US G-TIP Policy on Uzbekistan Sparks Conservative Critique
Posted on May 11, 2011 by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick |
The Jamestown Foundation Eurasia Daily Monitor has published a disturbing two-part article by Umida Hashimova, “US Repeats Policy Mistakes in Uzbekistan,” on the issue of forced child labor in Uzbekistan. The author, originally from Uzbekistan herself, claims the issue of child labor in her homeland is misrepresented and exaggerated, and implies that those who take up the cause do so for politicized motives. Ultimately, she suggests that protesting about this practice to the Uzbek government will only harm US-Uzbek relations and America’s strategic interests in the region.