Uzbekistan to vote, West remains silent

Uzbekistan is to vote in a parliamentary election Sunday as the country's four pro-government political parties are allowed to participate in the elections.

The candidates from pro-government political parties have expressed support for President Islam Karimov's government.

They will compete for the 150 parliamentary seats, so the election is expected to make the president's position even stronger.

Uzbekistan has no official opposition party. Global rights groups classify the country as one of the world's most repressive.

The West was once critical of Uzbekistan's rights abuses, yet there has been no mention of the subject ahead of the Sunday vote.

Sending monitors to Uzbekistan has not been broached, as the Asian state has promised to support Washington's so-called war on terror in Afghanistan, which was allegedly aimed to eradicate militancy and to arrest or kill militant leaders including al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.

With the Taliban gaining ground in Afghanistan and NATO supply lines from Pakistan under attack, the West is concerned about stability in Uzbekistan, which lies on the new supply route for cargo to US troops fighting the Taliban.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=114682§ionid=351020406.