Uzbekistan
Violation of the right to freedom of religion or belief in Uzbekistan represents one of the most serious escalations of human rights abuses and threatens Uzbekistan’s future, Sukhrobjon Ismoilov, Director of the Tashkent-based Expert Working Group, reported on September 27, 2011 at the Annual OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meetng in Warsaw.
Working Session II that was dedicated to Fundamental freedoms (I) – Freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief, gathered experts and activists from OSCE participating states. Ismoilov was one of those to speak about situation with religious freedoms in Uzbekistan.
“The Uzbek authorities dismiss the crackdown against independent Islamic groups as necessary to stabilize the country during its transition toward its stated goals of a democratic state. The government justifies its strong-hand tactics as necessary to fend off militant Islamists and religious extremists. It is not clear whether religious fundamentalism is a real threat to Uzbekistan or merely a political game.”
One of the most active members of the Uzbek opposition in excile, member of the People’s Movement of Uzbekistan (PMU) Fuad Rustamkhojaev, was assasinated on September 24th 2011.
As the Fergana Information Agency reports, the killers arrived in Ivanovo, a Western Russian town where the victim lived, by taxi and had a long and loud conversation with Rustamkhojaev. Gun shots were heard some time later.
According to the PMU, Fuad Rustamkhojaev, 38, was a Russian citizen since 2005, leaving Uzbekistan after the Andijan massacre that year. He participated in PMU’s congress in Berlin earlier this year. They also told the agency that a month ago NSS (National Security Committee of Uzbekistan) people visited his house and threatened to “physically erase” him in the case that Rustamkhojaev continues his political activity.
Muhammad Salih, the PMU Chairman, had this to say:
“We are outraged by this brutal murder. Karimov’s antihuman regime should know that he will not break our will to fight against him. The death of our brother will unite us stronger, increase the sense of righteousness of the path we have chosen. The criminal actions of the regime will only fasten its fall.
The Russian authorities should not allow the security forces of dictatorial regimes to act so brazenly on the territory of a sovereign state. We hope that the Russian government will take special control over a murder of a Russian citizen and will go public with all the facts of this crime.”
Photographs from Facebook.
Translator’s note: This post is based upon Mashrab’s original from Russian. It is not a literal translation.
Only a few weeks ago, the National information Agency (UzA) — the country’s main propaganda engine — declared the implementation of a new high-speed train:
“The chair of the national railway stock company ‘Uzbekiston Temir Yullari’ Achilbai Ramatov and others have recently stated that the large-scale reforms led by President Islam Karimov were bringing fruitful results. The national leader pays great attention to the development of transport and communications infrastructure. A high-speed train system ‘Afrosiyob’ was built within tight deadlines to connect Tashkent and Samarkand. This is the result of all-time care and attention by the state leadership and of our country’s economic advancement.
“The communication and alarm systems of the high-speed electric train were modernized, safety zones were established with concrete barriers and metal bars, and pedestrian crossings were constructed to ensure traffic safety. Additionally, Tashkent and Samarkand railway stations were renovated to improve safety and comfort of the passengers. Prior to the organization of the Afrosiyob train, a large-scale work was held to modernize the rail infrastructure along the Tashkent-Samarkand route. Rail the length of 600 km was rehabilitated, and 68 km of new railways were laid. A new double-track section with a length of over 35.3 km was built between Yangiyer and Dashtobod, as well as a 142-meter-long tunnel and four bridges with a total length of 400 meters.”
And then along came author Inomjon Sarymsakov, who recently took a ride on the train from Tashkent to Samarkand and has written an article in the Uzbekistan-based newspaper “News of Uzbekistan” that quite boldly contradicts the sunny proclamation from UzA:
Uzbekistan is still in the mood of the 20th anniversary of the “most sacred and greatest” holiday of all times — Independence Day celebrated on September 1, 2011.
In return to official propaganda videos on the happiest people on Earth — Uzbekistanis, Uzbek dissidents protest, organize new civic platforms, call the Canadian government to re-evaluate relations with Uzbekistan. These facts do not threaten the ideological situation in the country, at all.
Below is the set of pictures taken in Tashkent and some other parts of Uzbekistan: Only in authoritarian countries such as Uzbekistan one can see shops selling sports stuff and tickets and fabulous restaurants being enermously happy with the fact that there’s no Center/Moscow anymore dictating, against Uzbek businessmen’s will.
In fact, these organizations had been forced by local authorities — expenditures on any propaganda banners/ads/flyers are covered by businessmen themselves, not from the local budget.
This is how it works: Businessmen do not seem 100% happy with that, but happy to realize that a few times a year expenditures of a couple hundred U.S. dollars can keep corupted officials away for some time from their business. Read the full story »
In Uzbekistan, photography – and other forms of media relations and human rights activities – are carefully watched and monitored by the state.
