Apparently, the proof of this is that Craig Murray was only in Uzbekistan for eleven months when he

“began to say there were human rights violations in Uzbekistan, and the British Government were doing all sorts. We can also add that Craig Murray was going through a divorce at around this time and (after only being in Uzbekistan for a while) had found a new partner who he lives with now.”

As anyone can tell you, there is nothing like divorce, and finding a new partner, to make someone start imagine human rights violations. You see they go mad, and then become oppositional; well that was the line in Soviet Russia in the good old days. There were no political prisoners in the glorious Soviet Republic, how could you not love living there? If you did not then you had to be mad, so you were locked up for your own safety.

 Now whatever the rights and wrongs of Craig Murray, and how he became to sacked, one thing is certain, Uzbekistan has an appalling Human Rights Record. We do not have to accept Craig Murray’s evidence or view; we can go to an independent source – Amnesty International. Let us just look at a small amount of evidence on their site:

“In March the World Bank announced that it was suspending new lending to Uzbekistan. President Karimov accused the Bank of taking part in a "shameless information war" against Uzbekistan. In March the authorities ordered the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, to leave the country within four weeks.

In April UNHCR complied, expressing serious concern about some 2,000 refugees from Afghanistan whom it had been assisting. In the build-up to the anniversary of the May 2005 Andizhan killings, when hundreds of people were killed when security forces fired on mainly peaceful demonstrators, the authorities sought to ensure that only the official version of events would be heard.

The authorities continued to refuse to allow an independent international investigation into the Andizhan events. However, they apparently addressed some of the concerns of the European Union (EU) in bilateral discussions in the second half of the year. The EU reviewed the 2005 visa and arms bans imposed on Uzbekistan in November and extended them by six and 12 months respectively.

The EU resumed bilateral meetings with Uzbekistan under the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and held an expert meeting on the Andizhan killings in Uzbekistan in December. In October President Karimov conceded publicly that failures by local and regional authorities in Andizhan might have contributed to the Andizhan events. He dismissed the regional governor of Andizhan over his failure to stop the unrest in Andizhan.”

Therefore, any decent human being who was not blind, or deaf, or not having a divorce, would not need to do much to discover what an awful regime rules there.

 Now whatever the reasons for sacking Craig Murray, how can the British Government excuse the fact that they continued to deal with Karimov? Now a few Arsenal fans, not just the Muse claim,  I also heard it from a leading member of the AST, that Murray was not to be trusted. Why? Because they had worked with Jack Straw, and Jack told them so!

 I cannot personally vouch for Craig Murray, but I certainly would not vouch for Straw, or Blair who lied all the way into an illegal war on Iraq. Now we know Blair lied about WMD; but we also know that what Murray says about Uzbekistan is true.

I rarely offer advice to fellow bloggers, but I will break with that tradition, just this once, and it is this - when you find yourself in a hole stop digging. Besides you are fighting a lost cause, Gooners do not want an Oligarch, even if they are as pure as the driven snow. They want a diversity of ownership, with a hopefully growing influence for ordinary loyal fans; not some carpet bagger who has spotted a good investment.

  

View a Printer Friendly version of this Story.

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon

Related Articles:

• It happened before – Teams reflect their manager
• Supporters Take Strong Stand Against Takeover
• Mihir Bose – Emirates An Apology

SPORTNETWORK SPECIALS

Arsenal F.C. Poll