” Do not put on fetters, do not bow down, Because you are also born free…”
Abdulhamid Cholpon
POLITICAL PLATFORM
OF THE BIRDAMLIK MOVEMENT
INTRODUCTION
We, the offspring of dearest Uzbekistan, who worry about the future of the Homeland and the nation’s fate, have established the BIRDAMLIK PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT for the purpose of releasing the holy motherland from autocracy and political authoritarianism, setting its hardworking and patient people free, and creating a democratic government and state.
Today the children of Uzbekistan, whether living within or outside of the country, are asking “How can we free our dearest motherland from an tenacious dictatorship, how can we get rid of it, how can we create a free and prosperous society that is good for our children, parents, sisters and for all of us to live in?”
We, the founders, the activists and companions of the Birdamlik Movement, have rallied together around one idea in order to solve these problems. We, the BIRDAMLIK movement, seek to overthrow the dictatorship in Uzbekistan, that is, the regime of the bloodthirsty Islam Karimov, by means of nonviolent struggle and call all the Uzbeks and citizens of Uzbekistan to unite.
The history of nonviolent struggle, which is the chosen means of the Birdamlik movement for struggle against dictatorship, goes back thousands of years. Some examples of successful non-violent struggle are: the spread of the movement of prophet Mohammed and his companions to Mecca and later to the whole of Arabia; the struggle of Indian people under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi against colonizers of Great Britain; the liberation of Poland and some other European countries from the oppression of the Red Empire; the demonstration of two million people of the Philippines for the resignation of their country’s president; the change of regimes brought about by nonviolent movements in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan etc.
Therefore dear compatriots, government clerks and employees! Do not deceive yourself and do not shut your eyes to the situation! To struggle against this regime is our duty! Not everybody will have the opportunity to make a contribution to this struggle. After 50-100 years none of us will be alive. But our people and nation, our memory, will live on for eternity!
This great struggle against the regime that has steeped its hands in people’s blood will be remembered by generations for thousands of years!
Join us, openly or secretly. At the very least, do not help the regime, and do not oppose us! For our mission is to ensure freedom for the nation, particularly for You and your children! Join us! Join us! Stay with us!
Basic values and principles of the Birdamlik people’s movement
Rise against oppression, because you have been born free!
We are 27 million! We are Uzbekistanis, in language, religion, custom, lifestyle and world-view, and we have the right to live in freedom, prosperity, and abundance! We, the Uzbekistanis, were not born so we could experience destitution, oppression, tyranny and instability. Nobody told us before our births that we should be under Karimov’s rule. Therefore we are obligated to struggle against this oppressor for our freedom and honor and the freedom and honor of our parents, brothers and sisters. We are compelled to rise up against the oppression of the oppressor Karimov, against the slavery he suggests, who hides his past, childhood from us and from the world.
If we, the Uzbekistanis, formed a human chain, it would stretch halfway around the earth and create a 20,000 km long circle!
Is it really possible, that we, an entire people fighting against tyranny hand in hand, cannot staunch the spilling of our own blood?
Will we really allow the spirit of slavery to rule in the beautiful young eyes of our children instead of joy? Are we really complacent seeing our lives lying in the hands of corrupt, bloodstained, tyrannical oppressors?
Notice how Karimov has used us for his own purposes, how he has kept us in a state of terror and slavery!
Karimov’s regime is turning our dear children into the employees of the police and NSS; he is putting weapons in the hands of our children and holding us in oppression through them; that is, while we strive to bear our children and raise them, the dictator effortlessly makes laws and gives them weapons and controls us through them and holds us in fear…
This regime is also making our own labor the reason of our stagnation: Karimov’s regime takes taxes from the hard work that we do to feed our dear children and parents and uses this money to strengthen his own regime and control over us…
Thanks to the riches that lie under our feet, given to us from God, Karimov’s regime is maintaining and developing its horrible repressive machinery. Thanks to our own riches he holds us in oppression and poverty, fear and hopelessness…
This valuable life is given to everyone just once! We have the right to live in freedom, liberty, prosperity and happiness! We, 27 million people, were not born so that we could sacrifice ourselves to oppression for the happiness of just one Karimov!
