- 18 people killed in clashes in autonomous Karakalpakstan region.
- Security crackdown has drawn parallels with 2005 Andijan protests.
- Demonstrators clashed with police during protests in the western region of Nukus on Sunday.
18 people were dead in clashes in the autonomous Karakalpakstan region of Uzbekistan last week when mass protests erupted over planned constitutional changes affecting the territory’s status, Uzbek authorities said on Monday.
The unrest, which pitted protesters against security forces, was the most significant challenge to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s rule since he ascended to power from the post of prime minister in 2016, when his long-serving mentor Islam Karimov died.
The size of the protest on Friday was unprecedented for the Karakalpakstan region and possibly Uzbekistan.
The security crackdown that ensued has drawn parallels with protests in the eastern city of Andijan in 2005, where 170 people were killed according to an official toll considered conservative at the time.
Uzbek lawmaker Bobur Bekmurodov said that analogy was “unfair” in a tweet on Monday, praising Mirziyoyev’s willingness to engage in dialogue over the crisis.
In the aftermath of the violence, Mirziyoyev scrapped the constitutional amendments that would have removed the republic’s constitutional right to self-determination.
Eyewitnesses told AFP of a tense calm in the region, where a state of emergency is in effect.
The diplomatic reaction to events in the remote region has been muted so far.
On Monday, the European Union called for an independent investigation into “the violent events in Karakalpakstan”.
“We deeply regret the casualties and loss of human life and continue to follow developments closely,” it said in a statement.
Russia, Uzbekistan’s traditional ally and top trade partner ahead of China as of last year, indicated it had no plans to intervene.
Moscow, which is pressing ahead with a military offensive in Ukraine, said the events in Uzbekistan were the country’s “internal affair”.
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