UZBEKISTAN: The Uzbekistan government has forced the closure of a charity which has spent millions of dollars to help institutions within the country, its benefactor, billionaire philanthropist Mr George Soros said.
Mr 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 1996. "Uzbekistan is stifling civil society and has a horrendous human rights record," Mr Soros told a news conference at the annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Uzbekistan is a key US ally 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 UN of systematic torture against political opponents.