(C) OpenDemocracy This story was originally published by OpenDemocracy and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Uzbekistan’s energy crisis reveals thirst for power inside government [1] [] Date: 2023-01 “This is not an unusual pattern in the decision-making of Uzbekistan’s leadership. Every time any major crisis happens, we see that the people who were responsible for avoiding the crisis lose their jobs,” said Temur Umarov, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “What’s unusual is that this is happening at such a high level. Artykhodjaev was originally made mayor of Tashkent by the president himself,” Umarov said. But beyond the president, it is Sardor Umurzakov who is at the centre of the authoritarian government’s response to the energy crisis, which has been marked by dismissals, arrests and threats of investigation, sources told openDemocracy. Pannier told openDemocracy that Umurzakov appeared to be taking on the role of the president’s “enforcer” – a role that Mirziyoyev played when prime minister under Uzbekistan’s former hardline ruler, Islam Karimov. Having an enforcer is particularly important, Pannier explained, as Mirziyoyev is preparing to pass legislation that will allow him to run for two more seven-year terms as president. “Mirziyoyev needed someone who could keep order while [the government is] moving towards these amendments to keep him in power for another 14 years,” Pannier said. “Umurzakov’s job seems to be the ‘attack dog’ for Mirziyoyev.” The amendments were released to the public in June 2022, one month before Umurzakov was appointed – leading Pannier to believe that the timing “cannot be a coincidence”. The presidential administration rejected the ‘enforcer’ comparison, calling it “absurd”. The roles and responsibilities of the prime minister (Mirziyoyev under Karimov) and head of the presidential administration (Umurzakov under Mirziyoyev) are “essentially distinct”, the administration said. Rise to power Umurzakov’s rise from trade minister to deputy prime minister to head of the presidential administration in the space of just a few years is part of President Mirziyoyev’s drive to modernise and reform the governance of Uzbekistan. A crucial part of Mirziyoyev’s agenda has been appointing a younger generation of managers and administrators – including Umurzakov – to top posts, in order to bring new energy and ideas to the administration. Umurzakov’s father, Uktam, was a renowned academic who became the rector of the prestigious Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanisation Engineers. Uktam was a long-time friend of Mirziyoyev, who studied at the institute. His son, Sardor Umurzakov, who also represents Uzbekistan on the boards of several international investment banks, appears to fit the bill of a Western-oriented liberal. He studied banking at the University of Reading in the UK before working at the National Bank of Uzbekistan, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development and Uzbekistan’s treasury. He was appointed head of the presidential administration in July 2022. Sardor Umurzakov, head of Uzbekistan’s presidential administration | CC BY-SA 4.0 Umurzakov has made headlines in Uzbekistan for his tough treatment of wrongdoing by public officials. These range from announcing the firing of five regional governors (khokims) for an alleged abuse of power during a single meeting last September to reports of threats of criminal investigations to gas officials over their treatment of small business owners. “Our respected president has made a decision,” Umurzakov told one regional governor during the September purge. “First, you will be removed from your current post. Second, your actions will be given a legal evaluation. Leave the room.” The presidential administration told openDemocracy that Umurzakov had “announced the decisions of authorised bodies” rather than ordering the dismissals of the regional governors himself. Under Uzbekistan’s law on local government, the administration said, Umurzakov “has no authority to fire khokims”, but can initiate reviews of their performance and hold them accountable. Greenhouses scandal In October, a leaked audio clip circulated in which Umurzakov appeared to threaten criminal investigations against officials and energy company managers after hundreds of greenhouses were disconnected from gas supplies, causing a public scandal. “If there is even the slightest sign of a crime, you will prosecute them without asking. Within the law,” he reportedly said during the meeting with ministerial colleagues, calling the officials’ behaviour a “threat to national security”. The presidential administration said the clip was “taken out of context and does not represent the full picture”. Given that the situation “jeopardise[d] approximately 10,000 jobs”, the administration said, during the meeting Umurzakov “advised relevant authorities to conduct a legal evaluation of the actions of the regional leadership of [state gas company] ‘Khududgaztaminot’ solely within the confines of the law and to bring them to justice if signs of a crime are found in their actions”. He did so after President Mirziyoyev “learnt of the displeasure of business owners” and “directed the head of the [presidential] administration to look into the matter”. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/uzbekistan-energy-crisis-sardor-umurzakov-arrest/ Published and (C) by OpenDemocracy Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/opendemocracy/