The Curmudgeon

YOU'LL COME FOR THE CURSES. YOU'LL STAY FOR THE MUDGEONRY.

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

News 2020

Three times winner of the Guardian Media Group Award for Nuance

The Democratic Party of Uzbekistan is calling for the extradition of 82-year-old former president Islam Karimov, who is undergoing hospital treatment in Britain. The recently-legalised nationalist group claims that Mr Karimov's government committed thousands of political "disappearances" and murders around the turn of the century.

Although the Uzbek government has not joined in the calls for Mr Karimov's extradition, it is thought that they would welcome the opportunity to put him on trial and provide a high-profile scapegoat for the restive Uzbek population.

Many people in Uzbekistan object to the government's IMF-sponsored economic policies, which they blame for rising unemployment and shortages. The government's decision to join the military coalition in Iran has also been widely criticised. The Uzbek economy is in poor shape, so few people can afford televisions and the wider perspective they bring.

The British government is also thought to be embarrassed by the allegations against Mr Karimov, as he has lived in this country for several years and is a personal acquaintance of the former Prime Minister, Lord Blair of Belmarsh. Asked to comment about the allegations, Lord Blair said Mr Karimov had been a strong leader of his country.

"Strong leaders inevitably make enemies," he continued from his fortified bath-chair in Essex. "Winston Churchill made enemies. So did Margaret Thatcher, George W Bush, Alfred the Great and Jesus Christ. Even I made enemies," said Lord Blair.

Mr Karimov himself was unavailable for comment. Despite being a valued dinner companion and raconteur, he is said to be suffering from diabetes, memory loss, arthritis, leukaemia, irritable bowel syndrome and the primary stages of Alzheimer's disease. Some experts say that the memory loss could date from his time as president, raising doubts over the degree to which he may possibly have known about the crimes supposedly committed by the government of which he was said to be in charge.

The Democratic Party of Uzbekistan was banned for several years because of its extremism. Mr Karimov is in his eighties and was born in an orphanage.

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