asia', PhD thesis, University of Sheffield, 1999, pp 247-253.
48. See, for example, N Melvin, Uzbekistan: Transition to Authoritarianism on the Silk Road, Amsterdam: Harwood Academic, 2000, p 57.
49. Narodnye Slovo (Tashkent), 4 February 1995;
50. BBC, Inside Central Asia, 211, 16-22 February 1998, p 1.
51. In 1996 Rafik Saifulin, Uzbekistani Institute of Strategic and Regional Studies, blamed Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan for the perceived rise in 'Islamic fundamentalism' in the Ferghana Valley. R Saifulin, author's interview, Tashkent, 31 October 1996. See also L Usmanov, 'Will the Islamic factor determine the country's future?', Nezavisimaya gazeta, 6 January 1994;
52. A Komilov, MENA, 18 October 1998, quoted in Kangas, 'The three faces of Islam in Uzbekistan', p 20.
53. V Naumkin, Militant Islam in Central Asia: The Case of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Berkeley, CA: University of California, 2003, pp 33-34.
54. Amnesty International, Fear of Forcible Deportation/Fear of Torture, UA 305/01, 29 January 2001;
55. and Amnesty International, Uzbekistan: The Rhetoric of Human Rights Protection: Briefing for the United Nations Human Rights Committee, London, June 2001, p 19.
56. There are serious concerns about the reliability of Askarov's and many other confessions in Uzbekistan. As the FCO has reported, jail sentences often followed unfair trials including the use of torture 'to secure confessions, upon which nearly all prosecution cases rest'. FCO, Human Rights Annual Report 2003, p 29.
57. See Harakat website, 29 November 2003.
58. Blofeld is the fictional criminal mastermind in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel. S Montefiore, Stalin: In the Court of the Red Tsar, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2003, p 169.
59. Uzbek TV first channel, 1430 gmt, 19 August 2004 (in Russian).
60. ITAR-TASS, 0623 gmt, 8 October 2004.
61. Adolat, 8 November 2002.
62. See, for example, ICG, 'Central Asia: drugs and conflict', Asia Report, 25, 26 November 2001, p 9;
63. and M Fredholm, Uzbekistan and the Threat from Islamic Extremism, p 7.
64. Whitlock, Beyond the Oxus, p 254.
65. T Makarenko, quoted in Naumkin, Militant Islam in Central Asia, p 26.
66. Naumkin, Militant Islam in Central Asia, p 48.
67. Naumkin, Militant Islam in Central Asia Ibid, p 27.
68. See, for example, O Ruzaliev, 'The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan: lines to complete the portrait', Central Asia and the Caucasus, 3 (27), 2004, p 28.
69. M Rajabova, in Imon va Qonun, 11 May 2004, pp 1-3
70. ; and O Usmanov, in Novosti Nedeli, 6 May 2004, pp 32- 33.
71. For a detailed analysis of HT, see S Taji-Farouki, A Fundamentalist Quest, London: Grey Seal, 1996.
72. See Fredholm, Uzbekistan and the Threat from Islamic Extremism, p 13.
73. As the FCO notes, there have been a number of high profile HT deaths in custody, probably the result of torture. FCO, Human Rights Annual Report 2003, p 29;
74. and Tajikiston, 27 May 2004, pp 1, 9.
75. See, for example, Keston News Service, 'Central Asia: former Islamic fighter recounts life in training camp', 18 December 2001;
76. and Uzbek Radio First Programme, 1400 gmt, 4 September 2003.
77. President I Karimov, quoted on Uzbek TV First Channel. 1600 gmt, 3 December 2003.
78. Whether Uzbekistan was progressing towards democracy by 1999 is, however, moot. See, for example, Interfax, 'Uzbekistan: OSCE says Uzbekistan presidential elections undemocratic', 14 January 2000.
79. In 2002 Freedom House defined Uzbekistan as a 'Consolidated Autocrac(y) [that] show(ed) no momentum towards meaningful political liberalization'. Freedom House, Nations in Transit 2002: A Mixed Picture of Change, p 16. at http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/nitransit/2002/karatnycky_essay2002.pdf.
80. G Yemelianova, 'The impact of the post-11 September "war on terrorism" on Central Asia's Umma', paper presented at the CREES Annual Conference, Cumberland Lodge, 13- 15 June 2003.
81. A Rashid, quoted in Ruzaliev, 'The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan', p 25.
82. Quoted in Zerkalo, XXI, 30 November 2003.
83. Quoted in 'Uzbek government dismisses link between terrorism and poverty', Eurasia Insight, 4 May 2004.
84. O Allison, Eurasianet.org, 8 September 2004;
85. See also Uzbek TV First Channel, 'Ministry of Interior, border guard and villager anti-terror exercise', 1530 gmt, 21 May 2004;
86. and, for a non-Uzbekistani example, see 'Be vigilant or there will be trouble', Vecherniy Bishkek, 10 November 2003, p 7;
87. Uzbek TV First Channel, 'Ministry of Interior, border guard and villager anti-terror exercise'.
88. For discussion of the use of another security threat, the Tajik civil war, in Uzbekistan's nation- and state building programmes, see Horsman, 'Uzbekistan's involvement in the Tajik civil war', pp 37-48.
