VZCZCXRO4780
RR RUEHDBU
DE RUEHNT #0250 0631256
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 041257Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0572
INFO RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT 0067
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 0019
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK 0079
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ASTANA 0068

UNCLAS TASHKENT 000250 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR UZ
SUBJECT: HOKIM OF JIZZAKH PROVINCE QUIETLY REPLACED 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED  PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1. (SBU) On February 18, Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyaev 
went to Jizzakh and, according to a presidential decree, 
released Musa Anarbaev of his duties as Hokim of Jizzakh 
Province.  Mirziyaev appointed Makhmud Parsamatovich 
Holbutayev to take his place.  Before this assignment 
Holbutayev used to serve as Hokim of the Dustlik District 
within Jizzakh and then First Deputy Hokim of Jizzakh 
Province. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Mirziyaev is a native of Jizzakh who himself 
previously served as Hokim of Jizzakh Province from 1996 
to 2001.  President Karimov typically presides over these 
regional meetings when hokims are fired and replaced, and 
it is significant that he sent his Prime Minister to take 
care of business in his old stomping grounds.  The 
provincial council meetings are also typically reported 
in the state press, but in this case only the independent 
news site www.uznews.net reported the information (first 
on February 18 and then on March 4).  This website has 
often reported unsubstantiated information, but our LES 
Political Assistant confirmed with multiple Jizzakh 
sources over the past two weeks that Holbutayev is the 
new Hokim. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Our Political Assistant also spoke casually with 
neighbors (that include a former police official in 
Jizzakh) and Jizzakh residents in a hospital waiting room 
about the new Hokim's reputation.  Apparently, the 
farmers of the province intensely dislike Holbutayev from 
his previous leadership positions in Jizzakh and accuse 
him of setting unreasonable production quotas and 
treating them as serfs.  This tracks with information 
published by uznews.net about his poor reputation with 
the locals, and an article on the website reported the 
Hokim held an ill-natured meeting with farmers on 
February 26 to discuss debts for fuel supplies as well as 
cotton and grain quotas. 
 
Comment: 
-------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Our Political Assistant believes Holbutayev is 
probably keen on impressing officials in Tashkent in the 
hopes of following Mirziyaev's upward trajectory to 
Tashkent and could not care less what the local farmers 
think.  Holbutayev may also want to demonstrate that, 
like his heavy-handed predecessors in Jizzakh, he can 
keep the farmers in their place.  Our Political Assistant 
also noted that Jizzakh farmers are known to be 
particularly outspoken and resistant dating back to the 
pre-Bolshevik era.  Jizzakh was also the homeland of 
Sharaf Rashidov, the legendary President of the Uzbek 
Soviet Republic who hoodwinked Moscow with false cotton 
production figures, much to the admiration of Uzbeks. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Our Political Assistant also noted that several 
years ago Mirziyaev suggested that Karimov appoint 
Ubaidulla Yamankulov as a Jizzakh Hokim, who was indeed 
appointed and subsequently fired in favor of the outgoing 
Anarbaev.  This could potentially make Mirziyaev himself 
look bad, as in the future the President could come to 
Jizzakh and blame Mirziyaev for promoting a long line of 
cronies that did not serve the interests of the province. 
Thus, letting Mirziyaev take care of the dirty work in 
Jizzakh may be a way for the ever-vigilant Karimov to 
ensure he has a foil in the event his Prime Minister gets 
too powerful. 
BUTCHER 
 
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