08 Juin 2010
Моля, разпространете тези текстове до познати журналисти, политици и правозащитници на Запад. Нямаме друг шанс да пробием медийната омерта в България,
Radio Liberty Uzbekistan June 2 2010
http://www.ozodlik.org/content/article/2059823.html
The Uzbek Severtsov ram is still chasing the President of Bulgaria
Translation from Russian (text of the emission broadcasted in Uzbek on Radio "Freedom" on June 2, 2010)
The hunt for a rare mountain ram (argali) in Dzhizak two years ago seems to have a very high price for Bulgarian President Parvanov.
The hunt affair in Uzbekistan which put a lot of pressure on Parvanov to explain what he did in the Uzbek reservation has now become an issue in a new book. On June 2 in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, the famous journalist and writer Ivo Indzhev presented his new book whose goal is to expose the President of Bulgaria Georgi Parvanov.
The book's title is "President of RaBa" (The title is actually a pun: this is the way the acronym RB - Republic of Bulgaria - is pronounced in Bulgarian, but "na raba" also means "on the edge".) The book is about the illegal activities and lies of the Bulgarian President. Its last chapter is dedicated to the President's hunt for a Red book enlisted rare mountain ram in an Uzbek reservation.
In the emission at Radio "Freedom" Ivo Indzhev explained why he chose the President Georgi Parvanov to be the main character in his new book.
- Unfortunately for all Bulgarians, our President is notorious for his lies. Many things he has said turned out to be lies. His hunt affair in Uzbekistan is still relevant. He gave some explanations, insisting that during his visit to Uzbekistan he strictly followed the announced programme. But, in the official programme of the visit nothing was mentioned about Nuratin reservation in Dzhizak district at all. I would like to remind the readers that the President's hunt affair in Uzbekistan is far from been closed.
In his statements so far, the President claims:
- I have not killed a Severtsov ram.
In the beginning it was a hare, then it was a ram ...
The President of Bulgaria payed an official visit to Uzbekistan from 5 to 8 November 2008. Shortly after his return, information was published about his trip to Nuratin reservation, in the Farish region of Dzhizak district.
Our correspondent spoke with the local people living around the reservation and found out that the Bulgarian President was carrying hunting guns in the reservation.
Our informant describes the preparations for the visit which started two weeks in advance.
First, they cleaned the road. They put a new layer of tar. Everything had to be perfectly clean. Tidiness was the priority. They worked hard for it! - says our intelocutor.
He also quotes the miliciamen who were protecting the Bulgarian President say:
- They brought in about 40 rabbits and let them run in the fields. That's what the miliciamen say, those who were there at that time. We prepared a jeep for him, says another person whose name we shall not disclose for safety reasons.
- He came, sat in the jeep with one bodyguard and a driver and drove off. He was shooting at the rabbits, said the miliciamen. But he would not even get off the jeep to see if he missed them or not, - retells the words of the militiaman the man from Farish region.
After the rabbit hunt in Aydarkul, the President spent the night there and arrived at the reservation the next morning.
- He arrived early in the morning, at dawn, say, 6 o'clock. He never went back to Aydarkul, but the first hunt took place there, in Aydarkul, says out interlocutor.
He confirmes that 13 Bulgarian guests have entered the Nuratin reservation and it was exactly the Bulgarian President who aimed at the mountain ram.
Employees of the Nuratin reservation, who asked us not to disclose their names, said that the Uzbek Prime minister Shavkat Mirziyaev himself ordered them to let the Bulgarian President in the reservation with hunting guns.
This is why, they said, nobody protested against these actions which otherwise would be treated as poaching by the Uzbek legislation.
Why exactly a mountain ram?
Stefan Michel used to study the mountain rams in the Nuratin reservation several years ago. In his opinion, the interest for Severtsov rams is due to their delicious meat.
- As a rule, only big males shall be hunted. Thus, the entire ram population will not get affected. In the entire world, there are civilized methods to prevent the hunt of endangered species. Those who want to hunt, pay a big amount and are allowed to shoot. The money will be then spent on proliferation and preservation of the population of the endangered species. But Uzbekistan is not familiar with these methods, says Stefan Michel.
The German scholar undelines that hunt for such species is usually carried out in a specific area which is outside the reservations.
It shall be pointed out that there exist strict rules for endangered species hunting. Today, a mountain ram hunt costs USD 39 900. In 2008, when the Bulgarian President hunted the ram, the hunting costed USD 28 500.
According to Article 204 of the Penal Code of Republic of Uzbekistan, the violation of rules of conduct in protected territories (like nature parks or reservations), which inflict major damages (one hundred to three hundred minimum wages) or bring other serious negative consequences shall be punished by a fine of fifty minimum wages, or deprivation of certain rights for the period of five years or corrective work for up to two years.
Why did Uzbekistan grant the Bulgarian President such special privileges?
