According to Mr. Karimov, he "regards the critical comments on the part of OSCE constructively and with understanding." However, "people should not assume that OSCE decisions will play a decisive role in the development of he situation in the country. It will be still regarded simply as an opinion of a respectful European organization," he underlined.
"The United States showed a complete disregard toward OSCE position. Some OSCE observers were not even allowed to monitor the work of certain polling stations," Mr. Karimov emphasized. "They came here either to give us orders, or evaluate our actions from the positions of democracy they deem appropriate."
"We have representatives of various Asian countries here, which are also considered to be democratic," Mr. Karimov noted. "The representation of observers at our elections is so diverse and their opinions are so varied that the OSCE position on this issue simply cannot be dominant."
"I do not agree with the allegation that we refuse to register parties in opposition," the Uzbek President announced. He stated that the country simply does not have opposition parties at present. As to the Birlik movement, this organization "discredited itself a long time ago" by collaborating with Islamic extremists from the Taliban movement in Afghanistan and alleged connection to terrorist acts in Tashkent in 1999. "This organization does not have any foothold on the territory of Uzbekistan," Mr. Karimov stressed.
"OSCE should not attempt to create artificially opposition forces that simply do not exist in Uzbekistan," the head of Uzbek state underlined. "I want to tell you, if you want to create opposition, find it among the youth, rather than among leaders denounced by Uzbek people."
