Islam Karimov: Uzbekistan to bury its strongman leader
Uzbekistan is preparing to bury President Islam Karimov, one of Asia's most authoritarian leaders, who died this week aged 78.
His death was confirmed by the government in Tashkent on Friday, six days after he was taken to hospital following a stroke.
He ruled for 27 years, and is accused by human rights groups of harshly repressing dissent.
Saturday's funeral comes amid uncertainty over who will succeed him.
However, the occasion - in Mr Karimov's home city of Samarkand - will be overseen by Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev, seen as a potential successor.
Three days of mourning will be observed.
A United Nations report has described the use of torture under Mr Karimov as "systematic".
The late leader often justified his strong-arm tactics by highlighting the danger from Islamist militancy in the mainly Muslim country, which borders Afghanistan.
Police outside the Tashkent hospital where Islam Karimov was being treated
The official announcement of Islam Karimov's death came on Friday night but Turkey's prime minister had sent condolences to Tashkent hours earlier - live on television, suggesting the funeral invitations had already gone out. So why did the Uzbek authorities hold back with their statement?
It is possible they were focussed on practicalities - preparing the burial site and gathering suitably senior world dignitaries for the send-off. Perhaps, too, Uzbekistan's powerful security service was stalling, watching for any hint of unrest or a power grab?
But Islam Karimov ruled for more than a quarter of a century without naming a successor so the delay could well point to a struggle for power behind the scenes. It is hard to know, in such a closed system.
That has left Uzbekistan-watchers trying to read the signs. In Soviet times, whoever led the funeral commission would end up running the country. That may mean Prime Minister Mirziyoyev is the man to watch but for Uzbekistan all this is unprecedented and it is early days.
Police could be seen guarding an area in Samarkand on Friday
'Immense pain'
News of Mr Karimov's death was finally confirmed after several foreign leaders and diplomatic sources reported it on Friday, following days of rumours that he had already died.
Reports from diplomatic sources suggested several regional leaders were making plans to visit Samarkand for the funeral, with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev expected to represent Russia.
US President Barack Obama said in a statement the US remained "committed to partnership with Uzbekistan, to its sovereignty, security, and to a future based on the rights of all its citizens. for the people of Uzbekistan".
Some say Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev could have the upper hand
Expressing his condolences in a
statement (in Russian), Russian President Vladimir Putin described Mr Karimov as a statesman "who had contributed to the security and stability of Central Asia" and who would be a "great loss for the people of Uzbekistan".
President Putin addressed his message to Uzbek senate leader Nigmatulla Yuldashev who, under the constitution, becomes acting president pending early elections.
Mr Yuldashev is unlikely to fill the presidential role more permanently, analysts say. Mr Mirziyoyev has been in office since 2003 and his deputy, Rustam Azimov, is also seen as a key player.
One of Mr Karimov's daughters, Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, posted a black square on Instagram with the words: "He left us... I choose my words and cannot believe it myself..."
'Repression unchallenged'
Anna Neistat, a senior director of research with Amnesty International, told the BBC the late leader had repressed dissent unchallenged by the international community.
"For years and years Karimov was shutting down any type of opposition, throwing in jail anybody who he believed could challenge the regime," she said.
"Torture, arbitrary detention, unfair trials defined the criminal justice system."
During
a crackdown in the eastern city of Andijan in 2005, hundreds of people were killed.
After a wave of car bombs targeted Tashkent in 1999, Mr Karimov said: "I am ready to rip off the heads of 200 people, to sacrifice their lives, for the sake of peace and tranquillity in the country. If a child of mine chose such a path, I myself would rip off his head."
His followers argued that curbs on freedom were a small price to pay for law and order.
"Yes of course, it's a price for stability, because we see what is happening now in Syria, in Iraq, in Yemen, in Afghanistan and even in Europe - you cannot defend yourself from the terrorist attacks," Sherzod Igamberdiev, a lawyer in Tashkent, told BBC News.
Republic of Uzbekistan
Capital: Tashkent
- Population: 28.1 million
- Area: 447,400 sq km (172,700 sq miles)
- Major languages: Uzbek, Russian, Tajik
- Major religion: Islam
- Life expectancy: 66 years (men), 72 years (women)
- Currency: Uzbek som
Analysts say Mr Karimov has played Russia, China and the West against each other to keep Uzbekistan from total isolation and to receive limited US aid.
Strains in relations with Moscow have appeared intermittently, notably when Tashkent suspended its membership of a Russian-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation. In 2014, Russia wrote off most of Uzbekistan's foreign debt to Moscow, forgiving $865m.
