Uncertainty clouds nation as President Karimov ails
MOSCOW/BISHKEK: Ex-Soviet nation Uzbekistan has plunged into unchartered territory after strongman leader Islam Karimov, who has dominated the country for over 25 years, was rushed into intensive care after a stroke at the weekend.
While conflicting rumours of Mr Karimov’s condition buzz through the Central Asian nation, one thing is sure — the strategic country is facing a moment of uncertainty unparallelled in its postSoviet history.
“The developments are unprecedented,” Steve Swerdlow, Central Asia researcher for Human Right Watch, said.
“The entire state has been Islam Karimov; Islam Karimov has been the state for over quarter of a century, ruling with an iron fist.”
Former Soviet apparatchik Mr Karimov, 78, whose brutal crackdown on dissent has been widely criticised by rights groups, has been at the helm of the strategic country bordering Afghanistan from since before it gained independence from Moscow in 1991.
His daughter, Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, announced on social media Monday that he was in a “stable” condition in hospital after suffering a cerebral haemorrhage over the weekend.
Since then the authorities in the tightly controlled state have released no further official statement on his health.
While there has been no confirmation of Mr Karimov’s latest condition, the gravity of his illness has left many in the country now facing up to the prospect of life without the only ruler they have ever known.
“Uzbeks have known for a long time that that moment would arrive, so no one would be surprised, but no one knows what will happen next,” said Scott Radnitz, an associate professor at the University of Washington.
Mr Karimov lacks a clear successor after being re-elected to a fifth term in 2015 with more than 90% of the vote. The country has never held an election judged free and fair by international monitors.
“There are two questions now: First, is there a plan for succession we don’t know about? Second, even if there is, will the principals stick to it?” Mr Radnitz said.