The Uzbek opposition movement Birdamlik last Saturday announced the winners of the competition Mass Joy in which participants wore white clothes in protest against President Islam Karimov’s regime.
The Mass Joy (Ommaviy Shodlik, the initials of which in Uzbek also mean the holiday dish pilaff) campaign was held in Uzbekistan between 1 and 10 September at the initiative of the Birdamlik movement.
Its participants were required to wear white clothes as a token of solidarity and those willing to take part in the competition had been asked to send a photo showing them wear white.
Last Saturday, the competition was over and the jury in Tashkent announced five winners.
Birdamlik spokesperson in Uzbekistan Malohat Eshankulova has said that three participants shared the third place.
First place went to a human rights activist and a former political prisoner from Andijan, Saidjahon Zaynabitdinov. He travelled through the city on a bike wearing a white clothes and carrying a bag that read “OSH”.
«He also took a lot of pictures of participants in the campaign, including students who had books with white cover that read `OSH’,” Eshankulova said.
The jury gave second place to a group of photos depicting nine women in white clothes in a cafe of national cuisine near Tashkent’s Farhod market.
“Then we were watched by police officers who set up wiretap surveillance, which frightened off waiters who then did not even want to serve us,” the Birdamlik member said.
According to her, the discussion of third-place winners provoked most controversy.
As a result, a Birdamlik activist from Horezm, Valeriy Nazarov, with a picture of him explaining the point of the Mass Joy campaign to a group of people was given third place.
“He shared the third place with pensioner Rahbarhon Adylova, who specially came to the Mass Joy campaign from Kokand, and human rights activist Elena Urlayeva, who wore white clothes despite constant surveillance,” Eshankulova said.
Eshankulova believes that the number of participants in the campaign is much higher than the number of those depicted on over 200 pictures sent to the Birdamlik office in Tashkent.
“It turned out that during the campaign many people did not have white shirts, or white blouses, nor had they money to buy them,” she said.
The celebration in honour of winners of the Mass Joy campaign will take place on in the same cafe of national dishes on 18 September.
Mass Joy is one of the many peaceful demonstrations by Birdamlik that promote non-violent methods of fighting the existing regime in Uzbekistan.
The movement’s plan is to hold rallies entitled “White scarf”, “White dress” and “White ribbon”, which should demonstrate solidarity and unity of the people protesting against unlawfulness and violations with regard to civil freedoms.
Uznews.net