Speech by Mr Burhanov, founder of the political opposition Movement “Erkin O’zbekiston” (Free Uzbekistan), at the 2nd Session of the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference – 2024.

Thank you Mr Moderator,

Hello again, dear colleagues. I am Hasanboy Burhanov, “Erkin O’zbekiston” Movement.

Specialists who monitor political life in Uzbekistan know this man. His name is Khidirnazar Allakulov.

In the spring of 2020, through social networks, he announced the beginning of the creation of the Social Democratic Party “Truth and Progress”.

Without getting into the essence of the issue, the Uzbek services of Western radio stations and independent media presented the activities of this man as political opposition to the incumbent. Although it was initially clear to everyone that this was a pure farce.

On 8 September this year, Allakulov published, on his YouTube channel, a video appeal to the President of Uzbekistan.

In the appeal he asks Mirziyaev to help register his party in order to further nominate Shavkat Mirziyaev as a presidential candidate from his so-called “opposition” party. Allakulov specifies that since spring of 2020, he has made similar requests to President Mirziyaev several times.

This example is clear evidence of manipulation of information by the Uzbek authorities to mislead the international community.

Using such pseudo civil activists, the Mirziyaev regime has been imitating the existence of democratic processes in Uzbekistan for 4 years. The Uzbek authorities continue to shamelessly lie that they are committed to their obligations to promote human rights and the rule of law. Meanwhile, the Mirziyaev regime has completely destroyed representatives of civil society and political opponents in Uzbekistan. The Mirziyaev regime has widely applied the practice of transnational repression against its political opponents.

We confidently state that the parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan, scheduled for 27 October this year, will be turn out to be “elections without a choice”.

On the eve of the Uzbekistan-EU meeting in November, we propose that the EU organise a hearing on Uzbekistan, where our Movement could make a report on the real human rights situation in Uzbekistan.

Thank you for your attention.