Caravanserai
Terrorism

Uzbekistan steps up counter-terrorism measures

By Maksim Yeniseyev

Tashkent police in July 2015 keep an eye on the entrance to the Chorsu subway station. [Maksim Yeniseyev]

Tashkent police in July 2015 keep an eye on the entrance to the Chorsu subway station. [Maksim Yeniseyev]

TASHKENT -- Authorities are strengthening the fight against the terrorist threat in Uzbekistan.

The country has not had a terrorist attack since 2004 and intends to keep its record unblemished.

On July 27, the country's National Security Council (SNB) convened to discuss the fight against terrorism and extremism.

The members noted the importance of co-operating with neighbouring countries in improving security.

Meanwhile, on July 4, security forces launched Operation Anti-terror Sweep (Chistka). They are searching buildings and other structures and looking for individuals with terrorist inclinations or with a history of contacting extremists abroad

The authorities are trying to protect the country in the run-up to Independence Day (September 1).

The fight against terrorism and extremism was the focus of the July 27 session of the SNB.

"President Islam Karimov conferred with members of the council," his press office said in a statement. "They discussed .... ways to neutralise threats on the southern border [with Afghanistan]. They also made plans to strengthen co-operation with neighbouring ... countries."

The SNB session took place against a backdrop of tensions in neighbouring Afghanistan. Since mid-July, Afghan troops and terrorists have been fighting heavily in Kunduz Province, which borders Uzbekistan.

The militants in Kunduz include Uzbekistani, Tajik and Pakistani nationals, Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent Ajmal Oriyon said recently.

Other events like the July 14 terrorist attack in Nice, France, which took 85 lives, make clear the need for constant vigilance.

Operation Anti-terror Sweep

During the July 4-August 30 Operation Anti-terror Sweep, the Interior Ministry (MVD) is busy securing the country in time for Independence Day.

"Preventive counter-terrorism operations are conducted in Uzbekistan several times a year," MVD spokesman Sherzod Rakhimov told Caravanserai. "Police and concerned citizens inspect apartment houses and other buildings, basements, roofs, businesses and abandoned sites."

Such measures deprive "terrorists of potential bases", he said. "We identify criminals and conduct preventive and educational work. We also step up monitoring of ground transportation, including trucks."

A recent counter-terrorism operation bore fruit, he said.

"The latest one, held in February and March, had very good results," he said. "We checked 90% of the structures we planned to reach and found about 150,000 regulatory violations."

"We had conversations with ... 75,000 people who had lived abroad a long time," Rakhimov said. "We did so in light of their potential for being recruited by extremists."

Traffic police searched almost 1m cars during that operation, he said.

The July 4-August 30 security operation will target citizens who lack residence permits for the cities where they live, foreigners and stateless individuals.

"Passport checks will be stepped up, especially in Tashkent," Rakhimov said.

"The police visited me to find out who was living [with me]," Tashkent resident Ildar Shamsutdinov told Caravanserai. "They noted who was living there, checked their passports and took down the information they needed. They also wanted to know about my foreign trips and their purpose."

New residency rules in Tashkent

Starting on July 4, Tashkent will be enforcing new rules governing residency.

"If someone from another city arrives in Tashkent for more than five days, s/he will need to have temporary registration for up to six months," Ilkhom Kamilov of Tashkent's Entry, Exit and Citizenship Department told Caravanserai. "After that, s/he may receive the right to live and work in the capital."

Someone wanting to register in Tashkent "must have a housing rental contract or live with relatives", Kamilov said.

Those rules are meant to enable better monitoring of Uzbekistanis' relocations within Uzbekistan and to increase security in Tashkent, where the country's vital economic and political centres are concentrated.

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But why do people, no matter what kind of situation they are in, still get denied temporary registration, and cannot turn in their documents? They said earlier that it would be after the SCO, and now that after Independence Day, they would be extending registrations from

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