Who and what were the obstacles to hold the Congress of the People’s Democratic Movement Birdamlik of Uzbekistan at different locations?
Around 8 PM on the 12 of November, 2018 senior lieutenant Berdiboy Berdimuratov, our local area prophylaxis inspector called me and told me that the Deputy Head of the Amudarya district Internal Affairs Department wanted to see me. Because I was in Nukus, I told him that I would go and see them on the following day.
In a short while, the inspector called again to tell that some complaint had been filed against me and asked if I could join him if he came to Nukus and took me with him in a car.
Police is a government law enforcement body, therefore, deserves respect. Notwithstanding my slight fever and lying in bed and the seventy-kilometre distance, I said:
Of course, it would not be good when you are calling.
The inspector arrived at about 11 PM and we headed for Mangit, the DIA of the district.
On the way, I told the senior lieutenant that the complaint must be a measure to prevent me from going to Tashkent on the following day, then on to Shymkent to attend Birdamlik’s Congress.
Now and then, the inspector repeated several times: “Brother Solijon, can you better miss the Congress?”
When we reached a point when there was still fourteen miles to go to the district entre, Berdumuratov said: “- It’s late now, please, come to the district DIA in the morning.”
The following morning, I went to the investigator’s office and read the complaint application. It turned out that Bakhodir Qozoqov from Mangit town had complained that I had brought shame to his family by having written an article in an Internet site. As if, I had written that, the Second World War veteran Rajab Qozoqov had died from cold because there was no natural gas supply to their house.
We printed the article at my request. There is not a single phrase in the article to argue about.
(The Qozoqovs had constant natural gas supply to their house, and the article says nothing about gas either).
Nevertheless, B. Qozoqov addressed to me several times suggesting to me deleting the article from the site to settle the issue. I told him that I would not agree to the suggestion for there was nothing to mean any sign of slander and I could not request the site administrators/managers to remove the article.
In my turn, I explained to him that from legal point of view, if he continued his actions letting the law enforcement authorities know of his complaint, the article could be removed from the site at a court resolution.
While leaving the office of Department of Internal Affairs at about 3:30 PM, I asked the investigator Ortiqov and Berdimuratov:
If there is a prohibition to go anywhere, will be give me a respective written comment about it?
Their answer was limited by asking me:
Is it possible that you can miss that Congress? (It was clear that they were talking about the Birdamlik PDP Congress planned to be held in Shymkent).
I said:
– If nobody stops me by holding by hands, I must go, it is very important.
I should note that all our conversations were in very polite, mutually respectful manner.
The following day on the 13 of November, I took the evening Nukus-Tashkent airplane.
On the 14 of November, at the Gishtkuprik checkpoint of the Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan border, the officials put an exit stamp in my passport and after I went through the Kazakhstan border control and was filling in the migration form, somebody called my by name and surname.
A military officer of the Uzbekistan border troops immediately took my passport, held me by my hand, and required to join him. He and I entered some room and there I had to wait for some time.
Then, they put the “cancelled” stamp on top of the “exit permitted” stamp; they saw me off very politely.
It goes without saying that at the time the Uzbekistan side were putting the stamp in my passport, my name was had not been entered in the prohibition list. In other words, B. Qozoqov’s application had not been properly registered. Had it been registered and reported, there would have been a legal resolution not to let me pass. I would think, the resolution to ban my crossing the border arrived to the border computer data-base later. Therefore, there was nothing to hinder me pass to Kazakhstan from Uzbekistan. Once the resolution was entered in the NSS Border Troops database and once they found out that I had passed their checkpoint very recently, the border officers had to act very quickly. But, who can be legally responsible for this in the Internal affairs system of Uzbekistan, which remains very closed?!
And this means, the Uzbekistani people, who have been breathing fresh air for the past two years, will not be able to get rid of the twenty five years suffocation in near future.
The only purpose I had as a member of opposition in my “Shymkent campaign” is to draw people’s attention to this suffocation and should the representatives of the government of President Mirziyoyev wish– render my assistance within my capabilities for Uzbekistan to keep upright and breathe freely.
Solijon Abdurahmonov, Republic of Qaraqalpakstan, Amydarya district.
Member of Council Board Party of the Birdamlik People’s Democratic Party
РS. According to B. Berdimuratov on the phone, the case about complaint of citizen B. Qozoqov has been suspended.