Immoral Holiday
Nick Holdstock
On 13 February a documentary entitled Immoral Holiday was broadcast on state TV in Uzbekistan. The problem with Valentine's Day, apparently, isn't the crass commercialism or anodyne sentimentality – how could it be, when president Karimov's daughter makes pop videos like these – but that it promotes terrorism. Olloyor Bobonov, the head of the Uzbek Republican Spirituality and Enlightenment Centre, said that the aim of Valentine’s Day is to make young people 'slaves of their sexual pleasures', which makes their minds easy to control. 'In just one day they can easily be taken to central squares to topple governments. Their acts of terrorism or extremism are terrifying. Their emergence is associated with explosions and blood.' For this reason, the documentary concluded, 'not only our country but all other countries and nations are also fighting against this holiday.' The Uzbek government has suggested instead that 14 February be used to celebrate the Moghul emperor Babur's birthday.
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