Burns Cancels Visit to Uzbekistan

Perhaps not surprisingly after the brutal government of Uzbekistan announced that the US has 180 days to evacuate from the K2 airbase there, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns has nixed a scheduled visit to the country, the BBC and New York Times report. Burns was planning the trip to discuss the status of K2 base and to "demand that Uzbekistan permit an international investigation into the violent suppression of a prison riot and public demonstration in Andijon in May," says the Times.

Burns says that because of the eviction notice, he will wait several weeks before travelling to the region. Another State Department official is quoted as saying that while the government did not want to lose access to K2, "loss of the base was preferable to backing away from demanding that Uzbekistan start political and economic reforms and agree to an international investigation of the Andijon killings." That position has only recently been adopted by the Pentagon, which earlier had blocked a State Department effort to push for an investigation into the massacre.

Burns should make the trip at the earliest possible time. He should make very clear to the Karimov government that they must allow a transparent international investigation into their actions. No government should be allowed to murder its own civilians with impunity, and we must do our part to ensure that those responsible are held to account.