Uzbekistan has consciously decided to go along the path of democracy. However, the concept and practice of democracy are new to the people of Uzbekistan because of the legacy of Soviet rule. Moreover, there are some extremist forces that seek to disrupt the country's progress along the democratic path and make the republic a theological state. Some external elements too seek to pressurise the government in order to further their own agendas. The Uzbek leadership consequently feels that the democratic experiment must be carried out in phases and in a controlled or moderated fashion. They aver that a democratic culture cannot grow overnight and that socio-political upheavals must be avoided. The Uzbek leadership is also highly nationalistic and rightly feels that the republic's independence must be maintained at all costs. The role of the state in Uzbek affairs therefore will continue for some years to come and it would be unrealistic to expect the country to suddenly accept all Western norms of governance and democracy. Fortunately, the Uzbek elite appears to agree with the establishment views. The Conference, where a large number of Uzbek experts, mediapersons and academics participated, showed, apart from other things, a congruence in Uzbek viewpoints.

The Uzbek participants at the Conference demonstrated the inherent nationalism of the elite and the success of the Uzbek leadership's attempt to develop a national pride. The revival of native Uzbek history today shows that Uzbekistan was an ancient civilisation with a highly developed culture. The ancient marauder Timur, so despised in Western history, has been elevated to the level of a national hero and is referred to as Amir Timur. His birthplace, Samarkand, is being spruced up and many historical monuments are being restored. A modern museum celebrating Amir Timur has been established in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent. While interest in Islam and its glorious past has been revived, extremist Islamist views such as those espoused by the Wahabis, have largely been rejected by the new Uzbek elite. The result is a fairly unified establishment culture and few disagreements on the basic agenda for nation building. The Uzbek leadership, for instance, appears to be resolute in its efforts to develop parliamentary democracy in the country, which will for the time being at least be complementary to a strong presidency. It is expected that a clear separation of powers would evolve over time and through a process of consensus. The Uzbek parliament or Oliy Majlis is a major component of the transition to democracy and the direct election of the lower house of the Majlis through adult franchise is a major national exercise. The next parliamentary elections are to be held on 26 December 2004. With just about two and a half months left for the polls, the administration is holding a series of conferences to both learn from international experience in holding elections and to familiarise politicians, bureaucrats, mediapersons and the general public with the nitty gritties of electoral practices.

One of the specific subjects of the conference was the role of the media in the electoral process. While most Western participants felt that the media should not be subject to government regulations of any sort, some experts spoke of the dangers of an unfettered media. One participant recalled that the incorrect media reports in the United States had once precipitated a war with Spain. A participant from Russia explained how a section of the media in his country openly espoused partisan views and discredited their political opponents through the misuse of the media. Most Uzbek participants felt that there should be a strong press code in their country and that criticism should be avoided or moderated. This view was hotly contested by some Western participants who felt that the role of the media was to criticise and act as a watchdog in society.

Several experts from India present at the conference spoke about India's experiment with democracy. India, as the world's largest democracy, has developed its own electoral practices and come up with a myriad solution to the problems of elections. One participant at the conference from India, Indranil Banerjie (Executive Director of the SAPRA India Foundation) presented a paper on the success of the electronic voting machines. Another speaker at the conference from India, A.K.Majumdar, Secretary Election Commission of India, gave an account of the electoral process in India and explained how such a huge exercise could be successfully carried out. A third Indian participant, Prof Suhash Chakravarty, who holds the India Chair at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy, talked about how Indian democracy was alive and well. He recounted how the Indian electorate had successfully managed to give its verdict to change the government. The Indian media, he said, had completely missed the changed national mood and had failed to predict the poll outcome. He said the change of the government in the centre was a major democratic achievement and proved that democracy was alive in the country.

The Conference concluded with a reception thrown by the pro rector of the university, former diplomat Dr Alisher Faizullaev. The Indian participants at the Conference were specially looked after by the University of World Economics and Diplomacy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They were given a tour of the local museum of applied art and invited to a ballet performed at the Tashkent ballet house. Later, the Indian contingent toured Samarkand along with a few American participants. The highpoints of Uzbek history were highlighted and the guests were able to view the splendours of Uzbekistan's ancient past in the form of the Registon and the mausoleum of Amir Timur. Dr Faizullaev was of the view that a new dynamic was emerging in Indo-Uzbek ties and that more interaction between the two nations should be formalised.

List of participants:
Sherzod Qudratkhodjayev - Head of the Press Center of the Central Election Commission "Practice and Experience of Participation of Mass Media in the Election in Uzbekistan"
Prof.Rein Mullerson - Regional Advisor on Human Rights, office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights "Democracy versus Liberalism : Elections in the Absence of Human Rights or Human Rights without Democracy"
Marie-Carin Gumppenberg - Political Advisor of the OCSE Representation in Uzbekistan "The Standards of the OCSE on Democratic Elections"
Prof.Akmal Saidov, Chairman of the Committee of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan. "Election Technologies, Media and Elections: a Legal Aspect"
Dr. Reinhard Crumm - Head of the Regional Representation of the F.Ebert Foundation. "State and Mass Media"
Prof.Oynisa Musurmanova - Deputy Chairman of the Committees of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan. "Culture of Choice in the Election Process"
Mjusha Sever - Director of Representation of the International Human Rights Organization "Freedom House" in Uzbekistan. "Elections from the Point of View of Human Rights"
Prof. Igor Panarin - Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. "Informational Aspects of the Election Technologies"
Prof.Fayzulla Muminov - Head of the Project of the Institute for Studies of the Civil Society. "Advertising and Propaganda Aspects of the Election Campaign"
Prof.Nina Nizhnik - First Deputy Rector of the Academy of State Governance under the President of the Ukraine. "Election Technologies and Elections: an Experiment of the Ukranine"
Indranil Banerjie - Executive Director of "SAPRA India Foundation", India. "Election Technologies and Electronic Way of Voting"
A.K. Majumdar - Secretary of the Central Election Commission of India. "PR and Elections: Indian Experience"
Elena Kuzmina - Senior Researcher of the Institute of International Economic and Political Studies of the Russian Academy of Science. "Election Technologies and Elections: and Experiment of Russia"
Prof.Otto Dann - Cologne University , Germany. "Problems of Participation in Elections"
Prof. Suhash Chacravarti - Delhi University , India. "Some Problems of Elections in India"
Valeriy Biryukov - Head of the Representation of the Newspapers "Trud" in Central Asia. "Russian Experience on Election Coverage in Mass Media"
Connie Cohn - Peace Corps, USA. "Election Reporting in the USA-Realities and Ethics"
Burkhan Shermatov - Head of the Independent TV Station "Muloqot" , Qoqand. "Participation of the Uzebek Independent Media in Election Coverage"
Prof.Brian Collins (Belgium). "Mass Media and Elections :An experiment of Belgium"
Christopher Boucek - Editor of the Journal "Monitor" , Britain. "Elections and the Media. An American Perspective"
Khurshid Dustmuhammad - Deputy Chairman of the Journalists' Union. "Mass Media and Elections : experiment and perspectives of Uzbek journalism"