Dictator Islam Karimov falls out with pop star daughter Gulnara Karimova accused of having her beaten

Pop Star in Former Soviet Province Accuses Dictator Dad of Having Her Beaten
Uzbekistan, Central Asia – Freedom from Soviet oppression has not led to freedom in this landlocked Central Asian nation of 30 million people. When the Soviet Union collapsed and Uzbekistan held general elections, Islam Karimov rose to power capturing an astounding 86% of the vote. There is a good reason why a political landslide in the West is considered capturing 54% of the vote or better. It is because there is rarely ever a consensus among a free people so that victors often win office by capturing only a simple majority of the vote. It is only in dictatorships that questionable vote tallies result in such one-sided numbers.

President Karimov has been Uzbekistan’s president for life. His daughter, Gulnara, age 41, has enjoyed the fruits of his grip on the nation. She was the country’s UN ambassador despite no reports of having any foreign service experience. She is also a pop star in her own right who records music under the name “Googoosha”. However, she’s now run afoul of her father and is under house arrest. Her big infraction was to speak out against his government whose corruption is widespread and has impoverished the nation. For daring to break ranks with him, she and her 15-year-old daughter are under house arrest.

A recent letter she managed to get out of the country and to the BBC claims that she lives under threat of violence regularly. She also claims that her father had her physically abused leaving her with multiple contusions on her arms. She expressed her dismay and loss of confidence in her father’s ability to govern. She thought that Uzbekistan was a country that respected basic human rights, but her house arrest has changed that. She is said to sorrow for the state of the nation and the power vacuum that will be left if there is a government collapse.

Source:
http://www.news.com.au/world/dictator-islam-karimov-falls-out-with-pop-star-daughter-gulnara-karimova-accused-of-having-her-beaten/story-fndir2ev-1226866547289