Decree Hits Uzbek Traders Hard

A new decree banning small traders from selling clothes and other goods at Uzbekistan's food markets has been met with anger and protests across the republic.

At least 30 women traders from the Chorsu market - one of Tashkent's biggest bazaars - held a demonstration outside the city mayor's office on October 3, following a violent crackdown on sellers.

Journalists saw police officers kicking screaming women traders, who were lying on the ground at Chorsu desperately trying to cling onto goods which had been earmarked for confiscation.

"If we don't give up our goods, the police use force. Today they beat up a woman and took her away in a car," one Chorsu protestor told IWPR. "Why do they treat us like animals? We are citizens of Uzbekistan!"

The city authorities had braced themselves for trouble on October 1, sending hundreds of police officers, armoured trucks and even fire engines to the market on the day the decree came into force.

Jahongir Shasolimov, a member of the opposition Erk party who trades at the market, told IWPR that the police also brought a large number of German shepherd dogs with them.

Under the new rules, goods can no longer be sold on the normal market stalls, where a stand costs just 10 US dollars a month in rent. Instead, traders will have to buy a shop or kiosk at the market - but these cost 3,000 to 5,000 US dollars.

Any violation can be punished with a fine of around 500 dollars - a large sum of money in this poverty-stricken republic.

In addition, the traders will have to use cash registers which are expensive to buy. Officials indicated that the aim was to ensure transactions were recorded properly for tax purposes.

According to human rights activist Surat Ikramov, the decree is an attempt to regulate the bazaars to ensure tax collection. "If a cash register is used, a certain amount of money will go into the state coffers," he told IWPR. "If the state can wipe out the cash-in-hand culture, it has more chance of filling the holes in its budget."

Many traders at Chorsu say their monthly turnover is no more than 200 dollars, and a day at the bazaar only nets from two to five - barely enough to cook a modest supper for their families. The poorest, who cannot afford a stall and simply spread out their wares on the ground, will be affected the most.

The news that their income was under threat caused a wave of anger against the government. "They are taking our last shirt off us, taking away our final piece of bread, and we and our children have long forgotten the taste of meat," lamented one Chorsu woman.

A protest in the northern Khorezm region, where more than a hundred traders gathered at local government offices, met with limited success. A scuffle broke out between demonstrators and unidentified assailants as police looked on without intervening.

But after discussions, the local authorities agreed to postpone full implementation of the decree until January 1 next year, buying the traders a little more time.

The Tashkent traders were less successful in their efforts to oppose the new legislation. Officials did agree to meet them, but they received short shrift from deputy mayor Ravshan Abdumajitov.

"You are all citizens of Uzbekistan and you should observe the law of the land. This decree is a law, and you are breaking it. We want trade to be conducted in a modern way from now on," he said.

He told the women that as they often sell imported goods from countries such as China, Uzbek factories were losing money and going out of business, while the government was missing out on tax revenue.

"Around 50 factories around Tashkent are standing idle because you trade in imported goods. Furthermore, you don't pay taxes which should go into the budget. Teachers receive small wages because of you," he said.

Traders told IWPR that they had conscientiously paid the sales tax of 20 dollars a month up until now.

Following the meeting, the disillusioned women dispersed without incident, many of them in tears.

"Ordinary people have always bought their goods from us because it is cheaper, but now they will be forced to spend money in shops belonging to high-ranking officials," claimed one angry market worker, who gave her name only as Nasiba.

Galima Bukharbaeva is IWPR project director in Uzbekistan. Kudrat Babajanov is an IWPR contributor in Khorezm.