STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Get a low APR NextCard Visa in 30 seconds! 1. Fill in the brief application 2. Receive approval decision within 30 seconds 3. Get rates as low as 2.99% Intro or 9.99% Ongoing APR and no annual fee! Apply NOW! http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/NextCard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Uzbekistan's real crime is that, political problems aside, it represents a secular, multi-ethnic society, where Muslims, Christians and Jews, Uzbeks, Tajiks and Russians live in comparative peace. An obvious target, then, for the 'human rights' sappers of imperialism.] http//www.ummah.net/uzbekistan/hrwuz.html. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH (you can find full reports on the website: www.hrw.org) Uzbekistan VIOLATIONS OF MEDIA FREEDOM: Journalism and Censorship in Uzbekistan Despite the government of Uzbekistan's professed commitment to freedom of the press�made both explicitly and publicly over the past two years�state censorship of the media remains pervasive and intimidation of journalists is rampant. The tone and subject matter of articles published in Uzbekistan is strictly controlled by the government. Moreover, many journalists do not dare to challenge the parameters of the state's media policy, fearful of the possible professional repercussions should they guess incorrectly about the limits of the state's tolerance for critical expression. The Uzbek government's public calls for greater press freedom lie in stark contrast to its complete failure to give force to laws that guarantee freedom of expression, as well as to the impunity granted to those who beat and harass journalists. Today there exists a tension between official government policy toward free speech, which allows the principle of free media, and the stark reality for journalists and media consumers who cannot enjoy the practice of free media because of government harassment. The independent media will continue to suffer until the Uzbek government of President Islam Karimov musters the political will to observe laws protecting free speech. (D907) 5/96, 18 pp., $3.00/�1.95 Order online: www.hrw.org Persistent Human Rights Violations and Prospects for Improvement In late 1994, the authoritarian government of Uzbekistan, long stigmatized as a serious human rights abuser, showed the first signs that it desired to change its image. In September of that year, it hosted an international seminar in Toshkent sponsored by the OSCE, at which, in a move unprecedented since early 1992, two local human rights activists were allowed to address the forum, even at the height of a campaign to silence them and all dissidents. At the same time, fundamental human rights are systematically denied to residents of Uzbekistan. (D805) 5/96, 43 pp., $5.00/�2.95 Order online: www.hrw.org Human Rights in Uzbekistan The violations of human rights taking place in today's Uzbekistan are uncannily familiar. Perhaps most striking is the gulf between the government's stated and legal commitment to human rights protection, and its actual record. On the one hand, protection of human rights is enshrined in both international instruments to which the republic is signatory and legislative acts, such as the new constitution, that were written and passed by its own legislature; on the other hand, those same rights are being violated either personally by government officials or without their direct intervention. (995) 5/93, 70 pp., ISBN 1-56432-099-5, $7.00/�5.95 Order online www.hrw.org "STRAIGHTENING OUT THE BRAINS OF 100" Discriminatory Political Dismissals in Uzbekistan Dismissals from the workplace as a means of punishing and discouraging critical speech, particularly levelled at members of the political opposition, are occurring all too frequently in Uzbekistan. The administration's attitude toward the opposition has been articulated thus: "It is necessary to straighten out the brains of 100 people in order to preserve the lives of thousands." (D507) 4/93, 13 pp., $3.00/�1.95 Order online: www.hrw.org Contact | News | Islam in Uzbekistan | Contents | Home __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