89. Safayev, Uzbekistan's Involvement in the Tajik Civil War op cit.
90. There are claims, however, that the public response to the March 2004 bombings was at best apathetic, with mistrust of the official version of events and little sympathy for the police causalities. See IWPR, RCA, 275, 6 May 2004.
91. Rashid, quoted in Ruzaliev, 'The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan', p 25.
92. See. for example, B Dave, 'Inventing Islam and an Islamic threat - in Kazakhstan', Transitions, 1 (24), 29 December 1995, pp 22-25.
93. For more on Mohammad Yusuf's period as Chief Mufti, see M Haghayegni, Islam and Politics in Central Asia, Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1995, pp 162- 163;
94. and MB Olcott, 'Islam and fundamentalism in independent Central Asia', in Y Ro'i (ed), Muslim Eurasia: Conflicting Legacies, Ilford: Frank Cass, 1995.
95. For his current, independent views, see 'Uzbekistan - former chief mufti calls for lifting of restrictions on Islam'. Forum 18. 1 November 2004.
96. See. for example. Uzbek BBC World Service, 1600 gmt, 11 September 2003;
97. and ICG, 'Radical Islam in Central Asia', p 35.
98. Naumkin, Militant Islam in Central Asia, pp 18-20.
99. Naumkin, Militant Islam in Central Asia Ibid, p 21.
100. Naumkin, Militant Islam in Central Asia Ibid.
101. Naumkin, Militant Islam in Central Asia Ibid, p 19.
102. Naumkin, Militant Islam in Central Asia Ibid, pp 18-21.
103. Naumkin, Militant Islam in Central Asia Ibid, p 53.
104. The IMU's more specific goals were: the freeing of all religious prisoners in Uzbekistan; the removal of President Karimov's government; and the establishment of a sharia-based state. IMU statement, 28 August 1999;
105. and ITAR-TASS, 28 October 1999, p 48.
106. IMU statement, 28 August 1999;
107. and Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1530 gmt, 11 October 1999.
108. Quoted in B Pannier, 'Central Asia: IMU leader says group's goal is return of Islam'. RFE/RI., 6 June 2001.
109. A Rashid, Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia, London: Yale University Press, 2002, p 13,
110. quoted in Hizb ut-Tahrir. 'The inaccuracies of the book 'Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia' written by Ahmed Rashid, Yale University Press, ISBN 03093454', at http:www.war-against-terrorism.info/waragiant/article/ articles14.htm, accessed 1 September 2002.
111. See, for example, HT, 'The Constitution of Uzbekistan is the law of disbelief and falsehood', 7 December 2001;
112. and Andijonnoma, 23 June 2001, p 2.
113. Personal communication with the author.
114. See, for example, one of HT'S websites, www.war-against-terrorism.com.
115. Whitlock, Beyond the Oxus, pp 242-264.
116. Whitlock, Beyond the Oxus Ibid, p 246.
117. Reuters, 2 May 1998, quoted in Bohr, Uzbekistan, p 29;
118. and Montefiore, Stalin, p 171.
119. Haghayegni, Islam and Politics in Central Asia, p 17.
120. Whitlock, Beyond the Oxus, p 246.
121. See for example, N Usmanov, 'Useful points of collaboration', Kommunist uzbekistana, June 1989, pp 47-48.
122. Arena, at http://www.freeuz.org, 14 August 2004.
123. Whitlock, Beyond the Oxus, pp 253-254.
124. Whitlock, Beyond the Oxus Ibid, p 96.
125. See also A Vaksberg, The Prosecutor and the Prey: Vyshinsky and the 1930s Moscow Show Trials, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1990, p 139.
126. J Voll, 'Central Asia as part of the modern Islamic world', in BF Manz (ed), Central Asia in Historical Perspective, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994, p 65.
127. Y Ro'i, Islam in the CIS: A Threat to Stability?, London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 2001, pp 26-27.
128. The term Wahhabism was used by the Soviets and now by the post-Soviet governments pejoratively for any Islamic group or trend they wished to label as seditious. Z Baran (ed), Understanding Sufism and its Potential Role in US Policy, Washington, DC: Nixon Center, 2 May 2004.
129. See Torjesen, 'Distortions in the discourse of danger', p 14.
130. I Karimov, interview with Komsomolskava pravda, quoted in ITAR-TASS World Service, 1131 gmt, 12 February 1993, SWB SU 1616, B4 18/2/93.