Policy is making movements with words!
All of us have an obligation to fight against the Karimov regime, which has assaulted our people and denigrated our land, bringing Uzbek men to poverty and forcing Uzbek women to beg on the streets.
The dictatorial regime is running out of resources and options. Karimov’s regime is in a state of inertia. Some years ago, particularly in the mid-1990s, the regime was strong and was enthusiastically supported by certain communities, who looked to the Karimov regime with hope, and placed in it their trust. But today the Karimov’s regime has become discredited, the voice of the regime’s supporters has gone quiet, we don’t see any credible information on TV and newspapers. And Karimov is not seen on TV as often as he used to be.
That Karimov’s regime is using power against its own people is a sign that his opportunities are finished. The regime does not speak because it knows that nobody would believe anything it says. It resorts to violence because it has no other options!
When a regime uses violence, it means that it can no longer inspire or touch the hearts of millions of people by words. But we reach our goals through words and thoughts. And by this striving we resist oppression through words, and by resisting we win over oppressors through peaceful talk and peaceful actions.
Using violence is a last resort of the regime and can prolong its life only for a short period of time
The greatest asset of the dictatorial and repressive regime in Uzbekistan is its ability to fight violence, terrorism, extremism and oppression. Karimov’s regime has, over several years, strengthened repressive structures like the army, secret service and police. Their task is to respond to violence with even harsher repression: these forces need only a reason, and then they perform their task perfectly. To use violence by struggling against Karimov’s regime is to give more life to a regime that has no human face anymore.
The only way to weaken this regime, to destroy its credibility, to break its resolve, to make it infirm, to bind its hands and feet without a cord is to struggle nonviolently. Karimov’s regime can not fight nonviolent methods forever. In this struggle, the society, state clerks and offices will gradually change. They will at first slowly abandon the regime, and then their thinking will affect their actions. Later they will continue to express their hate.
Throughout the 20th century, nonviolent struggle has quickly decimated cruel regimes, thwarted the rule of dictators, and led people to freedom.
The past has shown us that Karimov’s regime has no fear of anybody or anything: it does not fear God; it does not fear strong states, terrorists, or extremists. Nor does it listen to the views of Russia or the USA. The regime and its founder Karimov fear only one thing - its own people. The regime is even afraid of people going to the streets, to demonstrations! It particularly fears peaceful, nonviolent demostrations!
Globalization is an unparalleled opportunity to topple the dictatorial regime
Karimov’s regime is based on isolation. The regime always tries to separate one village from other, one district from another, one region from another, in order to reduce their ties and solidarity. The regime isolates the state from the people. If we look at official buildings today, we can see how they have separated themselves from the people by hiding behind massive iron gates. The regime surrounds the nation with its close friends, companions and supporters. The regime guards the state from the rest of the world.
But, as it always was, Karimov’s regime is not able to resist the will of the whole nation and other processes that are developing in the world. The Birdamlik movement recognizes globalization as a great opportunity for Uzbekistan’s people and knows that the continuous development of information technology is making an immense contribution to the fall of Karimov’s regime.
We can state here that using new information technologies and political technologies, working with society and eradicating public fear can lead the nation to freedom and pride. We believe that with time the opportunities for people in Uzbekistan to act in the interest of their own freedom will grow. Of course, Birdamlik feels obligated to be a flag-bearer in such opportunities and endeavours.
Through the Internet, international radio stations, newspapers and journals, we strengthen our opportunities and shorten the days of the regime.
The purpose of the Movement is to change the regime, not to punish the officials
The main principle of the Birdamlik movement is to convince people that positive changes are possible. The bureaucrats, state office clerks, and employees of powerful ministries which serve the uncompromising Karimov are still the children of this society; they do care about nation’s fate, and they also worry about the pride and honor of Uzbekistan. But, just like the people, these officials are also prisoners of the current situation. The Birdamlik People’s Movement believes that the people can ultimately learn new ways to think and work.
The movement is strictly against the punishment of clerks working at the state offices, even if the current situation changes. The head of the regime and his main ideologists are undoubtedly going to account for their crimes in front of people, and it will happen. However, the bureaucrats are also prisoners of the situation. They are the children of our nation and they have the right to live in a newly democratic Uzbekistan and contribute to its welfare.
