Show i Presidents of Russia Uzbekistan sign military treaty Peter Finn The Washington Post The presidents of Russia and Uzbekistan signed a military treaty atthe atthe at atthe the Kremlin on Monday forging an alliance that reasserts Moscow's influence in the former Soviet republic lic lie which until recently was a US U.S. j jj j ally R The deal which could foreshadow the establishment of a Russian military military mili mili- tary base there allows each country i the use of military installations on theother's the theo theother's o others other's territory The agreement also calls for them to provide military aid aida a to each other in the event either is facing facing facing fac fac- ing aggression Uzbekistan was a close ally of ih the United States hosting a US U.S. air base until relations became severely strained over Uzbek troops' troops suppression suppression suppression sion of an uprising last May in the city of In July the Uzbek government gave US U.S. forces six months to leave Mondays Monday's treaty was signed shortly after the Uzbek Supreme Court sentenced sentenced sentenced sen sen- 15 people to 14 to 20 years in prison on charges of attempting to overthrow the government in the violence Human rights groups condemned the week seven-week proceeding as a show trial Although Russia has historically viewed the countries just beyond its borders as part of its sphere of ence Western-leaning Western governments have come to power in Georgia Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan in the past two years Uzbekistan however is a rare case of loyalties shifting toward Moscow The killings led the United States and European Union to call for foran foran foran an independent international inquiry a demand that President Islam Karimov rejected China and Russia have both ba backed ked his version of events that people were killed most of them terrorists or local officials officials officials in an uprising aimed at creating an Islamic Islam c state As Karimov a former fonner Soviet Communist leader has become more estranged from the United States and Europe Russia has continued to court him Karimov has made vague accusations accusations accusations that Western governments were behind the violence After the signing ceremony Monday he told reporters I think that certain forces will have to draw conclusions from new realities If they target us they also target Russia He said the alliance showed with whom our our interests are connected and with whom we will build our future with Russian President Vladimir said that an alliance is the most trusting level of relations for sovereign states states adding that it brings our relations relations rela rela- to a qualitatively new level and makes them as close as they can be Relations between the two countries cooled after US U.S. forces established a major base on Uzbek soil in 2001 to support the war in Afghanistan The United States also had close cooperation cooperation cooperation tion with Uzbek security services Human rights groups say the Bush administration has transferred terrorism terrorism terrorism terror terror- ism suspects to Uzbekistan which has a long history of employing torture torture torture tor tor- ture in its prisons The uprising began May 13 when armed men broke into a prison and freed 23 prominent businessmen jailed on security charges Crowds angered by poverty and government repression filled the streets in sup sup- port Troops then killed hundreds of demonstrators most of whom were unarmed according to witnesses and human rights groups The trial which began Sept 20 appeared heavily scripted to bolster the governments government's account of what happened international observers said All AllIS 15 defendants said they were fully guilty and some of them asked to be executed even though the state did not seek the death penalty They all thanked Karimov for his generosity in granting them a fair trial Their defense lawyers made no attempt to challenge the governments government's governments government's govern govern- governments government's ments ment's case and often simply repeated repeated it observers said Although fifteen defense attorneys sit at the table the effect of their presence pres pres- presence ence in the courtroom is negligible Human Rights Watch said in a report j They ask few questions At best the questions th they y ask are irrelevant to the proceedings At worst they further further further fur fur- ther incriminate their own clients The defendants reading from prepared prepared prepared pre pre- pared scripts said the protest was not a spontaneous expression of the publics public's publics public's publics public's pub pub- lic's frustration at conditions in the r impoverished region but an orchestrated orchestrated orchestrated orches orches- plot that was financed and directed by Islamic Islami extremists and other unidentified external des destructive destructive c- c tive forces It was hard to believe that some pressure was not put on the Berg a researcher for Human Right Watch told reporters outside the courthouse in hi Tashkent on Monday We think this was a a ashow show trial In court only one witness challenged challenged chal chal- the official version of events a year old housewife told the court that soldiers P had shot at people waving white flags There were women old women pregnant women children Human I Rights Watch quoted her as telling the court The women took off their scarves and men used them as white S flags and went in fi front nt saying Let women omen pass If they have to kill let them kill us But when we started walking they didn't look at white flags These people shot I swear on my four children that they did i |