An announcement from the “Birdamlik” people’s movement

Recently the Justice Ministry of the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan unexpectedly ordered that the activity of Human Rights Watch in the country be put to a stop, and now the activity of this group has ceased to exist. As we know, the aforementioned organization, which took a strong stand on the necessity of an independent international commission to investigate the Andijon events of 2005, has been blacklisted by President Karimov and the government of Uzbekistan. As a result their office in Tashkent has been closed and their representatives, under various pretexts, have been expelled from the country.
That this organization, which worked in Uzbekistan for fifteen years and carries out its activity in over 70 countries around the world, would be kicked out by the country’s own government, in particular its president Islam Karimov, undoubtedly tarnishes Uzbekistan’s reputation.
The “Birdamlik” (Solidarity) movement would like to make known its opposition to the illegal actions of the government of Uzbekistan concerning this case. All independent legal scholars, human rights organizations, and representatives of the opposition strongly support HRW and condemn the actions of the Supreme Court, which is against human rights; therefore, we are organizing a picket in front of the Supreme Court building to demand the reinstatement of HRW in our country.