UZBEKISTAN: Media development NGO folds

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

ANKARA, 13 Oct 2005 (IRIN) - The Internews Network, a leading international media development organisation, has lost its bid to continue working in Uzbekistan, the Central Asian nation where it has operated for ten years to support independent media.

“This was clearly a political move, the government has been determined to get rid of any organisation promoting freedom of speech and things got worse after Andijan [the killing five months ago of demonstrators in the eastern Uzbek city],” Catherine Eldridge, Internews head in Uzbekistan, said on Thursday.

After ten minutes of deliberation, the Tashkent City Court on Tuesday denied Internews Network's appeal of a court order last month to shut down the US-based organisation's Uzbekistan office.

“We’re still very disappointed. We’ve put up a good fight and we’ll continue to fight this decision through the courts…but it looks like we really have to go,” Eldridge added.

The US-based non-profit media organisation began operations in Uzbekistan in 1995 where it has helped develop the country’s independent, private television stations through training, technical assistance and support of local news and information programming.

In September the Tashkent City Court found Internews guilty of a number of “gross violations” of Uzbek law and told it to close. In August, two Internews employees were convicted of conspiring to publish information and produce TV programmes without the necessary licences. The liquidation order was based on these convictions as well as a number of other violations.

In the last 18 months, there has been a crackdown on foreign NGOs, especially those supporting the development of democracy. Also in September another foreign NGO, the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) was suspended for six months for allegedly conducting activities not in line with its charter and not registering its logo with the Ministry of Justice.

Many believe that the Uzbek authorities fear a repeat of the popular uprisings that brought down the governments in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.

In May, relations between Western governments and the authoritarian regime of President Islam Karimov worsened after Uzbek forces brutally quashed a popular uprising in the city of Andijan, killing hundreds of mostly unarmed protesters. In July, Uzbekistan gave the US military six months to leave its base at Karshi-Khanabad.

“Of course we would like to return to Uzbekistan, but while the status quo in the country remains the same, it looks like we won’t be able to,” Eldridge said.

[ENDS]