Uzbekistan’s National Security Service held its Olympics in Andijon recently. As if it weren’t bad enough that Andijon residents receive orders to be jubilant about things that are legitimate sources of public pride, they get special events like this one.
Another Olympics took place in Andijan. Ferghana.Ru’s most constant and dedicated readers, i.e. officials and servicemen of the National Security Service from three regions of the Ferghana Valley participated.
The event was solemnly opened in Soglom Avlod or Healthy Generation stadium where the relay-race followed. A mini-football tournament took place in the gym of the Andijan State Teacher-Training College of Foreign Languages. “Spectators were treated to a captivating tournament indeed,” local media outlets reported. “The winners got diplomas and gifts.”
Though the event apparently only included NSS members from provinces in the Valley, the talent pool was likely pretty good considering the concentration of those in or with ties to security forces in this part of Uzbekistan.
In its story, Ferghana.ru notes that the NSS is able to hold such events in part because of its incredible growth since independence, when the regional KGB directorate had only 54 men. As is the case with other security bodies in Uzbekistan, one is likely to find more employees in any particular agency’s provincial branch than one found in the comparable republic-wide agency at the end of the Soviet period.
This post was written by...
Nathan Hamm – author of 2974 posts on Registan.net.
Nathan is the Founding Editor and Publisher of Registan.net, which he launched in 2003. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan 2000-2001 and received his MA in Central Asian Studies from the University of Washington in 2007. Since 2007, he has worked full-time as an analyst, consulting with private and government clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural and political factors shape risks and opportunities and how organizations can adjust their strategic and operational plans to account for these variables. Nathan is currently seeking research, analysis, and consulting opportunities. He can be contacted via Twitter or email.
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http://hrw.org/campaigns/uzbekistan/sharipov.htm
Human Rights Watch urges the government of Uzbekistan to release Sharipov immediately, pending an impartial, independent review of the charges against him. We condemn his imprisonment as an effort to suppress free speech in Uzbekistan and as blatant discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation. It is a further blow to civic freedoms and the integrity of private life in Uzbekistan.