PARIS - French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier on Tuesday condemned a deadly military crackdown in Uzbekistan and said urgent reforms were needed to restore stability in the impoverished Central Asian nation.
Calling the situation in the eastern Uzbek town of Andijan "very worrying", Barnier, quoted by his spokesman, "condemned the violence, which cannot be justified, and which had left the city of Andijan in mourning".
"All possible light must be shed on these events, and observers and humanitarian organizations must be allowed to visit the scene," the French foreign minister said.
Clashes between Uzbek troops and anti-government protestors in Andijan over the weekend left as many as 745 people dead, according to the Free Farmers party, a secular opposition group.
Uzbekistan's prosecutor general Rashid Kadyrov announced Tuesday that 169 people had died in the violence, a far higher figure than previously acknowledged by the government.
"There can be no solution through violence," Barnier said, inviting "all parties concerned to act peacefully and through dialogue to end the current crisis and implement reforms needed for a return to stability".
Protests are rare in Uzbekistan, a poor nation of 24 million people, where autocratic leader Islam Karimov had effectively stamped out all opposition during his rule.
05/17/2005 14:56 GMT