Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan disrupted Birdamlik’s Congress in Shymkent

 

The conference hall of the Shymkent Hotel, where they were going to hold the Birdamlik’s Congress is empty: none of the members of the opposition Movement of Uzbekistan could reach or stay in Shymkent.

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The Congress of the People’s Democratic Movement of Uzbekistan Birdamlik, planned to commence today in Shymkent in the south of Kazakhstan has been disrupted.

The night before this, some officers of the National Security Committee (NSC) of Kazakhstan detained four members of the Congress – the only people, who managed to overcome the obstacle in Uzbekistan and reach the hotel in Shymkent and deported them back to their motherland.

Birdamlik informs that the deported people were: Klara Juraeva – activist from Samarqand region; independent journalist Ruziboy Azimy; activists Zafar Hamdamov and Rustam Iskhakov – spouse of well-known activist and opposition member Dilorom Iskhakova.

The leader of the Movement Bakhodir Khan Turkiston (formerly – Bokhodir Choriyev – note by C-1) could not arrive to Shymkent either.

The leader of the Movement, who had been staying in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) since the beginning of November was intending to cross the Kazakh-Kyrgyz border on the 11 of November was not allowed to enter the territory of Kazakhstan and the Kazakhstan border officials put a deportation stamp and note in his passport of a citizen of the USA. The Kazakhstan border officials did not explain the grounds of Turkiston’s deportation (citizens of the USA can enter Kazakhstan without any visa for 30 days). Turkiston was not given any explanations at the embassy of RK in Bishkek, which he had to visit twice with a hope of resolving the issue and get to Shymkent.

The main members of Birdamlik, the Congress delegates could not even leave Uzbekistan. Each of approximately 60 participants of the Congress had to face individual obstacle locally: official confiscated passports of some, some were blamed for financial debt, while other were to be watched for 24 hours.

Journalist from Qaraqalpakstan Salijon Abdurahmanov was stopped at the border of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan bear Tashkent. As he found out later, at home somebody filed a claim against him on a “made up” slander.

In early spring 2018, Abdurahmanov wrote some article for C-1 that there only a few veterans of the Second World War in Qaraqalpakstan, and they were living their elderly life freezing in houses, where there is not heating. In March, two of those mentioned in the article died …

Now son of one of the diseased veterans – 98-year-old Rajab Kazakov – blames the journalist for slander. Salijon Abdurahmanov was freed from prison in autumn 2017 after nine and a half years, spent in jail for his journalist activity. Now he is 68 years old.

Bakhodir Khan Turkiston says that accusations or fines are something that almost all delegates of his Movement, who intended to arrive in Shymkent for the Congress, had to face.

The authorities set four levels of obstacles for the members of our Movement: at the level of the area police officer, then at checkpoints of Uzbekistan, and at Kazakhstan checkpoints, and those who eventually reached the hotel were deported by NSC of Kazakhstan,” – says Bakhodir

According to Turkiston, the Chairman of State Security Services of Uzbekistan Ikhtiyor Abdullaev is currently in Bishkek: the purpose of his visit: to get Kyrgyzstan deportation of the leader of Birdamlik.”

It was planned to reorganise the Birdamlik Movement to the Birdamlik political party at Shymkent Congress. Initially they planned to hold the Congress in Uzbekistan, but Turkiston could not get an entry visa for Uzbekistan. Then they decided to hold the event in Shymkent thinking that Kazakhstan authorities would not put any obstacle to the congress of his Movement.

 

Узбекистан и Казахстан сорвали курултай «Бирдамлика» в Шымкенте

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