According to the observers, in 2008 Georgi Parvanov was among the few leaders of EU member-states who visited Uzbekistan. At that time the sanctions imposed by the EU on Uzbekistan as a reslut of Andizhan events in 2005 were still in force. In addition, Parvanov came to Tashkent with a project which suggested that Uzbek gas could be transported to Europe bypassing Russia.
The President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov gave a press-conference after the negotiations with President Parvanov. A the press-conference Karimov said that the export of Uzbek gas will increase from 17bn to 25bn cubic meters.
During his visit, the President of Bulgaria proposed the project "Nabucco" which is planned to transport gas through Bulgarian territory. Then Karimov agreed that, for geographic and geostrategic reasons, Bulgaria is a good alternative for transportation of Uzbek gas.
Probably being informed about Bulgaria's President's hunting passion, the Uzbek government made him such a generous gift - the right to hunt a Severtsov ram - a species included into the "Red Book" of endangered species, supposes a Bulgarian journalist living in Paris.
- First of all, the Bulgarian President shall apologize to the EU citizens. As far as I know, he is the only leader of an EU member-state who has visited Uzbekistan since the Andizhan events and he did so without showing any interest in the fate of the political prisoners there or human rights in this country. It is very probable that Uzbekistan was trying to solve their political problems through this hunt, says Atanas Tchobanov.
Has there been any thaw in the relations between Uzbekistan and the EU as a result of this hospitality? Did the mountain ram play the role of a sacrificial ram for this thaw? We can only speculate on the answers to these questions...
Deutsche Welle Bulgaria 04.06.2010
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5646397,00.html
Uzbek Journalist: Parvanov Is A Poacher!
translation from Bulgarian
Everything regarding the notorious hunting has been illegal
Bulgarian president has violated the law during his visit to Uzbekistan in 2008 and can be considered a poacher – the Uzbek journalist Gulasal Kamolova, who investigated the case, reported for Deutsche Welle.
After the Uzbek journalist’s report was aired on Radio Freedom, Emilian Lilov contacted her over the phone. Here is what Gulasal Kamolova said:
"Bulgarian president’s visit was widely reported in Uzbekistan. Very few people, however, are aware of this detail that in addition to the formal agenda, the president has been hosted at the VIP complex in Aydarkul. For instance, only the locals from the region of Farish know about an interesting fact – the president’s shooting at rabbits. Only few people in that district are aware that the Bulgarian president has visited there. This is known only by the locals from the Farish region."
Did Parvanov hit the argali?
Gulasal Kamolova has met some of those locals in person. All of them confirmed the facts as described two days ago in the publication on the website ferghana.ru. The locals have been excited by the fact that the Bulgarian president had visited them, rather than whether or not he had killed an argali. They shared one more thing with her, namely:
"They are under the impression that the president of Bulgaria has been dismissed because he has deviated from the official agenda by visiting the reservation. Not because he shot at an argali but because he deviated from the agenda of his official visit in Uzbekistan."
When asked about her sources of information about the events, the Uzbek journalist refuses to share any names, as this is not safe in a country like Uzbekistan. However, according to her, there is no doubt that:
"... the Bulgarian president has been in the reservation accompanied by a delegation. What we aired in my report on Radio Freedom, are the witnesses of the local people. Because, up until recently, many people voiced doubts that the Bulgarian president actually was in the territory of the reservation. Now it is clear that he has been there, that he aimed at an argali and that he shot at it. As for the result, however, the witnesses are not united: some argue that the president hit the argali, others – that he did not."
It is significant, however, whether one should shoot at protected species in a natural reservation. That is why we asked Gulasal Kamolova whether everything regarding this hunting has been legal. Here is her response:
"It is illegal. The law prohibits hunting in the territory of reservations. However, the reservation officials were not in the position to oppose to it due to the mere fact that prior to the hunting there has been a phone call by the prime minister of Uzbekistan. Under the law, this is poaching."
"What a passionate hunter!"
Is the story about the rabbit shooting reliable – we asked the Uzbek journalist: "This was told by militiamen who have released the rabbits near Lake Aydarkul. They laughed out loud watching what a passionate hunter Parvanov was and how much he loved shooting. He did not care whether he had hit or not, but just enjoyed shooting. They say that it has been important for him to hear that noise."
Do you expect that this story would have any consequences for the Bulgarian president, we finally asked Gulasal Kamolova from the Uzbek section of Radio Freedom: "Even if he did not kill anything, he has already violated the law by entering armed in the territory of a reservation. This is a violation per se. He has shot at an argali. Just because of that he can be considered a poacher, an outlaw", states Gulasal Kamolova.
Is it possible according to her that the president had a permit to shoot in the reservation? The Uzbek journalist replies: "If he had such permit, he should have shown it to the reservation officials. They have not seen such permit. I have clarified this issue very thoroughly. But even if we assumed that the president had a permit, he still has no right to shoot in a reservation. No permits are valid in the territory of a reservation."
Author: Emilian Lilov, Editor: Daria Popova-Witzel
