VZCZCXRO6637
PP RUEHDBU
DE RUEHNT #0845/01 1171236
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 271236Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5653
INFO RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ALMATY 7853
RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT 1939
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK 2466
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 2367
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 1444

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 
 
TASHKENT 00000845  002 OF 002 
 
 
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