UZBEKISTAN: ARMY PRESTIGE UP, MYSTERIOUS SOLDIER DEATHS RISE
Experts say that despite assurances from the Ministry of Defence that hazing has been eliminated, it is still happening in the Uzbek army.
According to the ranking of the Global Firepower (GFP) portal, which measures the power of the world's armies, Uzbekistan has the status of the strongest army in Central Asia in 2023.
Over the years of independence, the prestige of serving in the army has grown significantly, and it is not easy for young people to get into it. The most fit, physically and mentally healthy young men are selected.
As a result of the reforms and the defense doctrine adopted in January 2018, the army in Uzbekistan now has a more thorough approach to selecting and training soldiers who should have the skills and knowledge necessary to carry out modern national security tasks, the country's Defense Ministry website noted.
As a result of the reforms and the defense doctrine adopted in January 2018, the army in Uzbekistan now has a more thorough approach to selecting and training soldiers who should have the skills and knowledge necessary to carry out modern national security tasks, the country's Defense Ministry website noted.
How does the military conscription work in Uzbekistan?
Once a year, between March and April, the conscription for compulsory military service is announced in the country, where boys aged 18 to 27 are recruited. Service time in the army for conscripted soldiers is one year.
There is also an alternative form of service, the one in the mobile conscription reserve, which is organized on a territorial basis in the form of monthly training and requires the recruits to pay a monetary contribution to a special account of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the amount of 20 minimum wages. Currently, that amounts to 18,400 million sums (1,613.48 US dollars).
Not everyone can enlist for military service. Conscript soldiers must undergo strict medical screening, pass physical and psychological training standards, and a written exam, which evaluates their general level of education.
There is also an alternative form of service, the one in the mobile conscription reserve, which is organized on a territorial basis in the form of monthly training and requires the recruits to pay a monetary contribution to a special account of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the amount of 20 minimum wages. Currently, that amounts to 18,400 million sums (1,613.48 US dollars).
Not everyone can enlist for military service. Conscript soldiers must undergo strict medical screening, pass physical and psychological training standards, and a written exam, which evaluates their general level of education.
Local media reports that according to the Ministry of Defense, only one out of every eight young men subject to conscription ends up serving in the military.
Such reforms in the country's armed forces began in 2016, when President Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to power, aiming to make military service prestigious and eradicate the hazing phenomenon.
However, despite all the measures taken by the government, local and foreign media annually report on the deaths of young men in the country's military units.
One of the latest cases happened on January 11, 2023, in one of the units of Tashkent region. Private Mirzhalol Imamov committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with an AKS-74 rifle while on daytime duty. He died at the scene.
During the investigation, the Tashkent military prosecutor's office found no corpus delicti in the case, so they refused to open a criminal case over the soldier's death.
Meanwhile, the relatives of the deceased suspect that the soldier was beaten to death.
Such reforms in the country's armed forces began in 2016, when President Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to power, aiming to make military service prestigious and eradicate the hazing phenomenon.
However, despite all the measures taken by the government, local and foreign media annually report on the deaths of young men in the country's military units.
One of the latest cases happened on January 11, 2023, in one of the units of Tashkent region. Private Mirzhalol Imamov committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with an AKS-74 rifle while on daytime duty. He died at the scene.
During the investigation, the Tashkent military prosecutor's office found no corpus delicti in the case, so they refused to open a criminal case over the soldier's death.
Meanwhile, the relatives of the deceased suspect that the soldier was beaten to death.
«On January 11, my husband received a phone call from the military saying that your son had shot himself. Father was shocked and speechless. After I picked up the phone and said, «What are you even saying, my son is not suicidal!», the person calling said, «we have six or seven soldiers in custody, an investigation is underway. Your son has been shot,» he said in a different way. «In other words, he first said that he had shot himself, then that he had been shot,» the kun.uz website quoted the dead man's mother.
According to the soldier's relatives, the deceased had wounds of varying degrees of severity on his body. Specifically, his two front teeth were broken and the upper part of his eyebrow was cracked. Based on this they suspect that Mirdzhalol might have been killed. He was only two months away from returning from the army.
This is not an exceptional case of conscripts dying in the course of their military service.
This is not an exceptional case of conscripts dying in the course of their military service.
When asked by CABAR.asia how many deaths have been recorded in the Uzbek army in the last 10 years, the Ministry of Defense replied that this is classified information.
Nevertheless, in 2022 the Uzbek media repeatedly reported the deaths of young men serving military service in Kashkadarya and Surkhandarya provinces.
In the fall of 2022 private Kamoliddin Kadyrov died while carrying out military service in Termez. The Ministry of Defense attributed the cause of his death to a blood clot in his heart.
