Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Friday that Uzbekistan’s President died, however the Uzbek government said that the leader is only critically ill.

Yildirim expressed his condolences on Friday during a televised meeting with his cabinet.

“Uzbek President Islam Karimov has passed away. May God’s mercy be upon him, as the Turkish Republic we are sharing the pain and sorrow of Uzbek people.”

The Associated Press reports that a top Kyrgyz diplomat and an Afghan government official say that the leaders of their countries have been invited to a funeral for Karimov on Saturday.

Reuters has quoted three diplomatic sources saying to the news agency that Karimov died aged 78 after suffering a stroke.

News of funeral arrangements

Russian Fergana international information agency is also reporting funeral arrangements are under way in Karimov’s hometown of Samarkand.

Karimov has been an authoritarian ruler of the Central Asia nation for more than a quarter of a century.  He suppressed the opposition and did not designate a successor.

Rights group Amnesty International said in a statement Friday that the death of Karimov, Uzbekistan’s repressive regime is unlikely to change.

“Islam Karimov’s death marks the end of an era in Uzbekistan, but almost certainly not of the pattern of grave human rights abuses. His successor is likely to come from Karimov’s closest circle, where dissenting minds have never been tolerated,” said Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia Denis Krivosheev.

US avoids speculation

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central Asia Daniel Rosenblum avoided speculation about Karimov death in an interview with VOA’s Uzbek Service.

Rosenblum said, however, that the U.S. considers itself a friend of Uzbekistan and the people of Uzbekistan and “supports the country’s independence and its sovereignty, and will continue to develop that friendship under any scenario.

There has been no official confirmation from Uzbekistan. However, the government issued a statement saying “Dear compatriots,” a government statement said, “it is was a very heavy heart that we inform you that the health of our President has sharply deteriorated in the past 24 hours to reach a critical state.”

VOA’s Uzbek Service contributed to this report [Read More]

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Source: VOA News: Economy and Finance