Shock at presence of Uzbek dictators daughter
Published on Wednesday 19 May 2010.
Mr Vice president, Representatives of AmfAR at
the 2010 Cannes Festival, Presidents and co-presidents of the Cinema against
AIDS event,
The annual Cinema against AIDS evening will be
held tomorrow at Cap-Eden Roc hotel at Cap dAntibes, within the Cannes Film
Festival.
Reporters Without Borders, an international
organization for the defense of journalists, is astonished to note the presence
among you at this 7th annual event of Gulnara Karimova. The organization
recognizes the evenings valid and admirable character, but questions the
appropriateness of the participation of the daughter of the Uzbek president,
Islam Karimov, central Asias outstanding dictator.
While Reporters Without Borders accepts the
importance of AIDS prevention and the value of such events, it would however
like to jog your memory about some disturbing and significant facts. The
prevention of AIDS is vital but should not be at the expense of fundamental
values.
Some months ago, a young activist, Maksim Popov,
aged 27, was sentenced to seven years in prison for distributing information
about the fight against AIDS, a virus that is wreaking havoc Uzbekistan as it is
elsewhere. The brochures he was distributing were about how to stem the spread
of HIV. These publications were deemed by the court to be contrary to the
mentality and moral basis of the Uzbek peoples society, religion, culture and
traditions. It should not be forgotten either that homosexuality is a crime
punishable by three years imprisonment in this country; and it is a criminal
offence to discuss condoms with anyone under-age.
While AmfAR on 10 May signed a petition calling
for the release of Maksim Popov, you currently have among your donors, Gulnara
Karimova, the daughter of the president, whose courts are responsible for the
conviction of Maksim Popov. Could it be that you have a selective memory when
you are offered major funding. Does it alter your objectives?
Surely this is an attitude that is not only
counter-productive but also absurd?
Reporters Without Borders reminds you that
President Islam Karimov figures on its list of the predators of press freedom
released annually on 3 May. The situation of the countrys journalists and human
rights defenders is extremely precarious. Uzbekistan is ranked 160th out of 175
countries on the organisations press freedom index. Eleven journalists are
currently in jail, where they are often maltreated.
As Uzbekistans ambassador to Spain and
Switzerland, Gulnara Karimova, is therefore her countrys official
representative, spokesperson for the harsh policies carried out by her father
for several years.
By accepting her presence at the forthcoming 7th
annual event, Reporters Without Borders fears that you will give this country a
profile that it in no way deserves. You will thus be colluding with repressive
policies affecting not only those fighting against AIDS, but also all those, who
in the worst of dictatorships, suffer arbitrary imprisonment and torture.
Reporters Without Borders calls on you to adopt
a firm position in relation to Gulnara Karimova by demanding that she publicly
supports the release of Maksim Popov and of all human rights defenders,
including journalists, who are in detention. This gesture would be completely in
keeping with the objectives of your campaign and would certainly be more useful
to AIDS prevention in Uzbekistan that the detention of an activist.
While Reporters Without Borders does not wish to
engage in further polemic about the current correlation between financial
contributions and blindness to the real situation in Uzbekistan, the
organisation nevertheless wishes to stress the discredit that this case could
reflect on the event and the work of AmfAR, and thus to its members, however
prominent they may be. Are Sharon Stone, Giorgio Armani and Elizabeth Taylor, to
name just a few, aware of the Uzbek political context? Do they approve of the
policy towards human rights defenders and the repression of AIDS prevention?
Reporters Without Borders therefore calls on
everyone taking part in the event to demand that Gulnara Karimova either takes a
significant step in support of the Uzbek detainees or withdraws. The Cannes Film
Festival and AmfAR would thus be real vehicles of the fight for freedom and the
prevention of AIDS, and would no longer give an international platform to
President Karimov and his dictatorship through the presence of his daughter.
I trust your will give this letter your careful
attention.
Yours sincerely,
Jean-Franois Julliard Secretary-General
List of journalists
imprisoned in Uzbekistan:
Khayrullo
Khamidov (Nawruz - radio), since 21 January 2010
Dilmurod
Sayid (Ezgulik) since 22 February 2009
Bakhrom
Ibragimov (Irmok) since 16 February 2009
Davron
Kabilov (Irmok) since 16 February 2009
Ravshanbek
Vafoev (Irmok) since 16 February 2009
Abdulaziz
Dadakhonov (Irmok) since 16 February 2009
Botyrbek
Eshkuziev (Irmok) since 16 February 2009
Solidjon
Abdurakhmanov (freelance journalist) since 7 June 2008
Djamchid
Karimov (freelance journalist, working for websites fergana.ru and centrasia.ru)
since 12 September 2006
Jusuf
Ruzimuradov (Erk) since 15 March 1999
Mohammed
Bekjanov (Erk) since 15 March 1999