His relatives also do not believe this conclusion, noting that their son underwent a thorough medical examination during the conscription and was declared completely healthy by the military medical commission. If he had a heart problem, he would not have been called up for military service.
Experts say that despite assurances to eradicate hazing in the military department, it is still present in the Uzbek army.
Abdurakhmon Tashanov, chairman of the Uzbek human rights society "Ezgulik", believes that when President Mirziyoyev came to power, significant funds were allocated to the military system. These funds were used to improve the military system.
However, despite the reform of the system, the army still has remnants left over from the Soviet era, he believes.
In the fall of 2022 private Kamoliddin Kadyrov died while carrying out military service in Termez. The Ministry of Defense attributed the cause of his death to a blood clot in his heart.
His relatives also do not believe this conclusion, noting that their son underwent a thorough medical examination during the conscription and was declared completely healthy by the military medical commission. If he had a heart problem, he would not have been called up for military service.
Experts say that despite assurances to eradicate hazing in the military department, it is still present in the Uzbek army.
Abdurakhmon Tashanov, chairman of the Uzbek human rights society "Ezgulik", believes that when President Mirziyoyev came to power, significant funds were allocated to the military system. These funds were used to improve the military system.
However, despite the reform of the system, the army still has remnants left over from the Soviet era, he believes.
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Military conscriptions in all Central Asian countries are a remnant of the Soviet system. There have been no changes. Conscription on the basis of a one-month contract has been organized, but there are no other innovations. Everything else is left over from the Soviet system. ...On the one hand, I compare the military system to the system in prisons, but on the other, it is a legal system.
he said According to him, the military system is one of the corrupt agencies. The military sphere is closed, and almost nothing is known about it, so it is impossible to check its transparency, notes the human rights defender.
There are no committees for helping the military. Because all such committees are formed on the basis of donations, while in Uzbekistan all the funds are financed by the state, Tashanov says.
Political expert Temur Umarov, who thinks there is a persistent common problem of corruption in the armed forces of all Central Asian countries, agrees with him.
«I would say that this is the main point that everyone has in common. And this is the main problem,» - he said.
Since the state does not guarantee them high status and high salaries, all political elites see their positions primarily as sources of additional income, he believes.
There are no committees for helping the military. Because all such committees are formed on the basis of donations, while in Uzbekistan all the funds are financed by the state, Tashanov says.
Political expert Temur Umarov, who thinks there is a persistent common problem of corruption in the armed forces of all Central Asian countries, agrees with him.
«I would say that this is the main point that everyone has in common. And this is the main problem,» - he said.
Since the state does not guarantee them high status and high salaries, all political elites see their positions primarily as sources of additional income, he believes.
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Under such conditions, it is difficult to change their outlook, so they obtain benefits for themselves, by showing their status everywhere. And they successfully participate in corrupt schemes, when they take out money from the state budget, spending it as they see fit.
Despite the reforms, the country has a system in which it is possible to escape the conscription or serve quickly, in one month, if one pays extra for it. Any system under such an authoritarian regime becomes a money-making scheme, and political elites always put personal interests above national ones.
«The Committee of Soldiers' Mothers, I don't know, but I don't think they exist. It is, of course, a potentially important movement that protects the rights of conscript soldiers. I think spontaneously such movements do exist. But there is no such organized movement in Uzbekistan, I know that for a fact. And that is why there are problems with hazing and horrible conditions for conscript soldiers,» Temur Umarov said.
«The Committee of Soldiers' Mothers, I don't know, but I don't think they exist. It is, of course, a potentially important movement that protects the rights of conscript soldiers. I think spontaneously such movements do exist. But there is no such organized movement in Uzbekistan, I know that for a fact. And that is why there are problems with hazing and horrible conditions for conscript soldiers,» Temur Umarov said.
Expert Recommendations
- Abdurahmon TashanovBelieves that it is necessary to raise the qualifications of military personnel, to carry out frequent rotation of general officers.«It is necessary to do a lot of work to improve the qualifications of the military. Discipline must be improved and corruption must be eradicated .... If we want this sector to develop, more money must be allocated to it.»
- Temur UmarovIt is necessary to understand what the armed forces are in the modern world and to be guided by the world's best practices.«There can be a lot of points of reference. It seems to me that the armed forces in the United States are quite competitive. These are people with a really good outlook, these are not just military servicemen, not jocks who think they don't need theory, don't need to have an idea of how the world works, and don't need to understand what international relations are.»
At a time when military threats are growing in the world, experts suggest it's best to continue to improve the reform of the country's defense system.