Today the Birdamlik Movement appeals to people’s children, who care about their country and call on them to discuss several things. We should consider and try to discuss: what positive results has the Karimov regime brought to the people and the nation? Has it not lost respect of the people? Were our people’s daughters and sisters not forced to go onto the streets? Were our nation’s sons not forced to go abroad for bread? Weren’t the intellectuals, who are the people’s conscience and oppositionists, the examples of free thinking, banished from their motherland? Just think, can Karimov’s regime be politically reformed, can we make it act in the interest of the nation of Uzbekistan? Is Uzbekistan really independent?
Therefore dear compatriots, government clerks and employees! Do not deceive yourself and do not shut your eyes to the situation! To struggle against this regime is our duty! Not everybody will have the opportunity to make a contribution to this struggle. After 50-100 years none of us will be alive. But our people and nation, our memory, will live on for eternity!
This great struggle against the regime that has steeped its hands in people’s blood will be remembered by generations for thousands of years!
Join us, openly or secretly. At the very least, do not help the regime, and do not oppose us! For our mission is to ensure freedom for the nation, particularly for You and your children! Join us! Join us!
Stay with us!
Principles of nonviolent struggle
Birdamlik has chosen nonviolent struggle and describes the basic principles of this method as follows. To be free from oppression is not only a goal, but also a process. Our objective is to achieve a world and life free of oppression. Life should have social justice at its basis and be rid of oppression and insult.
Nonviolent struggle is a huge responsibility. Our actions must be an example for people and society. We must be able to convince them and we must eliminate the doubts about us that servants of the regime have instilled. Thus, in order to prevent nonviolent struggle (which is a novel approach for Uzbek society) from transforming into violent action, oppression and bloodshed - a situation which would be easier and more convenient for many — we must continue to offer explanations of what is right.
Anger and hate are natural for humans. Particularly, many people want to respond to ruthless regime in such a manner. Our mission is to constructively direct the anger and hate in us and our society.
If we do not constructively express our anger and hate and suppress it all the time, then we oppress ourselves. Therefore, the Birdamlik movement calls upon society for unity, solidarity, and activity and for constructive resistance against the regime.
We must behave in a way that will inspire the regime’s supporters and servants, when they see our connection to truth and justice and the nation’s destiny, to respect us.
Our goal is not to punish others for their deeds, whether intentional or not, but, on the contrary, to cut this thread of oppression and destroy it.
It is obvious that justice and freedom cannot exist in a society full of oppression, where people hate each other and where they try to kill each other, but they can live in a society that is based on the traditions of nonviolence and political debate.
Birdamlik has chosen the way based on nonviolence and therefore gives its opponents the chance to forfeit. Today the power of nonviolent struggle lies in its possibility to grant us victory against injustice and oppression.
The legal and moral fundamentals of the activities of the Birdamlik Movement
The Birdamlik People’s Movement is acting on the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Constitution of Uzbekistan, and the Movement’s statutes and program.
The Birdamlik People’s Movement values the national advantages of Uzbekistan, solidarity in society and the integrity of the country. It acts to create a positive local and global image of country and to restore the historical magnificence of the nation. The main goal of the activities of the Birdamlik Movement is to decrease and eliminate reticence, anxiety, and fear from the spirit of the nation and to put freedom there instead.
The Birdamlik People’s Movement states that dictatorship and authoritarian political systems bring decay to the state and reduce progress, and that they are the real threat to solidarity of society, the future of the state and to moral unity.
We also state that Uzbekistan’s culture, which goes back thousands of years, can be a good basis for the progress of democratic values and institutions in a humane and openhearted society. The Birdamlik Movement states that fear-mongering terms like “extremism”, “terrorism”, and “interethnic strife” that the Karimov regime uses won’t be obstacles for democratic progress in Uzbek society. The Birdamlik movement believes that such negative events happened as a result of an authoritarian political system. Democracy is the political system best to suited to aid the progress of Uzbekistan’s society and to restore its local and global image.
