Soros says foundation forced to leave Uzbekistan
Reuters
April 18The Uzbekistan government has forced the closure of a charity which has spent millions of dollars to help institutions within the country, its benefactor, billionaire philanthopist George Soros, said on Sunday.
Soros said his Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation (OSIAF-Uzbekistan), like other civic organisations, had been told to re-register in a process which would have given the government an effective veto over its activities.
The decision had therefore been taken to close an organisation which had spent $22 million on a range of projects since 1966, making it the largest private donor in the impoverished central Asian country.
"Uzbekistan is stifling civil society and has a horrendous human rights record," Soros told a news conference at the annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Uzbekistan is a key ally of the United States in Central Asia, allowing Washington to establish military bases and receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in aid.
It is Central Asia's most populous state and stands accused by the United Nations of systematic use of torture against political opponents.
The EBRD, the development bank for eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, has already said it will limit lending, citing lack of human rights and economic reform, a move which Soros said he welcomed.
Human rights campaigners also praised the EBRD decision which was taken earlier this month.
"It had a very big impact on them (Uzbek government) which is shown by the fact that they've cancelled their country presentation at this annual meeting. They've sent a very law delegation to attend, they're really upset," said Veronika Leila Szente Goldston of Human Rights Watch.
The Uzbeks had already downgraded their representation at the EBRD meeting and have said they will cancel their presentation of investment opportunities to bankers, a key feature of the annual meeting for countries in which the bank invests.
OSIAF-Uzbekistan said in a statement it had equipped most of Uzbekistan's universities and many of its secondary schools with computers and internet access. It spent $3.7 million last year on a range of educational, health and economic projects.