In Uzbekistan there is a strong, silent dictatorship. Of course it must be defeated. But who will defeat it and how remains a serious question.
Today in Uzbekistan every television channel and media outlet works under the auspices of the government. There are no free or opposing opinions. Inside the country all information from the Internet or the opposition is strongly censored. The only opportunity for ordinary people to get this kind of information is Ozodlik radio.
Unfortunately, partisanship and regional bias runs rampant at Ozodlik radio . Under these conditions, the activity of the Birdamlik People’s Movement, which spreads a message of non-violent protest based on the teachings of Gandhi, is strongly censored. Ordinary people hear almost no news about our activity.
Ozodlik radio journalists Shuhrat and Hurmat Bobojonov, who are members of Salay Madaminov’s ERK party which has an Islamic perspective, and journalist Mehribon Bekieva, who is preoccupied by regional biases, have given their leader, mullah Salay Madaminov, the opportunity to share his views about the establishment of an Islamic system in Uzbekistan.
Rejecting the philosophy of Tolstoy and Gandhi’s teachings on non-violence, mullah Salay Madaminov seeks to use violence against the government of Uzbekistan. The Uzbek service Ozodlik radio needs to stop letting him propagate these views with US taxpayer dollars.
There are many serious questions here. Where are the views of the head of the Uzbek radio service, Alisher Siddiq, and the leaders of the service in Prague and Washington? In Afghanistan, hundreds of soldiers working in support of peace under the military leadership of the US have been killed – for whom wa s their sacrifice? Have the problems in Afghanistan not impacted us? What is the goal of the US government — to support the forces who oppose Islamic extremism or to bring an Islamic government to Uzbekistan through Ozodlik radio?
Ozodlik radio journalists must not be members of parties or movements. Journalists who are party members, who spread partisanship and regionalism, should be removed from their position. We want Ozodlik radio to reflect its true purpose as a platform for democracy and freedom.
Birdamlik People’s Movement leader,
Bahodir Choriyev