EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight - Uzbek Authorities Take Action to Improve Security in Capital

EURASIA INSIGHT

UZBEK AUTHORITIES TAKE ACTION TO IMPROVE SECURITY IN CAPITAL
Esmer Islamov 5/16/05

In recent weeks Uzbek authorities have implemented seemingly bizarre new traffic rules in the capital Tashkent, including a ban on the riding of motorcycles in the city center. The rules are a reflection of President Islam Karimov’s growing preoccupation with security, some local observers say. Such concern on Karimov’s part is being fueled by the March revolution in neighboring Kyrgyzstan, and it is doubtless being exacerbated by the recent violence in Uzbekistan’s portion of the Ferghana Valley.

In March, police officers started stopping motorcyclists in Tashkent, informing them about the citywide ban. Law-enforcement authorities placed special stamps in the motorcycles’ technical certificates, telling owners that if they were ever caught riding their vehicle again in the city, it would be summarily seized. Some owners were also told that if they wanted to continue motorcycling, they were free to ride beyond the Tashkent Ring Road as much as they wished.

In imposing the ban, police officers do not cite any governmental or legislative resolution or law. Instead, the ban is apparently being implemented upon the oral order of someone high up in the Uzbek political hierarchy. Lacking any documentary basis for their action, police officers have reportedly offered explanations that the ban is designed to improve traffic safety because, in the words of one police officer, "according to statistics, motorcyclists often cause road accidents."

The real reason, however, is very different. In an interview with EurasiaNet, a high-ranking Interior Ministry officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that officials are concerned that high-performance motorcycles could be used in a potential assassination attempt against top officials, including President Islam Karimov, or be used in some other sort of anti-government action.

"Motorcycles are much more appropriate for an assassination than cars," said the police colonel. "They are more maneuverable, capable of jumping over barriers, and easier to hide. They are good to attack and then escape riding along the labyrinth of narrow streets and paths among residential buildings. Police officers with their [Daewoo] Nexia cars would have no chance of catching attackers."

Officials are reportedly considering expanding the motorcycle ban to other large Uzbek cities. As it already stands, motorcycle riders outside of Tashkent are subjected to police scrutiny. Authorities have utilized state-controlled media outlets to reinforce the ban, with motorcyclists now frequently depicted as flagrant violators of traffic rules.

"This [ban] was obviously inspired by the SNB (National Security Service)," the EurasiaNet source said. "In the MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs), even senior officers never saw the copy of the ruling; they are just instructed orally and told that the ruling came �from the government,’ which means from the president."

Central Tashkent has undergone a facelift in recent months, especially in the vicinity of Karimov’s presidential offices. Bushes and other foliage in the area has been substantially trimmed or removed altogether. Uzbek media says the pruning was undertaken to improve the city’s aesthetic appeal. But some security officials quietly explain that the greenery was removed so that potential insurgents would have less cover.

Several buildings in the area around the presidential offices, including two towers in central Mustaqillik Square, have been demolished. Uzbek media explained the demolitions were designed to remove unappealing examples of late Soviet-era architecture from the city center. The EurasiaNet source, however, said that the buildings could provide a vantage point for potential assassins, or a staging area for an attack against the president compound.

Key roads surrounding the presidential compound have been closed recently. In addition, the road from Tashkent to the president’s residence outside Tashkent, and beyond to Chirchik, has also been closed to regular auto traffic. Now people wishing to get to Tashkent from Chirchik and other towns along the road now have to take a different, much longer route.

Karimov has long taken precautions against assassination, or potential anti-government action. Police patrolling near the presidential compound have been known to confiscate film from photographers taking pictures in the area. Cars have been prohibited from parking, or even idling, near the presidential administration building, and when Karimov moves about the city, the streets used by the presidential motorcade are cleared of traffic.

"The city center, specifically, the area around the president’s apparatus with its closed roads, fences, walls, and other bars is a perfect fortified zone. The Uzbek president did his homework pretty well. This area can be effectively defended with just several hundred soldiers," a former Defense Ministry employee told EurasiaNet.

Editor�s Note: Esmer Islamov is a pseudonym for a regional journalist.

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