Birdamlik considers the highest goal of Uzbekistan’s people to be the restoration of the historical dignity of the Uzbek nation and considers its own contribution toward this process as its greatest achievement.
The main tasks of the Birdamlik People’s Movement
The strategic goal of the Birdamlik people’s movement is to eliminate the dictatorial, authoritarian political system in Uzbekistan and to form a democratic, free society and a constitutional state.
The Birdamlik movement calls for civil disobedience in all of Uzbekistan. We call on people to refuse to cooperate in politics made by the President and government, to refuse to support them, and to oppose them. It calls upon the people and the nation to enjoy their rights and struggle for their life, dignity and freedom, and in doing so to participate in public demonstrations, inspire others to take it to the streets, to organize and lead them.
In addition, the main tasks of the Birdamlik Movement are to broaden the movement; to recruit new members; to spread the movement’s values and principles, its program and statute in society; to wash away the fear that lives deep inside the mind of the public; to give new hope and spirit to society; to mobilize people for democratic changes in processes and political arrangements in Uzbekistan.
The Birdamlik Movement will have multiple branches and trusted activists in all the regions and even districts of Uzbekistan as well as in the Republic of Karakalpakstan. Additionally, the Birdamlik movement will have active divisions and activists in countries neighboring Uzbekistan.
Furthermore, in the event of political changes in Uzbekistan the Birdamlik movement’s main purpose would be to participate in developing and strengthening the fundamental values and institutions of democracy in Uzbekistan. It is well-known that the authoritarian government in Uzbekistan has allowed very few democratic institutions to exist. Basic social rights like freedom of speech, freedom of political assembly, freedom of thought, and the freedom to arrange meetings and other demonstrations have been prohibited, and the people who have engaged in such activities have been persecuted.
The authoritarian government has used the politics of information and the politics of forming of social values to instill fear and doubt within the society of Uzbekistan.
This politics of fear continues unabated. Uzbekistan’s society is being enculturated with fear. The authoritarian government does nothing to decrease this fear, as it is still developing scare tactics to ensure that society does not rise up or doubt Karimov’s governing. Therefore the regime does not allow the free flow of information into Uzbekistan, nor does it develop proper outlets of information within society.
The Birdamlik movement is determined to bring accurate information to Uzbekistanis.
Therefore the Birdamlik movement is developing its own webpage, newspaper and other media outlets in order to spread its own information through the mass media.
The movement is committed to the spread of truthful information, as opposed to the regime’s false and deceptive information politics. We will show that Uzbek society is not living “perfectly” as the regime claims, that foreign countries are not “full of enemies”, that human rights and democracy are indeed being violated, and that such violations are connected with the political regime and personal views of Karimov. We believe this task is important.
The movement is aiming to gradually and thoroughly change the mind of the Uzbekistani public. In other words, the movement will inform the public of the actual political, economical and social situation and conditions inside Uzbekistan.
No regime has unlimited resources to support its repression, particularly in an era of globalization. The current situation in Uzbekistan demonstrates that the regime is running out of options and and when society unites, when solidarity appears among the people, the regime will inevitably have to listen to society.
Birdamlik promotes nonviolent struggle among Uzbekistan’s opposition
Opposition is the strategic resource and hope for Uzbekistan’s people and statehood today! It consists of people who work unceasingly in the name of the dignity and future of the nation. It is the opposition who have played a large role in weakening Karimov’s regime and showing its real face. The opposition is committed to overthrowing the regime.
In comparison with the authoritarian, dictatorial regime, the opposition believes that politics can broadly affect society. Whether secretly or openly, whether inside the state or outside the country, the Uzbek opposition is united by several core beliefs: that it is impossible to change Karimov’s regime through “convincing”, that it is impossible to reform the regime, and that Karimov sees political reforms as a threat to his rule.
The Birdamlik Movement is promoting nonviolent, progressive struggle. It states that non-violet methods are the most effective, suitable and trusted means to achieve the main goal of Uzbekistan’s opposition: the overthrow of the Karimov regime.
Therefore, the Birdamlik movement calls upon Uzbekistan’s opposition for cooperation based on mutual respect and regard.
With trust and hope for cooperation,
BIRDAMLIK MOVEMENT
