Uzbekistan’s Islam Karimov Buried In Samarkand
MEP: The funeral of Uzbekistan’s President late Islam Karimov has been buried in his hometown of Samarkand who died at the age of 78 on Friday after suffering a week of stroke.
Thousands gathered along the “presidential highway” in the capital of Tashkent at 5am on Saturday to see off Karimov’s funeral cortege on its way to the airport.
Karimov’s coffin, covered in intricate, colorful tiles and aqua cupolas, was buried in the city’s Shah-i-Zinda cemetery.
Karimov, one of Asia’s most autocratic leaders, ruled for 27 years, and was accused by human rights groups of harshly repressing dissent.
The veteran leader had run the ex-Soviet nation since 1989. Nearly half of the country’s 32 million citizens were born after he came to power.
Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev has been designated mourner-in-chief at Karimov’s funeral, which is seen as a strong hint he might become the next president.
“He wasn’t our president but our father. We came to bury our father,” Samarkand resident Yevgeniya Mikoryan said. “We even cancelled a wedding, because if someone dies it’s bad luck. And when your father dies, what wedding could there be?”
The world’s leaders from 17 countries came to Samarkand for the funeral, including the presidents of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, headed the Russian delegation. President Vladimir Putin called Karimov’s death a “heavy loss for the people of Uzbekistan”. Barack Obama said the “United States reaffirms its support for the people of Uzbekistan”.
