KYRGYZ SOUTH SEEMS QUIET DESPITE CROSS-BORDER

C O N F I D E N T I A L BISHKEK 000556 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2019 TAGS: PGOV PTER KG SUBJECT: KYRGYZ SOUTH SEEMS QUIET DESPITE CROSS-BORDER UZBEK EVENTS REF: A. BISHKEK 816 ¶B. TASHKENT 823 Classified By: Classified By: Amb. Tatiana C. Gfoeller, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Emboff noticed a slightly enhanced police presence during a May 28-30 visit to southern Kyrgyzstan, just across the border from where terrorist attacks took place May 26 in Khanabad, eastern Uzbekistan (Ref B). The airport in Osh, the largest city in Kyrgyzstan's South, was quiet with no abnormal police activity. However, the road between the airport and the city had a major checkpoint to inspect vehicle traffic. The checkpoint consisted of at least four people -- one traffic policeman in the middle of the road, one heavily armed militia employee, and two plain-clothed officials at the side of the road. ¶2. (C) The main roads running along the border with Uzbekistan between Osh, Uzgen, and Jalalabad seemed to have more traffic police on them than usual, though the police were passively observing vehicles from a distance without stopping them. Major city centers, including government buildings, did not have a noticeable police presence. ¶3. (C) Emboff's driver believed that the airport checkpoint was because of the attacks in Uzbekistan, and he said he expected further checkpoints (which did not materialize). He had heard rumors from other drivers of possible road closures, but Emboff did not encounter any. No one else mentioned the Uzbek events during three days of meetings with educational officials, alumni, or during public film showings. GFOELLER