Uzbekistan: Erk Party… Is there such a party?

09.12.2013 09:49 msk Human Rights Politics Uzbekistan

The six assembly of the Erk party was scheduled in Tashkent for 3 Dec 2013. But it was not meant to happen: a local café, the venue point for participants, was suddenly closed on that day due to gas cutoff while many regional delegates were prevented from reaching Tashkent. Why are the authorities so afraid of the Erk Party, whose nominee, Muhammad Salih, ran for president in 1991? What kind of party is it anyway, and what issues was the assembly to discuss? Our observer in Tashkent sheds light on such matters in the article below.

Uzbekistan targets NGOs’ finances

06.12.2013 23:45 msk Human Rights Politics Uzbekistan

Fergana learned that Uzbek authorities launched mass inspections of non-governmental non- profit organizations in Uzbekistan. The inspection teams include all the controlling bodies—the ministry of justices, tax agencies and other relevant government arms. One can only speculate as to the causes of this heightened interest the government is displaying in regards with NGOs: many say the reason is the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2014 and the presidential elections in 2015. Or, possibly, the inspections are unleashed in connection with the closure of the Fund Forum, which belonged to Gulnara Karimova; after all, many NGOs received financial assistance from it. Or, possibly, it is one of the last nails in the coffin, so to speak: the authorities are trying to intimated NGOs to step up its control and to force them into curbing contacts with foreign and international organizations. As a reminder, the Uzbek National TV and Radio Company employees are prohibited from traveling abroad since recently, even during vacation.

Uzbek Journalist Muhammad Bekjan Awarded Press Freedom International Award after 15 Years of Imprisonment…

29.11.2013 09:14 msk Human Rights Politics Uzbekistan

On 27 Nov 2013, Muhammad Bekjan, an imprisoned Uzbek journalist, was awarded the annual award of the Freedom of Press instituted by the Reporters Without Borders (RWB). The award has been issued since 1992, and one journalist and one news media outlet can be awarded it, if judges find they made a significant contribution to the protection and development of freedom of the press. The awarding ceremony is traditionally held in Paris, where the RWB has its main office, but this year ceremony was held in Strasburg as part of events the RWB organized during the Global Forum of Democracy of the European Council. The head of the Association of Human Rights in Central Asia, Nadejda Atayeva, received the award in Mr. Bekjan’s stead. Mr. Bekjan has been imprisoned for 15 years in a prison in Zarafshan City in Navoi Region. He is serving time for crimes he did not commit and no attempts undertaken by international organizations to release him yielded results. On the contrary, Mr. Bekjan’s prison term was extended in 2011; apparently he and his family have lost any hope to see him free again.

Uzbekistan: Veteran US NGO Worker Paralyzed by Stroke Risks Ending Up on Streets of Tashkent

25.11.2013 21:42 msk Business Politics Uzbekistan

Richard Glaub, a US citizen who worked as director of the National Democratic Institute in Uzbekistan for six years, now lives in Tashkent and is in a desperate, bedridden state. And there is a risk that by mid-December, he and his wife could end up on the street, without any money or medical assistance. “On November 12, 2012, Richard was brought down by a stroke, which left him paralyzed,” says his wife, Lidiya Glaub. “Ever since then, Richard has been trapped in bed and the burden of taking care of him has fallen upon me, even though [I have health problems too].” Lidiya Glaub says she and her husband lived a happy married life for 11 years. Now she is caring for her helpless 61-year spouse, living in a rented apartment, the lease of which ends on December 15.

Uzbekistan: Esprit De Corps More Important Than Death in Custody During Questioning?

22.11.2013 23:26 msk Human Rights Uzbekistan

The most striking part of the tragic event that took place in the city of Namangan in Uzbekistan this June is the law enforcement and supervision authorities’ absolute unwillingness to interfere, although it is murder we are talking about. According to the killed young man’s mother, her son was beaten to death by policemen, and then law enforcement agencies put esprit de corps higher than evidence, the mother’s heart-break, as well as the fact that two children were orphaned and left without a single breadwinner. The desperate mother’s efforts to right the wrongs and have the guilty punished proved futile: none of the responsible individuals was willing to confess their guilt and confirm their taking part in cruel violence against the defenseless young man. Moreover, even the ombudsman in Tashkent to whom the mother appealed rejected her pleas to hear her out and thought it unnecessary to even take a look at the evidence in the case.

Lack of voters secures Tajik president’s victory

11.11.2013 20:19 msk Politics Tajikistan

Over 80 percent of eligible voters participated in the latest presidential elections in Tajikistan on 6 November 2013. According to the central elections committee (CEE) of Tajikistan, 83.6 percent of those voters cast their votes in favor of the current president in office, Emomali Rakhmon. But there is a flaw in these figures, and it does not take long to figure it out.

Uzbekistan: Thinking out loud about Gulnara Karimova as her father’s “victim”

04.11.2013 23:22 msk Analytics Politics Uzbekistan

The president of Uzbekistan has long been called, behind his back of course, “Father.” To be sure, not an “Uzbekbashi,” like the previous president of Turkmenistan was called “Turkmenbashi” (“The head of all Turkmen”) or “Yelbasy” (“The leader of nation”) like the Kazakhs call their president. Uzbek subjects seem to feel more intimate and almost family-type ties with their head of state. It, therefore, turns out that all citizens in the country are essentially Islam Karimov’s sons and daughters. Like any father, he feeds and brings them up, punishes and forgives, and there is no way the can do without he for well over 20 years now. It is high time they grew up and start their own lives, but they just cannot bring themselves to breaking that painful dependence on almost saint father. To be fair, the daddy is not burning with the desire to open his arms and release his children. For a long time, those very 20 years to be specific, Islam Karimov’s fatherly belt did not land on his biological children only. The two daughters of his were allowed to do whatever they wished, just like any capricious princesses.

