DUSHANBE, March 4, 2011, Asia-Plus — On Friday March 4, the Dushanbe weekly
Millat
(Nation) hosted a roundtable to discuss an interview with known Tajik poet Bozor Sobir that was published in the weekly at the beginning of this year.
In his interview, Bozor Sobir in particular, noted that he would recommend the authorities to shut down the Islamic Revival Party (IRP).
Bozor Sobir who is considered to be one of Tajik finest poets now lives in the United States.
Speaking at the meeting, the first deputy chairman of IRP also member of the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) Umarali Hisaynov said that the majority of poets were too far from politics and they changed their political views frequently. “That is why we interpret a proposal of known Tajik poet Bozor Sobir to shut down the IRP as an opinion of the person who has frequently changed his view on many problems and issues,” he said.
“But I am surprised at the position of the country’s authorities that have reproduced the interview in many republican and district newspapers,” Hisaynov stressed.
The IRP deputy chairman Mahmadali Hoit, for his part, noted that the IRP has come under the pressure from the authorities after the 2010 parliamentary elections, when “they have realized what a serious competition the party made to them.” “That is the reason why the authorities are seeking trace of the IRP in all negative events taking place in the country and it is no accident that they are still seeking the trace of the IRP in events that took place in Rasht Valley last year,” he noted, adding that the authorities realize that it is not so easy to shut down the IRP activity in the country, and therefore they try to discredit the party in every possible way.
Tajik expert Davlat Usmon, who was among first to join to the IRP, considers that the authorities’ inefficient response to events in the country paves the way for strengthening of the IRP positions in the country. “Today, mostly unskilled personnel work with the government who give rise to secular radicalism in the country that leads to development of religious radicalism in society,” Usmon said.
Founded in October 1990, the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan is the only Islamic party registered in CIS Central Asia. It was registered on December 4, 1991. The IRP was banned in June 1993 and legalized in August 1999. According to some sources, it now has some 35,000 members. The IRP won two seats in the 2010 elections to the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament).
