Independence Day ceremonies start in Uzbekistan without President Karimov
TASHKENT. Aug 31 (Interfax) - Members of the Uzbek Supreme Assembly (Oliy Majlis), the government and other state agencies and public figures laid flowers on the Independence monument in Tashkent on Wednesday morning on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Uzbekistan's independence.
Taking part in the ceremony were Senate Chairman Nigmatilla Yo'ldoshev, Legislative Assembly Chairman Nurdinjon Ismoilov, Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and other leaders.
Uzbekistan will hold events marking the 25th anniversary of the country's independence on August 31 and September 1, except for a ceremonial concert, which in previous years was usually held in one of Tashkent's central squares and was attended by the president.
A routine event commemorating the victims of reprisals on August 31, which is usually attended by the president, was also canceled this Wednesday. The president and all other top government officials have always visited the memorial to the victims of reprisals on this day.
It was reported earlier that Tashkent and other Uzbek cities and villages would host mass street parties and concerts on September 1.
The Uzbek Supreme Council proclaimed Uzbekistan's national independence and declared September 1 Independence Day at an extraordinary session on August 31, 1991.
Uzbekistan will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its independence for three days this year. In line with a presidential directive signed earlier, Friday, September 2, was declared a day off and Sunday, September 4, a working day.
Uzbek national television and other official media outlets earlier reported a government statement that President Islam Karimov, 78, had been hospitalized. The report said that, along with a thorough medical examination, the president would require subsequent treatment, which would take some time.
Lola Karimova-Tillyayeva, the younger of Islam Karimov's two daughters, said on a social network that the president was in intensive care after suffering cerebral hemorrhage and that his condition was assessed as stable.