ANDIJON RESIDENTS ASK BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO LEAVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000601 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL UZ ZK SUBJECT: ANDIJON RESIDENTS ASK BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO LEAVE REF: A. A) TASHKENT 441 ¶B. B) TASHKENT 576 Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY AMB JON R. PURNELL FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D). ¶1. (C) In a recent visit to Andijon, British Ambassador David Moran was followed and questioned by self-proclaimed mahalla (neighborhood) representatives. He told the U.S. Ambassador that he first encountered the mostly-female group when he exited his hotel. They asked the purpose and duration of his visit, where he was planning on going and with whom he would meet. Later that evening the group followed Ambassador Moran to a restaurant where he was to meet a British citizen. This time, he said, the group was more demanding, to the point that his driver came into the restaurant and urged him to return to the hotel. He called the MFA and the local police. The police sent the group away, but rudely joked that Ambassador Moran could not handle a group of women. When Ambassador Moran left Andijon the next day, the same group followed him in a van to the provincial border. ¶2. (C) Comment: Ambassador Moran,s harassment, coupled with Post,s own recent experience in Andijon (reftels),speaks volumes about the current environment there. It is unclear if the mahalla group aggressively targeted the British Ambassador at the behest of the security services or out of personal concern that the authorities would quiz them on why the British Ambassador was staying in their neighborhood. Either way, tensions remain high in Andijon as the first anniversary of the 2005 violence approaches. PURNELL