Uzbekistan is preparing to bury President Islam Karimov, one of the most authoritarian leaders of Asia, who died this week.
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Thousands of people were lined up along the roads as Karimov’s funeral cortege made its way through the city from the airport to what the state TV described as the president’s ancestral home. ‘If they fail to agree on a compromise, however, open confrontation could destabilize Uzbekistan’.
“This week, I congratulated President Karimov and the people of Uzbekistan on their countrys 25 years of independence”, he said.
Karimov cultivated no apparent successor, and his death raised concerns that the predominantly Sunni Muslim country could face prolonged infighting among clans over its leadership, something its Islamic radical movement could exploit.
Three days of mourning are being observed.
Karimov was married with two adult daughters.
Uzbekistan’s first and only president has died, leaving an uncertain future for a government marred by controversy.
Respected Central Asian news website Fergana.ru on Friday posted pictures from Karimov’s hometown of Samarkand, showing what appeared to be undertakers working on a cemetery plot in the city’s historic graveyard where Karimov’s family is buried.
Karimov’s death could unleash a new round of jockeying between Russian Federation, the United States and China, which are all trying to bring Central Asia, with its oil and gas reserves and metal ore, into their sphere of influence.
The most prominent foreign dignitaries at the funeral were Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Tajikistan’s President Imomali Rakhmon and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in his condolences to the Uzbek people: “the cherished memory of Islam Abduganievich Karimov will stay in our hearts forever”. Growing a beard or renouncing alcohol was sometimes enough to earn arrest. Karimov has died of a stroke at age 78, the Uzbek governme. His death “is a great loss of the Uzbek people”, ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, according to state media.
The spectacular fall from grace of Gulnara Karimova – a pop-singing, corruption-tainted socialite once seen as a possible heir to her father’s throne – appeared to show just how far Karimov was willing to go to keep his iron grip on power.
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The major challenge for Karimov came when the palace power struggle within his own family emerged in 2013.
