Why there's little coverage of the Andijan massacre in Uzbekistan

A reporter holds a restricted discussion with Uzbek colleagues, who have been effectively gagged by the country's president.

from the May 15, 2007 edition

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After the Andijan protest, a defensive Tashkent went after anyone fostering "alien ideologies:" the Associated Press, the BBC, Radio Free Europe, Deutsche Welle, and nongovernmental organizations such as Freedom House and even the UN High Commissioner for Refugees were expelled or harassed until they finally left.

None of these issues were supposed to arise in our video discussion. But the second question veered off-script: "How should journalists perform when they're frightened?"

Thrown for a loop, I wondered, "Who am I to tell them what to do?"

While the situation certainly calls for courage, I told them, the instinct for self-preservation, to keep your head down, is also understandable. It's a deeply personal decision, to be made as a family.

I couldn't judge their reaction; the video transmission was blurred, sometimes fading out altogether. However, I was relieved when a US Embassy official in Tashkent later e-mailed me that my colleagues were pleased I didn't possess a "preachy tone." They wanted to continue the dialogue.

Afterward, I contemplated whether to write this article. The US Embassy warned me I might jeopardize my Uzbek colleagues.

But then I spoke with an older Slovak colleague, Peter Kerlik, who endured Communist repression. Kerlik, deputy chairman of the Slovak Syndicate of Journalists, had sat in on the Uzbek video- conference, offering his perspective.

If in their shoes, Kerlik told me, he'd want me to fulfill my duty: inform and raise awareness.

"And we shouldn't forget another important responsibility of journalists – international solidarity with our colleagues," he said. "We must not leave those who are in trouble alone and isolated."

That clinched it. I decided to write.

And if a Part Two of our dialogue is ever scheduled, I'll be there. But will they?

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