Dear President Zeman,
We are writing to express our surprise and
deep concern that you have invited Uzbekistan’s president, Islam Karimov, on an
official visit to Prague on 20-22 February.
As the leader of one of the most repressive
governments in the world, President Karimov is not someone we would expect to
be invited for such meetings. In fact, he is rightly shunned by most western
leaders, particularly after the Andijan massacre of 2005, in which his security
forces shot into crowds of mostly peaceful protestors in that city, killing
hundreds. Between 2005 and 2009, the Czech Republic, along with the other
members of the European Union (EU), put targeted sanctions on the Uzbek
government in connection with President Karimov’s persistent refusal to allow
an independent international investigation into the killings in Andijan.
For nearly 25 years, Karimov has ruled over
a country in which torture is systematic in police custody and in prisons,
where dozens of human rights defenders, journalists and other peaceful activists
are held on politically-motivated charges and thousands of people are locked up
simply for practicing their religion - Christians as well as Muslims. The
government tolerates no freedom of speech or assembly.
Every year, the government closes hundreds
of schools and other public services to force over a million children and
adults to pick cotton for little or no pay.
For more than 11 years now, Tashkent has denied
access to all UN special monitors who have requested invitations – currently
numbering 11 – and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has had
to stop visiting prisoners there because the government refuses to cooperate
with standard ICRC procedures.
In short, this is the leader of a state
that oppresses its people in the extreme and stands out for its failure to cooperate
meaningfully with international human rights and humanitarian monitoring
mechanisms. It is therefore hard to reconcile that the Czech Republic, as an
international actor with a significant history in contesting and overcoming
oppression, would reward such a person with the prestige and recognition
associated with an official state visit.
We would strongly urge you to reconsider
this invitation. However, should you nonetheless decide to go ahead with this
meeting, , we would urge that you raise with President Karimov the critical
human rights abuses we have mentioned above, in addition to other human rights concerns
outlined by the EU Foreign Affairs Council in its October 2010 Conclusions on
Uzbekistan, and call on President Karimov to address them. We would also urge
you to hold a press conference with President Karimov following your talks with
a view to ensuring that there will be a public record of this meeting and the
issues discussed. This would demonstrate to President Karimov and more
importantly millions of Uzbekistan’s citizens the difference between closed and
authoritarian leadership, and open and democratic societies.
We thank you for your attention to this
urgent matter.
Sincerely,
Signed
(alphabetical):
Action by Christians for the Abolition of
Torture (ACAT), www.acatfrance.fr, www.acatfrance.fr
American Federation of Labor and Congress
of Industrial Organizations, www.aflcio.org
Anti-Slavery International (ASI),
www.antislavery.org
Association of Human Rights in Central Asia,
www.nadejda-atayeva-en.blogspot.com
Association International Human Rights -
"Fiery Hears Club", www.jarayon.com
Australian Council of Trade Unions, www.actu.org.au
Calvert Investments, www.calvert.com
Child Labor Coalition, www.stopchildlabor.org
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ),
www.cpj.org
The Cotton Campaign, www.cottoncampaign.org
DEMAS – Asociace
pro podporu demokracie a lidských práv, www.demas.cz
The Eurasian Transition Group, e.V., www.eurasiantransition.org
Expert Working Group
Fédération Internationale des Droits de
l'Homme, www.fidh.org
Freedom House, www.freedomhouse.org
Freedom Now, www.freedom-now.org
Human Rights Watch (HRW), www.hrw.org
INKOTA-netzwerk, www.inkota.de/baumwolle
International Labor Rights Forum, www.laborrights.org
International Partnership for Human Rights,
www.IPHRonline.org
Liga lidských práv, www.llp.cz
NaZemi, www.nazemi.cz
Norwegian Helsinki Committee, www. nhc.no
People in Need, www.clovekvtisni.cz
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), www.rsf.org
Sisters of
Charity of Saint Elizabeth, www.scnj.org
Sisters of
St. Francis of Philadelphia, www.osfphila.org
Sunshine Coalition, @sunshineuz
Textile Clothing & Footwear Union of
Australia, www.tcfua.org.au
Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights (UGF),
www.uzbekgermanforum.org
Media
contacts:
In Bishkek, Steve Swerdlow, HRW (English,
Russian): +996-773-242-620 (mobile), swerdls@hrw.org, @steveswerdlow
In Brussels, Brigitte Dufour, IPHR
(English, French): +32 473 36 38 91 (mobile), brigitte.dufour@iphronline.org
In Brussels, Andrew Stroehlein, HRW
(English, Czech), +32 485 555 946 (mobile), astro@hrw.org, @astroehlein
In Berlin, Umida Niyazova, UGF: +49 17 631 202
474, umida.niyazova@gmail.com
In London, Klára Skřivánková, ASI (English,
Czech): +44 2075018920, k.skrivankova@antislavery.org
In London, Jakub Sobik, ASI (English): +44
2075018920, j.sobik@antislavery.org
In New York, Veronika Szente Goldston, HRW
(English, French, Swedish, Hungarian, Finnish): +1-917-582-1271 (mobile); or
szentev@hrw.org
In New York, Matthew Fischer-Daly (English,
Spanish): +1-347-266-1351, cottoncampaigncoordinator@gmail.com
In Paris, Mutabar Tadjibayeva, Fiery Hearts
Club (Russian): +33 679 233 927(mobile), mutabartadjibaeva@gmail.com
In Paris, Nadejda Atayeva, AHRCA (French,
Russian): + 33 6 17 46 19 63 (mobile), ahrca.org@gmail.com
In Paris, Johann Bihr, RSF (English,
French, Russian): +33 1 44 83 84 67, europe@rsf.org
In Paris, Christine Laroque, ACAT (English,
French): +33 1 40 40 74 09, christine.laroque@acatfrance.fr
In Paris, Arthur Manet (English, French,
Spanish) - +33 6 72 28 42 94, press@fidh.org
In Prague, Rostislav Valvoda, People in
Need (English, Russian, Czech): +420 608 527 312 (mobile)
In Washington DC, Maran Turner, Freedom Now
(English): +1 202 223 3733, mturner@freedom-now.org
In Washington, Nate Schenkkan, Freedom
House (English, Russian): +1 202 747 7011, Schenkkan@freedomhouse.org
