Is Dushanbe pursuing an Uzbek political model?
By Farangis Najibullah Tajik President Emomali Rahmon (file photo) (Bymedia.net) April 19, 2007 (RFE/RL) Tajik authorities are seeking a six-month ban on the opposition Social Democratic Party over accusations that it has “undermined laws and regulations.” The prohibition could become permanent unless the party’s leadership supplies more information about its activities. Social Democrats are accusing officials of the kind of authoritarianism that has long dominated politics in neighboring Uzbekistan where opposition groups are harassed and pro-government parties fill the landscape. Social Democrats have long been critical of President Emomali Rahmon’s administration. Most recently, the Social Democrats were among several parties that dismissed as illegitimate the presidential election in November that handed Rahmon a new seven-year term. Now the Justice Ministry accuses the party of failing to provide an obligatory annual report and has asked the Supreme Court to ban its activities for
