Tashkent: Five pop acts in Uzbekistan have been banned from performing live for failing to sing songs that “praise the motherland”.
The performers had their licences revoked by the national culture agency, Uzbeknavo, because their songs were deemed “meaningless from musical and lyrical standpoints” and “lack artistic value”, according to a statement carried by the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti.
“Their songs do not conform to our nation’s cultural traditions, they contradict our moral heritage and mentality,” said the Uzbeknavo. “We should not forget about our duty to praise our motherland, our people and their happiness.”
The agency targeted the singers Dilfuza Rahimova, Otabek Mutalhojaev and Dilshod Rahmonov, as well as the groups Ummon and Mango, who all feature modernised Uzbek rhythms and a pop aesthetic.
Seven other acts were issued with a warning and were given until 1 July to “eliminate creative shortcomings”.
All aspects of life are heavily regulated in Uzbekistan, ruled by its longtime president, Islam Karimov.
His daughter, Gulnara Karimova, also maintains a major presence in Uzbek life, and has recently been pursuing her own musical career.
In January she released a duet with the French actor Gerard Depardieu and she has released two albums under the stage name Googoosha.
Unlike the performers banned from playing live, Karimov’s songs, often love ballads with lyrics based on her saccharine poems, are mainly sung in English. The “motherland” has not featured in her songs. Her latest video, How Dare, centres on a half-naked man writhing in a chair.
Her father has ruled the central Asian country since 1989 and has been accused of widespread human rights abuses, including torture. In 2005 his government killed hundreds of protesters in the city of Andijan.
Guardian News