International Campaign to Protect Those Disappeared In Turkmen Prisons

30.10.2013 10:05 msk Human Rights Politics Turkmenistan

The Turkmenistan Civic Solidarity Group announces the beginning of our international campaign, “Prove They Are Alive!” The Goal of the Campaign is to uncover the truth about the fate of hundreds of people who have disappeared in Turkmen prisons as the result of massive repression that took place in the 2000s. Uncovering the truth about gross human rights violations by Turkmenistan’s authorities in the past and today will stop additional violations in the future. By raising the question of the fate of those people who have disappeared in Turkmenistan’s prisons on the international level, we begin to pave the way to addressing the systemic human rights violations committed by one of the most opaque and repressive regimes in the world.

Slain journalist Alisher’s daughter Zulaykho: “My father was a journalist!”

26.10.2013 13:06 msk Ferghana Valley Human Rights Central Asia Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan

Russians Worried about Spread of Cancer-Causing "Sucking Tobacco" from Central Asia

14.10.2013 19:57 msk Analytics Central Asia Uzbekistan

“Sucking tobacco,” or nasvai is green, oil-covered, smelly little pellets – or, sometimes, powder – that has for centuries been popular in Central Asia where Muslim clerics disapproved of smoking as a “satanic” Western habit. Following the influx of Central Asian labor migrants to Russia, dirt-cheap nasvai has become popular among average Russians and schoolchildren, while doctors warn about its carcinogenic effects.

Uzbekistan: The Birdamlik Movement will evolve into a political party

14.10.2013 10:42 msk Politics Uzbekistan

According to the leader of the Birdamlik opposition movement, Bakhodir Choriyev, the movement will be reformed to establish the Birdamlik Liberal Economic Party of Uzbekistan (BLEPU). Mr. Choriyev writes about his plans for the movement in the Manual for Practicing Civil Activity, which he authored. Although called a “manual,” the document resembles a presentation of the movement. Bakhodir Choriyev urges citizens of Uzbekistan to join the ranks of his movement in order to organize large-scale peaceful rallies simultaneously throughout the country with the aim of toppling the Islam Karimov regime. The document is, therefore, a continuation of attempts to wage a “velvet revolution,” about which Mr. Choriyev, a former farmer and now US-based oppositionist, declared in the summer of 2013.

Breasts, fish, cotton - why did Uzbeks jail reporter Sergei Naumov?

05.10.2013 00:10 msk Human Rights Politics Uzbekistan

Twelve days in jail for allegedly harassing a foul-mouthed woman is what Sergei Naumov got for being the only reporter to cover, muck-rack and expose the otherwise untold horrors of living in western Uzbekistan. The arrest is part of a never-ending crackdown on dissidents, independent journalists and opposition figures who dare stand up to President Islam Karimov’s policies in Central Asia’s most populous nation.

Uzbek journalist Sergey Naumov detained by police, whereabouts unknown

23.09.2013 22:05 msk Human Rights Uzbekistan

Journalist Sergey Naumov has been missing and nothing has been known about his status or whereabouts since last Saturday when police detained him in the town of Urgench in western Uzbekistan. He is presumed detained in his house. Mr. Naumov’s friends visited all the police stations in town and called the National Security Service and yet failed to locate his traces. Some suggest his detention is aimed at “isolating” the journalist while the forced cotton-picking campaign is underway by imposing trumped up charges. The well-known journalist’s colleagues are certain that Mr. Naumov is innocent before the law and they urge international oragnizatios to immediately get involved in his case.

More children die on cotton fields in Uzbekistan

22.09.2013 00:16 msk Human Rights Business Cotton Uzbekistan

On 15 Sep 2013, a 6-year-old child suffocated to death under a heap of raw cotton in Bukhara Region in western Uzbekistan. The boy did not go to school on that day, but went to a cotton field to help his mother. He climbed into a trailer and fell asleep. Those collecting cotton did not notice him and dumped raw cotton collected during the day. The child’s dead body was only discovered at a raw cotton storing facility.

The world did not hear us

20.09.2013 22:11 msk Analytics Human Rights Politics Uzbekistan

«I am an Uzbek woman originally from Tashkent. I used to work as a journalist, and I left my homeland like so many others not because I wanted to do so, but because I had to. I enjoyed reading the articles posted on Fergana by readers, political experts and journalists about the possibility of “velvet” revolution in Uzbekistan. I share the general sentiment of the readers’ opinion. However, I did not see in any of those articles the main reason as to why neither a “velvet,” a “color,” a “sunny” or any other kind of revolution would occur in Uzbekistan. The reason, as I see it, is the geopolitical interests of the most powerful countries on Earth—the USA, Russia, and China. The fact that Uzbek people will not rise up on their own is a no-brainer. First of all, lack of a strong person; of a leader with a defined program, a stage-by-stage plan of eliminating the current governmental authority; program on restoring the economy that was destroyed long ago; and, most importantly, an agenda on changing the Uzbek mentality...»