DUSHANBE, September 5, 2012, Asia-Plus — Today’s political situation in Tajikistan is such that the government is unable to shut down any political party or to remove it from political arena.
The leader of the Communist Party of Tajikistan (CPT) Shodi Shabdolov remarked this in an interview with Asia-Plus, commenting on Freedom House’s statement regarding increasing pressure on the Islamic Revival Party (IRP) in Tajikistan.
CPT leader stated that the government had been able to remove its opponents from political arena in the 1990s, “but today it is practically impossible.”
“For instance, if the government bans the Communist party, we will immediately establish a new political party or merge with other political group, which shares similar position,” Shabdolov stressed.
According to him, inspections carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office this year were aimed at, first of all, revealing external sources of financing of Tajikistan’s political parties.
Meanwhile, Ms. Galiya Rabiyeva, the chairperson of the faction of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament), says the statement by the Washington-based ‘Freedom House’ global human rights watchdog regarding increasing pressure on the IRP bears resemblance to unnecessary intrigues.
“Nobody is happy about inspections by the Prosecutor-General’s Office; but if you are not guilty, you may sleep soundly,” Ms. Rabiyeva said.
The Islamic Revival Party has truly established itself as political force in the country and it is able to take care of itself legally without external interference, she noted.
We will recall that a statement released by Freedom House says that charges announced August 29 against the Islamic Revival Party indicate “what may be a sustained campaign to eliminate the government’s main rivals.” Freedom House called on the Tajik government to refrain from targeting its political opponents “at this precarious moment.” The global human rights watchdog also called on international organizations and Western governments with close relationships to the government of Tajikistan to raise these concerns at the highest levels.
In a statement released on August 29, the Prosecutor-General”s Office accused members of the Islamic Revival Party of involvement in crimes connected to extremism and terrorism. IRP activists have denounced these claims as part of a campaign aimed at shutting down the party.
