Leaders rebuked for silence on human rights abuses

TOO many governments, including members of the EU, are not standing up against abusive leaders and insisting they respect human rights the international organisation, Human Rights Watch, said in its annual report.

The report coincided with the visit to Brussels of the controversial Uzbek president Islam Karimov, where European Commission president, Jose Manuel Barroso met him to discuss energy and security cooperation.

The EU signed an agreement to establish a delegation office in Tashkent which they say will strengthen the EU’s voice on the ground. They signed a memorandum on energy relations and discussed economic and trade issues.

Human rights organisations protested outside the Commission this morning, asking that Barroso make Karimov’s human rights abuses the centre of their conversation.

He ordered the shooting of hundreds of protesters by the army five years ago and continues to repress any opposition to his leadership and the media in the country.

The EU lifted sanctions over the murders in 2009, despite Karimov fulfilling none of the EU’s criteria, while the imprisonment and disappearance of political and conscientious objectors continues.

The report also singled out US President Barack Obama, saying “his famed eloquence... has sometimes eluded him when it comes to defending human rights”. This was especially noticeable in contacts with countries that are important to US interests, such as China, India, Indonesia, Egypt and Bahrain, it said.

One of those protesting outside the Commission was Mutabar Tadjibaeva, who had been jailed in Uzbeckistan for demanding human rights. “It is clear that if they invite a dictator to discuss energy issues, then I belive they are more interested in gas than in human rights”.

Steve Swerdlow of Human Rights Watch said that while they don’t take issue with Barroso meeting Karimov, he must raise urgent human rights concerns.

After the meeting Barroso issued a statement saying: “I have raised all key concerns of Europe.”