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Safe h(e)aven for Uzbek strongman's
daughter
By Sergei Blagov
MOSCOW - The Russian Foreign Ministry has accredited
Uzbek President Islam Karimov's daughter as a counselor
at the Uzbek embassy in Moscow in a move that could
be interpreted as a new sign of Uzbekistan's political
drift towards Moscow. However, Russian media outlets,
notably Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily, speculate that
Gulnara accepted the post simply to obtain diplomatic
immunity.
Gulnara Karimova-Maqsudi has already
sought international immunity in a bitter custody battle
over her children, on the grounds that Uzbekistan is not
party to international agreements on civil matters,
commonly referred to in legal circles as the Hague
Conventions.
In January, the Superior Court of
New Jersey ruled that Mansur Maqsudi, of Mendham, New
Jersey, deserved sole custody of the couple's two
children, 10-year-old Islam and six-year-old Iman. His
ex-wife, Gulnara, had taken the boy and the girl to the
Uzbek capital, Tashkent, in 2001, when her estranged
husband sought to dissolve their marriage. The court
called on Gulnara to "cause the children to be
transported to the United States or to another country
which is a signatory to the Hague Convention".
Moreover,
the court disclosed some information on the division of
assets, indicating the affluence of the Karimovs. For
instance, the court awarded Maqsudi the house the couple had
shared in Mendham, New Jersey. He also is to take possession
of two luxury cars, a $7,000 piano, over
$440,000 in bank and brokerage accounts, a stake in a business
called the ROZ Group - valued at close to $6 million
- and $3.3 million in cash. According to the
ruling, Gulnara could keep $4.5 million worth of
jewelry, 20 percent of Uzbekistan's Uzdunrobita
wireless telephone company, worth $15 million, $11 million in
bank and investment holdings in Geneva and Dubai, a house in
Tashkent, a $10 million retail complex, a $13 million
resort in Uzbekistan and Tashkent nightclubs worth $4
million, and a TV station, recording studio and spa
worth $5.5 million. The wireless phone company is a
joint venture founded by the state (as a minority
shareholder) and an American cellular concern.
Moreover, to feel more at home in Moscow,
Gulnara reportedly purchased 420 square meters of
three-level apartments at the "Camelot" deluxe compound
in downtown Moscow. Details of the deal are yet to be
disclosed, but the apartments' price is estimated at
$1.5-2 million.
To date, there has been no
official clarification on how Gulnara, who reportedly
worked in the state bureaucracy, obtained such extensive
business and property holdings. It is yet to be revealed
whether the Moscow penthouse is counted as Gulnara's
private property, or Uzbekistan's diplomatic asset.
Gulnara's new-found diplomatic privileges come
at just the right time as she is now seeking immunity
from the US ruling, having failed to comply with the New
Jersey court's January custody order. This forced the
same court, on June 10, to order Gulnara's arrest. In a
tit-for-tat response, Uzbekistan's Prosecutor General
issued international arrest warrants for Mansur Maqsudi,
his father Abdul-Rauf and brother Farid, all ethnic
Uzbeks naturalized in the US.
This controversy
has overshadowed bilateral relations between the US and
Uzbekistan, which is increasingly drawing international
criticism over its human rights practices. At the same
time, Tashkent faces growing pressure from global
financial institutions to introduce currency
convertibility, and to take other steps to liberalize
the economy.
The latest government crackdown in
Uzbekistan is the harshest since the one in the
aftermath of the 1999 Tashkent bombings, international
observers say. In recent months, human rights advocates,
independent journalists and opposition political
activists have endured arrests, beatings and other forms
of intimidation.
Last May, human rights advocate
Ruslan Sharipov was arrested on homosexuality charges.
An Uzbek court sentenced him to a five-year jail term on
August 13. On August 28, Surat Ikramov, an outspoken
defender of Sharipov, was abducted from his car in
Tashkent by four masked men, according to a statement
issued by the New York-based Human Rights Watch. He was
subsequently beaten, sustaining concussion and two
broken ribs.
The crackdown has created a dilemma
for US diplomats, given that Uzbekistan is Washington's
most important strategic partner in Central Asia. Uzbek
military bases have been used to back international
efforts in Afghanistan.
Both Karimov and Uzbek
Foreign Minister Sadyk Safayev, a former ambassador to
Washington, have stressed that Tashkent's desire for
expanded economic ties with Russia does not mean a
deterioration in relations with the US.
Karimov
used the September 1 opening of the fall parliamentary
session to stress the importance of bilateral relations
with Russia, and recalled his meeting with Russian
President Vladimir Putin in Samarkand in August as
"important". He said that he and Putin sought to reach
agreement on all topics they discussed, and that he was
greatly satisfied with the outcome.
During the
Samarkand meeting, Putin and Karimov concentrated
primarily on the prospects for expanding bilateral
economic cooperation, especially the export of Uzbek
cotton and natural gas, and the participation of Russian
companies in exploring oil and gas deposits in
Uzbekistan. Karimov's daughter taking up a position as a
diplomat in Moscow might help support these initiatives.
Adding spice to the controversy swirling
around Gulnara are unconfirmed reports that she had
married Sadyk Safayev, who has been touted as
Karimov's successor; although all of the former Soviet states are
technically republics, family succession plays a big
part.
Next: All in the family
(Copyright
2003 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved.
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information on our sales and syndication policies.)
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