VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNT #1531/01 2870816
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140816Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1403

UNCLAS TASHKENT 001531 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM UZ
SUBJECT: POLITICAL PARTIES IN UZBEKISTAN: MUCH PAGEANTRY AND SOME 
PROGRESS 
 
¶1. (SBU)  SUMMARY:  Representatives of Uzbekistan's four political 
parties gathered with a number of international observers and 
"experts" to discuss political parties and elections.  Discussion 
was lively, but the "round table" was quite literally split down 
the middle, with local politicians on one side of the room and 
international participants on the other-both physically and 
ideologically.  Uzbek party leaders seemed to take their role in 
government quite seriously, though they all appear content to allow 
the GOU to dictate their political agendas.  They staunchly 
defended Uzbekistan's status as an evolving democracy which has 
made great strides since the demise of the Soviet political system. 
Local participants were invariably long on "big picture" rhetoric 
and short on the actual nuts and bolts of achieving any political 
goals.  However, they seemed to recognize the importance of 
reaching out to voters and responding to the needs of their 
constituents.  END SUMMARY. 
 
UZBEKISTAN'S POLITICAL PAGEANT 
 
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¶2. (SBU)  On September 29 and 30, representative of the four Uzbek 
political parties joined with international experts for a round 
table discussion of political parties and elections in Uzbekistan. 
The discussion played like an unaggressive verbal tennis match: an 
international speaker would lob a question or a (fairly mild) 
criticism towards the Uzbek participants, who would then respond 
with a volley of (mildly) defensive and self-congratulatory 
statements.  The Uzbek party leaders and parliamentary 
representatives gave the general impression that they are all 
actors in some grand political pageant, playing parts which are 
scripted for them by the president.  (It is significant to note 
that one of the main sponsors of this round table event was the 
Academy of State and Social Construction under the President of the 
Republic of Uzbekistan.) The Uzbek participants spoke openly about 
the influence of the Karimov government on their political 
platforms, apparently seeing no irony in the fact that the GOU is 
setting the agenda for each of the parties which are supposedly 
competing with each other for votes.  On the whole, party leaders 
appeared to be perfectly content with the political status quo, and 
seemed to genuinely believe that they are playing a constructive 
and influential role in the formation of policy.  Some party 
leaders made reference to their "sister" parties in other 
countries-European Social Democrats, for example-reinforcing the 
impression that the political parties are trying to play a certain 
role without really understanding it. 
 
WE'RE A YOUNG COUNTRY-CUT US SOME SLACK 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU)  Uzbek party leaders responded very defensively to any 
real or perceived criticism of the Uzbek political system.  They 
quickly turned the focus to what they view as great progress 
towards democracy since the fall of the Soviet Union.  In response 
to a question about the Uzbek parliament's "political 
achievements," several parliamentarians emphasized that Uzbekistan 
has transitioned from a totalitarian state to a democratic one in a 
mere fifteen years (with a strong subtext of "what more can anyone 
expect of us?").  The leader of the Liberal Democrats said that 
political parties in Uzbekistan are "young," and advised 
international observers that they cannot expect "too much at once." 
He claimed that the upcoming parliamentary election will be yet 
another step in the right direction, saying that "every election is 
another stage of our political development." 
 
AND WHAT ABOUT THE VOTERS? 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Many of the party leaders and parliamentarians displayed 
a greater degree of political passion when they stopped talking 
about their platforms and started talking about their constituents. 
Whatever their shortcomings, the Uzbek participants appeared to be 
quite sincere in their desire to respond to the needs of Uzbek 
voters.  They discussed the importance of reaching out to voters, 
meeting regularly with their constituents (one parliamentarian 
claimed to have met one on one with hundreds of his constituents), 
and giving Uzbek citizens greater access to information about 
government and legislation. 
 
¶5. (SBU)  COMMENT:  Differences in local and international 
perspectives were thrown into sharp relief by the roundtable format 
of this conference.  Local politicians and international observers 
were like ships passing in the night when it came to their 
understanding of the role of political parties in a democratic 
system.  Party leaders appeared to be genuinely convinced that they 
are real players in a political system that may be imperfect but is 
nevertheless a democracy.  Virtually all party leaders came of age 
in the era of the Soviet Union.  In their eyes, political progress 
 
 
after the fall of the Soviet Union has been enormous, and 
international observers are unjustly critical of Uzbekistan's 
democratic growing pains.  END COMMENT. 
NORLAND