On September 15th, Gulshan Karayeva and Nodir Ahatov – members of an unregistered Uzbekistan’s Human Rights society – were held by authorities for 10 hours for their act of photographing injustice, for “… taking pictures of schoolchildren picking cotton in the southern Kashkadarya region.”
The Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Uzbek Service quotes activist Karayeva saying:
“We saw the fourth-graders picking the cotton as we were monitoring allegations of child labor in our region.”
“[The students] pick cotton from the early morning till the afternoon and then they are supposed to go to school afterward.”
Today, September 15 is the International Day of Democracy, first celebrated by the Unites Nations General Assembly in 2008.
When initiated in 2007, the preamble of the resolution affirmed that:
“[...] democracy is a universal value based on the freely-expressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems, and their full participation in all aspects of life.”
…as well as…
“[...] while democracies share common features, there is no single model of democracy and that democracy does not belong to any country or region…
Sometimes remembering victims of terrorist attacks is a crime. These “sometimes” take place in Uzbekistan, a post-Soviet Central Asian republic that became one of the main anti-terrorist allies of the United States on its war against Taliban in Afghanistan.
The history of relations between the U.S. and Uzbekistan saw its ups and downs but it never got to the point that the latter would refuse its commitment to fight against terrorists on any level – ideological, military, etc.
What happened today is that a prominent human and political rights activists, political scientist Abdullo Tajiboy-ugli tried to lay flowers to the Monument of Courage, the architectural composition build to commemorate victims of the 1966 earthquake in Tashkent. In fact, Uzbek authorities always try to prevent any organized action on the premises of the monument and its square due to the fact that this place became a popular one for rights activists, who each year try to remember victims of the Andijani massacre on May 13 by an act of bringing flowers to it.
Rights activist was detained before even approaching the monument itself, and forcedly delivered to the local police department and deprived of his rights for a whole time of his detention (silly expectation in Uzbekistan, huh?)
But today’s event had nothing to do with brutal regime and its systemic violations of human rights in the country. It was just about showing one’s position to what happened ten years ago in New York – a horrible attack on democracy, innocent people, who died not necessarily because of their occupation but because they were living and serving on and for the territory of the United Stated, so hated by coward religious fanatics. Read the full story »
The emerging oppositional movement of Uzbeks in exile has already showed its intentions to draw attention to the political regime in the country. First, they founded People’s Movement of Uzbekistan (PMU) with branches in Canada, Sweden and Norway.
After that, they spoiled Islam Karimov’s Independence Day celebrations with a protest in Istanbul in front of the Uzbek Consulate, where some fifty participants were holding banners with demands in Uzbek, English and Turkish, such as: “We don’t forget Andijan!”, “Time to Change!”, “Stop Torture!”, “For every Pharaoh there is a Moses,” etc.
On exactly the same day PMU sent off an appeal to the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, stating that:
“The Uzbek dictator Islam Karimov and members of his clan have been carrying out the policy of state terror against own people over the last 20 years, turning the country into the Uzbek GULAG. Thousands of prisoners, including political have been imprisoned in camps, jails, and detention centers where they have been suffering from torture and other forms of ill-treatment.”
A leader in the field of media censorship, Uzbekistan is imposing a new limitation to journalists, but this time it has nothing to do with the information they inform – or wish to, but can’t – their audience with.
The reporters seen on Uzbek state television will be seen only in a conservative and well dressed manner – that means no skin exposure in inappropriate places. That means no low cut shirts too-low and no miniskirts too-mini.
But it isn’t like something radical happened to make the imposed dress code headline news across Central Asia. Things are as they have been, in terms of state television fashion. But there was certainly something stunning about the recent ban to make it news-worthy at least via CA-News.org.
Read the full story »
While Uzbek President was celebrating “a great holiday, an unforgettable historic date – the twentieth anniversary of independence [of] Uzbekistan – across the entire nation, in every single town and kishlak,” Uzbeks living in excile in Turkey were making their last preparations to protest against the regime in Istanbul, demanding democratic changes in Uzbekistan.
Ozodlik Radiosi (Uzbek serice of RFE/RL) reported that on September 1, 2011, some fifty human rights activists gathered in front of the Consulate General in Istanbul, organized by People’s Movement of Uzbekistan, a comparatively new oppositional movement to oust President Karimov led by Muhammad Salikh, first and only real opponent of Islam Karimov at first Presidential elections in Uzbekistan in 1991.
With branches over continents, PMU activists aim to spread a word about processes that take place in Uzbekistan, mostly political, but also including human rights violations, issues with media freedoms’, etc.
Protesters were holding banners with demands in Uzbek, English and Turkish, such as: “We don’t forget Andijan!”, “Time to Change!”, “Stop Torture!”, “For every Pharaon there is a Moses,” etc.
Although, PMU was the organizer of the event it wasn’t only their activists rallying — Uzbeks of Istanbul, several Turkish human rights activists, members of the Turkish “Buyuk Birlik” party (Turkish for “Great Union”), as well as mass media were present, too. Read the full story »
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