Kerry prodding Central Asian nations on human rights as they combat Islamic State recruitment

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan –  On a tour of Central Asia, Secretary of State John Kerry is hoping to prod the former Soviet republics of the region toward greater democracy and respect for human rights even as they work to snuff out funding and recruiting by the Islamic State group that has spread to the region.

He meets with top officials from all five nations Sunday in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Kerry began his five-day visit of the region in Kyrgyzstan on Saturday, where he met the president and foreign minister of a government that has been a bright spot for democracy in a largely autocratic area of the world. He praised recent parliamentary elections and expressed regret for the State Department's awarding of its annual Human Rights Award to an ethnic Uzbek journalist and activist serving a life sentence in prison for stirring up "ethnic hatred."

Azimzhan Askarov had devoted his life to documenting rights violations of Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan. The honor was meant to reflect Askarov's life work, Kerry stressed, not to offend the Kyrgyz government. It responded in July by lambasting the U.S. and dissolving a 22-year-old cooperation agreement with the United States.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/11/01/kerry-prodding-central-asian-nations-on-human-rights-as-combat-islamic-state/