UzbekistanDARDS: the forgotten dictatorship

Description: Selected moments out of the UzbekistanDARDS event, held on 7 November 2009 in Amsterdam. The event brought academics, politicians, students, Uzbek Diaspora, journalists and many others together. The audience was particularly active in the talk shows on Uzbek literature, media and politics, Dutch - EU Uzbekistan relations and child labour. Why do Dutch people do so little about this country, this region? "It is too far away from our realities", said Andre Gerrits, Jean Monnet Professor of European Studies at the University of Amsterdam, "that is why Dutch politics and Dutch media give little attention to it". However, during and after the talk shows many recognised how much the Dutch's as well as the EU's foreign policies depend on Russia and the region for energy supply while security interests make this country a crucial partner and an important neighbour to engage with. "This is a region we have to follow much more than what we do at the moment", acknowledged some journalists present at the event. The dependence on the EU on the development of this region makes it "our internal concern". Uzbekistandards, was organised by Press Now, Amnesty International, Alfred Mozer stichting (AMS), Stop Child Labour Campaign (Hivos) and the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF).