In the chiller

摘要

Gone are the days when small groups of protesters from the countryside gathered in Uzbekistan's capital, Tashkent, silently clutching placards, or photographs of a bloodied victim of police abuse. A brief alliance with the United States, when President Islam Karimov provided an air base to help American operations in Afghanistan after September 11th 2001, led to some concessions towards openness. They are now a distant memory.