For many, in Uzbekistan and abroad, May 13 is the day of commemoration of the tragic events taking place four years ago in Andijan. The official version of what happened in Andijan suggests that state forces defeated an uprising by a small group of radicals. The exact number of victims is still unknown. State official estimates suggest that about 187 people were shot dead, while local and international NGOs claim much higher figures. While the conducted independent investigations of what happened in Andijan did not satisfy local and international human rights activists, the fourth anniversary of the event nevertheless displayed some significant progress.

During the ‘Andijan Events’ in 2005, some of the city residents fled to neighboring Kyrgyzstan, and on to European states and the U.S. Thus, today over 400 former Andijan citizens reside in different parts of the world. This year a forthcoming feature of the commemoration was actions and demonstrations organized by these people. Pickets were organized in Stockholm in front of the Swedish parliament; in the U.S., Russia and Kyrgyzstan, meetings took place in front of Uzbekistan’s Embassies.

In Stockholm, about fifty representatives of various Uzbek and international organizations, including former residents of Andijan currently living in Sweden, took part in a picket named “We Will Not Forget Andijan”. The organizers aimed at persuading Swedish parliamentarians to reconsider attitude of the European Union to the government of Uzbekistan ahead of the Swedish EU Presidency in July 2009. Thus, they again demanded an independent international investigation, the liberation of political prisoners, and resumption of EU sanctions towards Uzbekistan.

In Kyrgyzstan, local human rights activists gathering in front of Uzbekistan’s Embassy organized a commemoration of the Andijan events. The meeting participants brought a wreath and tied black ribbons on the fence of the Embassy. As one of the organizers of the meeting, the coordinator of the “Gandhi” public organization Diana Makenbaeva said: “We will never forget these tragic events and public attention should always be drawn to it, so that such bloody events will not take place anywhere else in the world”.

Perhaps the most significant development marking the fourth anniversary of the ‘Andijan events’ took place in Germany. Witnesses of the events currently residing in Europe set up the international non-governmental organization “Andijan – Justice and Revival”. The organization’s press release states that its main objective is “to establish justice for all the victims of the Andijan massacre and all citizens of Uzbekistan deprived of their rights; to revive Andijan and the Motherland”. The organization plans to realize its objective by calling on democratic governments, specifically of the U.S. and EU member states, to support their goal. They state that they are ready to cooperate with EU governmental bodies and other international intergovernmental organizations to reveal the truth about the events in Andijan. One of the organization’s representatives, Nurillo Makhsudov, communicated they plan to publish a newspaper with stories about themselves and their lives in Uzbekistan. He also said the creation of the organization is supported by the eighty native Andijanis who escaped the massacre and now live in six different European states.

The newly initiated organization is not alone in voicing complaints. Several international human rights organizations have for a long time been lobbying for an independent investigation of the Andijan events. This year, Amnesty International sent an open letter to the European Union once again insisting on an independent international investigation. It claims that the two negotiation rounds between EU experts and the authorities of Uzbekistan, which took place in December 2006 and April 2007, cannot be considered independent international investigations. Still, it remains to be seen whether the persistence of international and local organizations will eventually bring about any results.

In spite of the international community’s increased attention towards the commemoration day, local sources report that residents of Uzbek cities had few opportunities to express their sorrow. The state security forces interrupted a meeting that was planned by human rights activists near the Monument of Courage in Tashkent. In the city of Jizzakh, however, those willing to commemorate were allowed to bring flowers to the Monument of the Mourning Mother.

Perhaps a common effort by international human rights organizations and the newly formed organizations of the Andijan victims to draw the attention of the international community will be more successful in achieving their goals. However, even though the EU sanctions on Uzbekistan were lifted and other forms of discontent within the international community are no longer displayed, the issue seems far from settled.