![[Uzbekistan] Patrolled by ATCs and armed security forces, Andijan's main streets are desolate with a few passers-by following 13 May unrest.](https://assets.thenewhumanitarian.org/s3fs-public/styles/responsive_large_2x/public/images/2005688.jpg.webp?itok=ltE7CLGQ "Security forces remain very much in evidence on the streets of Andijan")
Five months after Uzbek security forces violently suppressed anti-government protests in the eastern city of Andijan, many local residents are still too afraid to even mention the demonstration and subsequent government crackdown, which according to rights groups claimed up to 1,000 lives.
While many residents are busy with daily life and both traders and customers flock the bazaars, very few are willing to talk about what transpired in their city on 13 May, when thousands of demonstrators gathered in the city's Bobur square.
"It is very unsafe to utter a mere word these days about the Andijan events," Mahmud (not his real name), a resident of Andijan in his mid-30s, said, nodding knowingly towards the building of the provincial office of the National Security Service (NSS).
The city administration building not very far from the NSS office is being renovated, while one can see bullet holes on the buildings, bus stops and tall trees on Navoi, one of the main streets in the city. In some places the holes are very big, indicating heavy-calibre ammunition was used during the violence.
Rights groups say around 1,000 people, mainly unarmed civilians who came to the square to express their dissatisfaction over socioeconomic problems, were killed in May when the Uzbek security forces opened fire on the demonstrators indiscriminately. Tashkent said the death toll was only 187, denying any peaceful civilians were targeted.
"Many people are afraid to speak openly about the demonstration and simply keep their mouths shut firmly fearing that the security forces will harass them," Mahmud explained.
Such sentiments are not unusual in the city, where many seem to have lost any appetite for dissent. "People simply shut up, you never know as there can always be security agents in plain clothes amongst inhabitants. Some of the families that I know do not event dare to seek their missing sons or relatives, fearing the police would arrest them," Jumaboi, a taxi driver, agreed.
Rights activists echoed that view, saying that the situation in eastern Uzbekistan remained tense. "Many people in Andijan are harassed by the security services, especially those who had anything to do with the protest or whose relatives were amongst the demonstrators," Surat Ikramov, head of the Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Activists of Uzbekistan (IGIHRAU), a local rights group, said from the capital, Tashkent.
"The security officials harass, intimidate and threaten them not to speak to foreign journalists and rights activists. There is an atmosphere of fear amongst many residents in Andijan," Ikramov, who visited the city in late September, maintained, adding that the authorities were following many people whom they considered suspicious.
Not only in Andijan, but in neighbouring provinces of Fergana and Namangan people have become more cautious and do not openly discuss Andijan events. Residents in provincial capitals say that there are unconfirmed reports that those who speak openly about them get into serious trouble.
Meanwhile, many inhabitants watch television and keep an eye on the trial in Tashkent, where 15 men are charged with organising the Andijan protests, attempting to overthrow the government and installing an Islamic state.
Munojat, a 35-year-old woman from Fergana city, the capital of the province with the same name, said that the trial of alleged terrorists did not look very convincing. “Many of my relatives live in Andijan and I visited them after these events. They told me what have happened in reality. They said that the military men shot at people," she said.
"Looking at these guys who are on trial, I have a feeling that they repeat the words learnt by heart. If you look more attentively, it is possible to notice how their lips are shivering and glances are moving unnaturally. I am a psychologist and I know how people act. Probably, they were psychologically dealt with,” Munojat claimed.
According to the head of HRSU in central Jizak province, Bakhtiyar Khamraev, many ordinary people do not believe the government media. "I conducted a small survey in Tashkent on the issue," he said.
"Out of 40 people who took part in my survey, 39 men said that they did not believe in the fairness of the trial. I also consider that the Tashkent trial is simply a good staged performance," the rights activist noted.
As for rights activists in Andijan itself, there are none left, local people said. Some have reportedly fled fearing government persecution, while some have been arrested and are undergoing interrogation.
In September, the local human right organisation “Ezgulik” appointed Abdugafur Dadabaev, a local rights activist, as its regional representative in Andijan. Later that month he was detained by security officials and is reportedly now in the cellar of the NSS office in Andijan. According to his relatives, his house was searched as well.
“They did not show us any document and took our money of US $200, which was sent by my brother from Russia. We have almost no means for living. Now they demand from us some computer. We never had a computer,” Odina, Abdugafur’s daughter, said.
"After the Andijan events, authorities wanted to take revenge on human right activists and it resulted in the closure of NGOs. There were trumped-up charges against me too. I was accused of slander,” Mamirjan Misiraliev, an activist in Ferghana, explained.
Mutabar Tajibaeva, another Ferghana-based activist and head of the 'Ardent Hearts Club' NGO, was arrested on Saturday and charged with money extortion. Earlier, she was also accused of organising illegal demonstrations. However, activists believe that she was arrested because of her rights work and coverage of Andijan events.
The Russian-based Ferghana.ru news site reported on Wednesday that she has embarked on a hunger strike to protest her illegal detention.
Tajibaeva, who spoke to IRIN shortly before her arrest, said that accusations against her were unjustified. "In accordance with the constitution of Uzbekistan, all citizens have the right to organise peaceful pickets and demonstrations,” she said.
A human right activist in Fergana province who did not want to be identified, said that the authorities began closing local NGOs, which were receiving funds from the US government, US-based NGOs or private organisations as well as from other western nations.
The US-based Internews, an NGO working to boost media freedom and plurality in Uzbekistan for 10 years, was ordered to suspend its operations in the country on Tuesday, after losing an appeal against a series of charges. “We have been told that we are meddling in the politics of Uzbekistan and the president, so we have to go,” Claire Eldridge, head of Internews in the country, said.
