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Earlier, it was reported that 174 trees in Tashkent’s Yakkasaray district had been cut down in violation of the moratorium. Rasul Kusherbayev, adviser to the Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change, addressed the incident in a video statement, sharply criticizing Tashkent Mayor Shavkat Umurzoqov, his first deputy Bakhtiyor Rahmonov, as well as the city’s police and prosecutor’s office. He also revealed that last year, while measures were being taken against organizations harming the city’s environment, the minister’s first deputy had been abducted by unknown individuals. ’’At this moment, I believe that the whole people of Uzbekistan, as well as our President, need to know what I am about to say. This issue has been hidden, and it cannot continue for long. Right now, the matter that concerns all of us is that the air quality in Uzbekistan is deteriorating, the environment is worsening, and trees are being cut down. The air in Tashkent is polluted. Efforts are made to identify those responsible, yet the Ministry, particularly the Ministry of Ecology, has shown sluggishness in addressing these issues. I want to share some information so that the people of Uzbekistan know, and so that our President is aware, because nothing is being hidden from him. Perhaps then something will change. Otherwise, if no change occurs, actions are being taken against us. We are being targeted, accused, and the truth is being concealed. But today, the situation has reached a critical point,’’ Kusherbayev said at the beginning of his address. According to him, on the night of October 25 this year, landscaping workers cut down 174 trees, including junipers, starting from the intersection of Nukus and Bobur streets in the Yakasaroy district. ’’The trees were cut down on the orders of Tashkent Deputy Mayor Bakhtiyor Rahmonov,’’ Kusherbayev said. ’’This directly violates the moratorium established under the President’s decree against tree cutting. In other words, the deputy mayor openly disregarded the President’s order. Here, both the environment and everything else were treated as if someone said, ‘Go ahead, cut them,’ and they did. Now, the most surprising part is that when ecology officials try to investigate and monitor the situation in the district, they are pressured, prevented from accessing certain areas, and unable to carry out their work properly. This is still the current situation,’’ the Ministry of Ecology advisor added. According to him, officials from the Republican Inspectorate under the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change faced pressure while investigating the site where the trees were cut. In addition, Telegram channels that reported and shared videos about the tree-cutting were also pressured, and some posts were deleted. Authorities further claimed that the felled trees had already dried out. ’’This is not true. Existing legislation requires that even if a tree appears dead, an expert opinion from dendrologists at the Botanical Garden must be obtained before any cutting. Only after that can the Ministry of Ecology grant permission. In this case, no assessment was made and no authorization was issued. I don’t know what the deputy mayor intends. Of course, after cutting, new trees must be planted in their place, and the cost comes from the taxpayers’ budget. Who benefits from this? Who gains from cutting healthy, flourishing trees only to plant new ones and spend additional funds? Dear Deputy Mayor Bakhtiyor Rahmonov, perhaps you can explain this to the public. Why is this being done?’’ Kusherbayev questioned. In his address, Kusherbayev also sharply criticized Tashkent Mayor Shavkat Umurzoqov. ’’What is happening now? We are publishing this online. Our Republican Inspectorate staff are on-site, investigating. Now, Deputy Mayor Bakhtiyor Rahmonov and the current Tashkent Mayor Shavkat Umurzoqov, who previously led ‘Uzavtosanoat’ for many years, are intervening, claiming ‘Ecology has declared war on us.’ Meanwhile, our inspector Nurbekov, who is conducting the investigation on behalf of the Republican Ministry, was intercepted, handed over to law enforcement, and had his phone confiscated. This is direct pressure. This is not a district employee but a staff member from the Republican ministry. This is what the Tashkent city administration is doing,’’ he stated. Additionally, Kusherbayev strongly criticized the activities of the Prosecutor’s Office and law enforcement agencies. ’’You know what’s interesting? From the Prosecutor General’s Office down to the city and district police — everyone is just watching here. The Prosecutor’s Office has often been a bystander, and it continues to be so. Meanwhile, ordinary citizens are held accountable if they violate environmental regulations. But major violations — those committed by mayors and their deputies — are overlooked. We saw the same in Quvasoy earlier this year. In spring, the city’s mayor illegally cut down many trees. We collected all investigation materials and submitted them to the Prosecutor’s Office, but they did not take action. They simply excuse it, saying, ‘It’s dried up, it’s relocated.’ Today, some Prosecutor’s Office staff act as the city administration’s lawyers. In Tashkent, the same is likely happening. Unfortunately, we don’t know who to trust or rely on. That’s why I am saying this — the public should know, and the President should be aware too. Perhaps he doesn’t know yet — he’s being misled. Let him know: today, the enemy of ecology is the authorities themselves,’’ Kusherbayev stated. At the same time, Kusherbayev revealed that last year, while measures were being taken against enterprises polluting the environment in Tashkent, the First Deputy Minister of Ecology had been abducted by unknown individuals. ’’The Tashkent city administration is to blame for the deteriorating environmental situation in the capital. They are the ones ordering the cuts; they are the ones ruining it. Last year, when we were conducting inspections against enterprises burning coal and poisoning the air, our First Deputy Minister was abducted. It happened on a Sunday, when he went to his child’s school to check on studies. People who introduced themselves as ‘officers from the Presidential Security Service’ forced him into a car and took him away. He was illegally detained and told, ‘Stop your environmental raids.’ The person who introduced himself as a security officer turned out to be the brother of one of our ministers. We wrote to everyone — up to the President — but no action was taken. That’s the reality. When deputy ministers can be kidnapped like in mafia-style operations, when our inspectors can’t even access a site, when they’re grabbed by the collar and their phones are confiscated — that’s sheer abuse of power,’’ Kusherbayev stated. Kusherbayev also recalled the case involving ’’NavoiAzot’’ JSC, revealing that the Ministry of Ecology had even been threatened with dissolution over taking action. ’’NavoiAzot really played games here. It is polluting the entire city. When we said we would investigate and take action, the response was a threat: ‘I will disband the entire ministry.’ How can one work under such conditions? Friends, take note — who is truly the enemy of ecology? After seeing all this, honestly, I don’t know what awaits us. For the past two to three years, I’ve been walking, investigating, taking action, but nothing is being allowed to proceed,’’ he stated. According to the Ecology Ministry advisor, the public will hold the President responsible, not the city administration, for the consequences of illegal tree cutting. ’’We only want legality. We simply want the President’s decree to be implemented. Yet I must emphasize again: this deputy mayor of Tashkent has violated the moratorium, caused public discontent, and interestingly, people are upset not with the city authorities but with the President. I don’t understand if they enjoy undermining the President’s reputation, but clearly they are trying to achieve something,’’ Kusherbayev said. At the conclusion of his address, Kusherbayev directed several pointed questions to the Tashkent city administration. ’’I call on the public to ask open questions to Deputy Mayor Rahmonov, the Tashkent city mayor, and those who act with hostility toward ecology. Let everyone ask. First question: Who benefits from the unjustified expenditure of the state budget, cutting healthy trees, and planting new ones in their place, thereby wasting public funds? Second: Who authorized you to disregard the President’s moratorium? Third: Who gave you the right to commit law violations and acts of coercion — ordering police to detain people, confiscate phones, and so on — all while claiming to perform state duties? Where do you get such audacity? I demand answers to these three questions,’’ Kusherbayev stated.
