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Email this citationCIAO DATE: 06/04
Central Asia: A Last Chance for Change
April 29, 2003
Abstract
The Annual Meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) commencing on 3 May 2003 is an opportunity to assess frankly and honestly the records of the governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. If the chance is grasped to push for reform in a more coordinated and concerted way, the controversial decision to hold this meeting in Tashkent will prove well justified. If it is not, and any impression is left that the location of the meeting is a mark of approval for Uzbekistan's current policies, there is a major risk of further deterioration in both the economic and security climate in Central Asia.
Uzbekistan was certainly a difficult choice for the annual meeting of a major international financial organisation committed to democratic principles and open economies. According to the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, it ranks 149th out of 156 countries in terms of economic freedom, worse than Burma, although slightly better than Cuba. In Freedom House's rankings of political freedoms and civil rights, it is termed "not free", with a ranking of 6.5 out of 7 (Saddam Hussein's Iraq scored 7, as did Turkmenistan).
