Away with traitors!", "Human rights activists, get out of Uzbekistan!" "Rally around the President!" These placards could be seen at the rally of numerous supporters of the president of Uzbekistan on the square in front of the Dzhizak regional khokimijat [administration] at noon on June 2.

Ubaidulla Yamankulov, Dzhizak Khokim [governor] and Senator of the Oly Majlis [parliament], addressed the rally and said that "a major breakthrough" in agriculture was expected this year.

"Our enemies are wide awake," Yamankulov announced. "They want a civil war to ravage our land. They are far from us here, they are across the ocean, but their local hirelings would not balk at selling Uzbekistan for dollars. They live on this dirty money."

"There are some of these American mercenaries in Dzhizak too," Yamankulov said and proceeded to identify them as all local human rights activists and "the so called Internet journalists".

"They are enemies of our Motherland!" the khokim screamed. "We discovered today that traitor Mamarazhab Nazarov, a coward that he is, escaped from Dzhizak last night! Soon, all these so called human rights activists and venal journalists will get out of Uzbekistan too."

All others given the floor merely repeated khokim's words. Khusan Ermatov, head of the local TV, read aloud the rally's appeal to the people of Uzbekistan.

"Supporting our wise president, we say: Uzbekistan will never depend on anyone!"

Monitored by the local media and security structures, the rally lasted about two hours. Streets leading to the center of Dzhizak were closed for traffic for the period.

Unable to stand the scorching heat (40 degrees Celsius), some of those present went home before the rally was over. Chairmen of mahallja [local self-government body] say that plainclothesmen made lists of everyone who had left early.

Local TV channels ran the rally story that same evening. Even Akhborot (evening news program of Channel 1 of the national TV) covered the rally extensively.