"The authorities have tried hard to cover up the massacre in Andijan, but thousands of people there saw it. They are alive and not going to forget this scary event soon," Tolib Yakubov, head of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU), a local rights group, said from the capital, Tashkent.
While many residents are busy with daily life and both traders and customers flock the bazaars, very few are willing to talk about what transpired in their city on 13 May, when thousands of demonstrators gathered in the city's Bobur square.
"It is very unsafe to utter a mere word these days about the Andijan events," Mahmud (not his real name), a resident of Andijan in his mid-30s, said, nodding knowingly towards the building of the provincial office of the National Security Service (NSS).
The city administration building not very far from the NSS office is being renovated, while one can see bullet holes on the buildings, bus stops and tall trees on Navoi, one of the main streets in the city. In some places the holes are very big, indicating heavy-calibre ammunition was used during the violence.
Rights groups say around 1,000 people, mainly unarmed civilians who came to the square to express their dissatisfaction over socioeconomic problems, were killed in May when the Uzbek security forces opened fire on the demonstrators indiscriminately. Tashkent said the death toll was only 187, denying any peaceful civilians were targeted.
"Many people are afraid to speak openly about the demonstration and simply keep their mouths shut firmly fearing that the security forces will harass them," Mahmud explained.
Such sentiments are not unusual in the city, where many seem to have lost any appetite for dissent. "People simply shut up, you never know as there can always be security agents in plain clothes amongst inhabitants. Some of the families that I know do not event dare to seek their missing sons or relatives, fearing the police would arrest them," Jumaboi, a taxi driver, agreed.
Rights activists echoed that view, saying that the situation in eastern Uzbekistan remained tense. "Many people in Andijan are harassed by the security services, especially those who had anything to do with the protest or whose relatives were amongst the demonstrators," Surat Ikramov, head of the Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Activists of Uzbekistan (IGIHRAU), a local rights group, said from the capital, Tashkent.
"The security officials harass, intimidate and threaten them not to speak to foreign journalists and rights activists. There is an atmosphere of fear amongst many residents in Andijan," Ikramov, who visited the city in late September, maintained, adding that the authorities were following many people whom they considered suspicious.
Not only in Andijan, but in neighbouring provinces of Fergana and Namangan people have become more cautious and do not openly discuss Andijan events. Residents in provincial capitals say that there are unconfirmed reports that those who speak openly about them get into serious trouble.
Meanwhile, many inhabitants watch television and keep an eye on the trial in Tashkent, where 15 men are charged with organising the Andijan protests, attempting to overthrow the government and installing an Islamic state.
Munojat, a 35-year-old woman from Fergana city, the capital of the province with the same name, said that the trial of alleged terrorists did not look very convincing. “Many of my relatives live in Andijan and I visited them after these events. They told me what have happened in reality. They said that the military men shot at people," she said.
"Looking at these guys who are on trial, I have a feeling that they repeat the words learnt by heart. If you look more attentively, it is possible to notice how their lips are shivering and glances are moving unnaturally. I am a psychologist and I know how people act. Probably, they were psychologically dealt with,” Munojat claimed.
According to the head of HRSU in central Jizak province, Bakhtiyar Khamraev, many ordinary people do not believe the government media. "I conducted a small survey in Tashkent on the issue," he said.
"Out of 40 people who took part in my survey, 39 men said that they did not believe in the fairness of the trial. I also consider that the Tashkent trial is simply a good staged performance," the rights activist noted.
As for rights activists in Andijan itself, there are none left, local people said. Some have reportedly fled fearing government persecution, while some have been arrested and are undergoing interrogation.
In September, the local human right organisation “Ezgulik” appointed Abdugafur Dadabaev, a local rights activist, as its regional representative in Andijan. Later that month he was detained by security officials and is reportedly now in the cellar of the NSS office in Andijan. According to his relatives, his house was searched as well.
“They did not show us any document and took our money of US $200, which was sent by my brother from Russia. We have almost no means for living. Now they demand from us some computer. We never had a computer,” Odina, Abdugafur’s daughter, said.
"After the Andijan events, authorities wanted to take revenge on human right activists and it resulted in the closure of NGOs. There were trumped-up charges against me too. I was accused of slander,” Mamirjan Misiraliev, an activist in Ferghana, explained.
Mutabar Tajibaeva, another Ferghana-based activist and head of the 'Ardent Hearts Club' NGO, was arrested on Saturday and charged with money extortion. Earlier, she was also accused of organising illegal demonstrations. However, activists believe that she was arrested because of her rights work and coverage of Andijan events.
The Russian-based Ferghana.ru news site reported on Wednesday that she has embarked on a hunger strike to protest her illegal detention.
Tajibaeva, who spoke to IRIN shortly before her arrest, said that accusations against her were unjustified. "In accordance with the constitution of Uzbekistan, all citizens have the right to organise peaceful pickets and demonstrations,” she said.
A human right activist in Fergana province who did not want to be identified, said that the authorities began closing local NGOs, which were receiving funds from the US government, US-based NGOs or private organisations as well as from other western nations.
The US-based Internews, an NGO working to boost media freedom and plurality in Uzbekistan for 10 years, was ordered to suspend its operations in the country on Tuesday, after losing an appeal against a series of charges. “We have been told that we are meddling in the politics of Uzbekistan and the president, so we have to go,” Claire Eldridge, head of Internews in the country, said.
"The authorities have tried hard to cover up the massacre in Andijan, but thousands of people there saw it. They are alive and not going to forget this scary event soon," Tolib Yakubov, head of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU), a local rights group, said from the capital, Tashkent.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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