RIGHTS-UZBEKISTAN: ‘EU Must Take Away the Cover’

By Kester Kenn Klomegah Reprint | | Print |

Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW, Mar 5 2008 (IPS) - Uzbek human rights activists have written a letter to President Islam Karimov challenging the unlawful detention of several of their colleagues.

“We, the opposition of Uzbekistan, believe there is a basic matter that should be brought to the attention of leaders and representatives of democratic republics and to members of organisations which defend human rights,” says the letter signed and circulated by Bahodir Choriyev, leader of the Birdamlik Solidarity Movement, an organisation that fights human rights abuses in Uzbekistan.

“We hoped in light of recent events that there would be an attempt to free the various opposition activists, defenders of human rights, journalists and religious believers that still languish behind bars,” says the letter. “But as we wait, this hope seems to be a figment of our imagination.”

Copies of the letter have been addressed to representatives of parliament, the office of the public prosecutor and ombudsman in Uzbekistan, and international organisations including the United Nations office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“It is obvious that President Islam Karimov has purposefully freed a few people as part of a political game. In such international manoeuvres, the tyrant still oppresses the government, and the innocent people who waste away inside prison walls become mere pawns on a chessboard. What will become of their fate, when they are released, and whether they will ever see the light of day remains unknown.”

The government has angrily denounced attempts to “politicise” the issue. But rights activists say they are speaking on behalf of people denied their rights, not for political workers.

“You can see directly from their verdicts that they are charged with their human rights activities,” Tanzilya Salimdjanova, an Uzbek representative of CIVICUS World Assembly, an international forum that works towards building a civil society and exchanging ideas and strategies for a just world, told IPS.

“The Uzbek regime has not tried to shift towards more democracy and pluralism,” Michael Laubsch, president of the Eurasian Transition Group (ETG) in Germany, told IPS from Bonn. “President Karimov is still fighting for stabilising his autocracy, and has consequently shut down all independent voices. This applies to journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers, etc. Most democratic opposition party members have had to leave the country, so the opposition is not present in Uzbekistan.”

The Eurasian Transition Group (ETG) is a leading non-profit organisation that focuses on security, economy, international relations, democracy, human rights issues and building civil society in Central Asian states. It works closely with the European Union, and cooperates with institutions such as the International Crisis Group, an independent non-governmental organisation working to prevent conflicts worldwide, with its head office in Brussels.

Laubsch said Karimov often speaks supportively of detainees, for the sake of closer relations with European Union (EU) countries keen on doing gas and cotton business with Uzbekistan.

“Unfortunately, the European Union goes with this strategy; Karimov frees the detainees and afterwards the European Union says that Uzbekistan should make further progress in human rights and pluralism. So, this card is well used by Karimov.”

Brussels is now planning to do away with sanctions on Uzbekistan, he said. “This gives Karimov proof that his strategy is right, and he is not forced to change. The west doesn’t care.”

The European Union imposed sanctions against Uzbekistan in October 2005 in response to the May 2005 Andijan massacre, in which Uzbek security forces killed hundreds of unarmed protesters. In October 2007 the EU extended sanctions for an additional 12 months, but temporarily suspended for six months the bulk of the sanctions regime.

Uzbekistan, an ex-Soviet Central Asian republic with a population of 27.4 million, shares borders with Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.

European Union members are sharply divided on sanctions against Uzbekistan. Germany and Spain say the sanctions have not proven effective, and should therefore be dropped.

Early last month, a few days before an EU-Uzbekistan joint meeting (Feb. 5), Uzbek authorities released five persons imprisoned for rights activities, to showcase a commitment towards human rights. Release of imprisoned human rights defenders is among the criteria that the European Union has set for reviewing the sanctions.

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) office in Tashkent says the release of a number of human rights defenders proves that a principled stand taken by the EU can affect human rights positively.