THE LATEST FROM ANDIJON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TASHKENT 000845

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/27/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER KISL UZ
SUBJECT: THE LATEST FROM ANDIJON

REF: A. 05 TASHKENT 1527

B. TASHKENT 809

C. TASHKENT 515

Classified By: AMB. JON R. PURNELL FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D).


1. (C) Summary: A local contact from Andijon reported a
series of recent "worrying events" in and around the
province. He said that the local government seems to be
continuing to try to boost public morale but does not plan
to officially commemorate the anniversary of the May 2005
violence. Six local women, having reportedly voiced
frustration at not being granted the right to visit their
husbands in prison, were arrested on possibly trumped-up
charges of Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) membership. In fact, the
belief on the street is that government security services
planted HT materials in order to silence the women.
Finally, the contact said a state-sanctioned Imam at a
local mosque encouraged men to leave Uzbekistan to seek
work, saying religious authorities would take care of their
families. End summary.


2. (C) A financial analyst from a local bank and Embassy
contact conveyed his concerns about "worrying events" in
Andijon following a recent visit. When asked about the
upcoming anniversary of the May 2005 events, he said that
some victims' families plan to lay flowers near a statue in
the center of town, but that he had heard nothing of a
GOU-sponsored ceremony. He had also heard that the Andijon
province soccer team would soon return to their official
stadium, located in the center of town near the hokimiyat
(governor's office) and close to the square where the May
disturbances took place. (Note: The hokimiyat was burned
during last year's events. The government seems to be
working hard to renovate the building and erase the visible
scars of May 2005. End note.) The team has been prevented
from playing in its own stadium for security reasons since
May 2005 and was relocated to a small field on the edge of
town. Residents believe that the GOU is using the return
of the soccer team to boost the city's morale and distract
the public during a time of remembrance and sorrow.


3. (C) Our contact, who hails from Andijon province, also
shared with Poloff the word on the street regarding the
recent arrest of six women for possessing Hizb ut-Tahrir
literature. The case of the six women appeared on Andijon
television news on April 20. According to the report, the
women are accused of promoting HT ideas and brought up on
charges of "establishing, managing and joining religious,
extremist, separatist, fundamentalist or other outlawed
organizations." The women all hail from different towns in
the Andijon region, and were listed by name in the report.
They were accused of possessing hundreds of copies of HT
leaflets, books, brochures, tapes and discs.
Interestingly, the report stated that the women continued
their "illegal activities despite several warnings made by
law enforcement agencies." (Comment: We find it highly
unlikely that the GOU would "warn" someone known to be
distributing HT material, as the Uzbeks consider HT an
extremist organization. End comment.) According to our
contact the women all have husbands in the Andijon City
prison. Despite regulations that allow for monthly visits
with prisoners, the women have only been allowed to see
their husbands once in the last six months. On April 15,
the women reportedly requested monthly visits through
official channels. The belief on the street is that their
public venting of concerns and frustrations about the
restrictions led directly to their arrest. Rumor in Andijon
has it that the National Security Service (NSS) and local
police planted the HT documents in the homes of the accused
in order to silence their criticism of the government. Our
contact noted that this is a common police tactic and that
the National Security Service (NSS) is widely suspected of
producing its own versions of HT materials for the specific
purpose of planting them on "troublemakers." (Note: In
late May 2005, a religious official with the Uzbek
government admitted to Poloff that the GOU authored an HT
pamphlet for political reasons (ref. A). This method seems
to be the easiest way to remove anyone willing to speak out
against the GOU. End note.)


4. (C) During a visit to his home town of Marhamat, our
contact attended Friday prayer at the local mosque and was
shocked to hear the Imam, during his sermon, encourage the
congregation to go to Russia, Kazakhstan or other
neighboring countries in search of work. The Imam
acknowledged the lack of employment opportunities in the

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province, and even went as far as to offer assistance to
relatives left behind. Our contact said that one concern
that keeps some from migrating in search of work is the
fear that no one will arrange the proper burial for their
elderly parents should they die. The Imam vowed to bury
family members who pass away, should the main breadwinner
be out of the country working. Our contact said his own
village was made up mostly of women, children and the
elderly due to the mass emigration of able-bodied males.


5. (C) Comment: While Post recognizes that these reports
are based on the accounts of one individual, they reflect
the general tension in the province that we have witnessed
first hand. While the detention of these six women fits the
government pattern of detaining anyone causing a disturbance
or "threatening" stability, it also adds unneeded pressure to
an already tense situation on the eve of the first
anniversary
of Andijon. Based on our contact's comments and conversations
with residents of Andijon, it is evident that the people have
little faith in their government. Public perception seems to
be that these recent arrests are merely one more example of
government misuse of power. We are not surprised to hear
that
the GOU plans no official memorial on the anniversary, but do
expect increased security presence in the city. Unemployment
and
underemployment continue to plague the Ferghana Valley. In
fact, in a recent meeting with a Deputy Minister of Labor
and Social Protection, he acknowledged that the government
had tasked his ministry with increasing employment
opportunities in the impoverished Valley. The government
directly benefits from labor migration, especially from the
Valley, as it brings in much needed cash in the form of
remittances, and gets young men, who might otherwise cause
problems, off the streets and out of the country. This is
the first time, however, that we have heard a
state-sanctioned Imam encouraging men to leave the country
in search of work.
PURNELL